*
banner

Judges make their feelings known

The six judges at the Spring Festival took the opportunity to make sure everyone in the audience knew just how they reached their decisions.

winter gardens
 

Fresh from his European triumph in Stavanger, Dr Robert Childs told the waiting supporters and players that both he and fellow adjudicator, Major Peter Parkes had no problems in picking the bands to go to the British Open from the Grand Shield.

”There were four bands today that were clearly ahead of the field. If we could have awarded points then we may have had to separate them by half point margins, but the final result was very clear to us.”

There were four bands today that were clearly ahead of the fieldDr Robert Childs

He went on to say that on this occasion it was not perhaps the quiet playing that sorted out the best from the rest, but intonation, balance and clarity. “We could hear exactly what we needed to in the box today. Intonation, especially with mutes played a major deciding factor, with the best bands overcoming the problems others faced when trying to raise the dynamic levels.”

Senior Cup

Meanwhile Chris Wormald, who was in the box with Derek Broadbent in the Senior Cup, told 4BR that they too had no problem in sorting out all the bands on ‘Elgar Variations’.

”There were four very good performances today, and both Derek and I agreed on all the placings from top to bottom. We too could have separated some bands with half point margins, but there were clear winners and the top four bands did stand out.”

Senior Trophy

Finally, Peter Roberts who delivered a clearly defined, yet somewhat whimsical precise of what he and Geoffrey Whitham had heard in the Senior Trophy on ‘Epic Symphony’.

”It may have been written in 1926,” he said, “…but it is still very hard isn’t it? We enjoyed a number of very good performances today but the winners and qualifiers did stand out.”

Peter’s enjoyable analogy of the piece brought more than a few knowledgable laughs from the audience as he pinpointed where he felt some, but not all had gone wrong.

Become a supporter and help make our future secure.

4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice. There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world. Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month.

Support us    


Presto CDs

New partnership link for 4BR and Presto Music

June 2 • If you are looking to add to your classical music collections or those linked to the brass world, then you can do it by a click or two...


Denis Wick

Denis Wick Memorial Concert

June 2 • The life of the iconic musician, teacher, mouthpiece designer and businessman Denis Wick will be celebrated at a special concert this week in London.


Brass Cruise

A Brass Band Cruise with a difference

June 2 • You can enjoy a relaxing trip to three port cities accompanied by the sound of brass next year — or you can join in yourself.


Italian Brass Band

STEAM power boosts Italian outreach

June 2 • The Italian Brass Band continues to strengthen its Roman profile with its latest school link.


Contest: Whit Friday March Contests

Friday 13 June • Saddleworth & Tameside OL3


Hebden Bridge Brass Band - The 13th annual Hebden Bridge March Contest

Sunday 15 June • St George's Square, Hebden Bridge HX7 8ET


Croy Silver Band - Summer Concert

Thursday 26 June • Holy Cross Parochial Hall, Constarry Rd, Croy, Glasgow G65 9JG


The Portsmouth Grammar School - Concert by The Black Dyke Band

Saturday 28 June • St Marys Church, Fratton, Portsmouth PO15PA PO15PA


Simon Langton Brass - Deal Memorial Bandstand

Sunday 29 June • The Strand, Walmer, Deal CT14 7DY CT14 7DY


RAF Wyton Area Voluntary Band

June 1 • A highly motivated and talented musician with strong organisational skills is required to lead the RAF Wyton Area Voluntary Band as the Voluntary Band Instructor. This is a full time paid position (37 hrs pw)


Croy Silver Band

June 1 • Croy Silver Band currently has contest vacancies on Cornet and Percussion, but we always welcome enquiries for any section of the band. We rehearse in Croy on Monday and Thursday evenings from 7:30pm.


Epping Forest Band

May 31 • Epping Forest band have a vacancy for solo horn.. We are a friendly 3rd section band with a variety of gigs through out the year.. We have our own band hut with close to links with London Underground central line and the M11 motorway.


James Chamberlain

BMus (Hons) PGCE
Conductor, Teacher


               

 © 2025 4barsrest.com Ltd