*
banner

Soloist Success

The 2008 Sydney Metropolitan Band Branch Solo & Ensemble contest was held last weekend.

Harry Woods Memorial Trust winners
 

The solo and ensemble contest, held at the Bankstown Grammar School, received a total of 214 entries from 22 bands. Entries increased in the order of 35% on last year’s competition and the Branch was extremely pleased with this response.

The Branch was proud to introduce three new adjudicators to the competition – Darrell Hodges, Lauren Moule and Bev Newitt.

Each of these adjudicators is a very experienced musician who took the opportunity to attend an adjudicator’s workshop held late last year, conducted for the Branch by Andrew Snell.

They joined the adjudication panel headed by Andrew Snell and Robert Bedwell who are both highly respected for their knowledge of musical performance assessment.

The Sydney Metropolitan Band Branch would like to thank all the band members who entered the competition and, as with all band contests, we are indebted to our strong group of volunteers who support us each year and ensure the success of this event.

Perpetual trophy winners at the contest were:
Harry Woods Memorial Award (Combined Brass Instruments) and Mollie Neale Memorial Award (Under 13 Slow Melody): Dominic Longhurst, City of Holroyd Brass.

Aub Owens Trophy (Under 15 Any Brass Instrument: Cameron Robertson, City of Holroyd

Ken Luzzi Memorial Award (Under 15 Slow Melody): Cameron Robertson, Castle Hill RSL Youth Band

H.J.Cartledge Trophy (Under 19 Any Brass Instrument): Chris Moran, Sutherland PCYC Concert Band

Sydney Metropolitan Band Branch Trophy (Under 19 Any Woodwind or Reed Instrument): Jennifer Rhodes, Meriden School Concert Band

T.E.Gawn Trophy (Open Concerto): Jeffrey Ma, Willoughby Band

Clifford Family Trophy (Australian Composition Open Solo): Brian McGuinness, Willoughby Band

Open Slow Melody: Nicky Abkiewicz, City of Holroyd

Cath Hagerty Memorial Award (Under 11 Any Instrument): Sean Hou, St. George Brass

Jack Williams Memorial Award (Under 15 Any Woodwind Inst.): Yeri Kim, Meriden School Concert Band

Sydney Metropolitan Aggregate Shield (Most successful Band): City of Holroyd Band

City of Holroyd scored a total of 52 points in the aggregate shield competition for their first ever win of the shield.

Meriden School Concert Band finished only 1 point behind City of Holroyd with Warringah Concert Brass finishing third.

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    


Civic Hall

Result: 2026 Midlands Regional Championships Second Section

March 15 • Harborough Band claims the last Midlands title on offer for this year as they are joined in York by Leicestershire Co-op.


markham

Results: 2026 Welsh Regional Championships

March 14 • Cory reclaims the Welsh title as Parc & Dare, Markham & District, City of Cardiff (M2) and Gwaun Cae Gurwen claim section honours.


Pendennis

Results: 2026 West of England Regional Championships

March 14 • Flowers reclaim Area title with section wins for Lympstone, Lanner & District, St Pinnock and Pendennis Brass in Torquay


Shine

Ready to shine? NYBBGB offer audition skills workshops

March 14 • There are a trio of FREE audition skills workshops on offer from the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain to help young player's skills sets.


Regent Hall Concerts - London Central Fellowship Band

Saturday 7 March • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Regent Hall Concerts - Regent Hall Band of the Salvation Army

Tuesday 10 March • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Regent Hall Concerts - Queen Victorias Consort

Friday 13 March • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Regent Hall Concerts - Slide Effect Trombone Quartet

Friday 20 March • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London. . W1C2DJ


Regent Hall Concerts - Welsh Guards Band Septet

Friday 20 March • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


St John's Band (Mossley)

March 15 • We are a friendly, welcoming 4th section band based in Tameside, Greater Manchester. Following our 4th place at the North West regionals, we are looking for a SOLO CORNET player (position negotiable). We rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.


St John's Band (Mossley)

March 15 • We are a friendly, welcoming 4th section band based in Tameside, Greater Manchester.. . . Following our 4th place at the North West regionals, we are looking for a BBb BASS player.. . . We rehearse on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.


Linthwaite Band

March 14 • We are a welcoming 4th section contesting Band with a vacancy for a kit player. Our calendar is filling up with various contests and engagements to fulfil through the year.


Jonathan Pippen


Conductor, Adjudicator, Trombone Soloist & Clinician


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd