2018 Brass at the Guild

Entries from bands wishing to compete at the 2018 Brass at the Guild contest which also incorporates the British Open Youth contest are now being accepted. 

Organised by Lancashire Contests and with additional support from the British Open Championship organisers, the event takes place at Preston's Guild Hall on Sunday 28th January. Once again the event has gained invaluable support from R. Banks & Son (Funerals Ltd) and its proprietor Brian Halliwell, a life long bandsman and supporter of the banding movement.  

Competing bands will once again be given the choice of which set work they wish to play with the opportunity to showcase either the works chosen for the 2018 Butlins Mineworkers Championship or Regional Championship.  
As a further competitive incentive, the highest placed band in the Championship Section, who is not already invited to compete at the British Open Spring Festival in Blackpool, will gain an automatic invitation to in the Senior Trophy. 
 
Brass at the Guild is intended primarily to help bands to prepare for the forthcoming qualification rounds of the major competitions using the players and set test pieces, they intend to play in those competitions, without the necessity of complying with the necessary registration rules used in those competitions.   

The Prize Monies are as follows: 
1st Prize (all sections) £400    2nd Prize (all sections) £200   3rd Prize £150 (all sections)  

Lancashire Contests has also confirmed that the event will once again include the British Open Youth Championship, taking the format of a 20 minute own choice entertainment contest, which will take place in the Charter Theatre. Once again the prestigious British Open title is on offer through the kind permission of Karyn and Martin Mortimer, to whom Lancashire Contests are very grateful. 

The test pieces that bands can choose are as follows: 

Championship Section: 
Championship – Odyssey (Kevin Norbury) or Contest Music (Wilfred Heaton), The Year of the Dragon (Philip Sparke), Concerto No 1 for Brass Band (Marcus Venables) 
First Section: 
Brass Metamorphosis (James Curnow) or Renaissance (Peter Graham) 
Second Section: 
Ex Terra Lucem (Jonathan Bates) or Variations for Brass Band (Ralph Vaughan Williams 
Third Section: 
Third – Napoleon on the Alps (Philip Harper) or Overture to Henry V (Ralph Vaughan Williams). 
Fourth Section: 
World Tour (Rodney Newton) or Second Suite in F (Gustav Holst) 
British Open Youth at the Guild: 
A 20-minute own choice programme  

Schedules and entry forms can be down loaded from www.lancashirecontests.com 

Further details and enquires should be addressed to: 
Frank Hodges 
39, Broxton Avenue 
Orrell 
Wigan 
WN5 8NP 
Tel: 01942 212418 
Email: frankhodges@btinternet.com 

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