Champions at Cheltenham
Congratulations to Northop Silver, St Austell Town, Golborne and Betteshanger Colliery Welfare Bands on winning their respective sections at the weekend’s National Finals. Taking place at the Centaur in Cheltenham, 76 bands from all corners of Great Britain competed across four sections, with each one representing their region with distinction. A spokesperson for the event from Kapitol Promotions remarked, “Qualifying for the National Finals means that you’re all winners already!”. The four sets of hard-working adjudicators also expressed how high the standard was all weekend. The congenial atmosphere around the Centaur complex seemed to suggest that everyone in attendance was of a similar opinion with the exhibition areas being kept particularly busy all weekend.
Contest organisers Kapitol Promotions added further comments on the event’s success in an online statement: “We’d like to give a special mention to our amazing Event Crew and Contest Officials, who have worked tirelessly on this mammoth weekend to ensure all bands have been treated with empathy and professionalism. Let’s not forget: they’re all volunteers who give up their weekend in the name of banding. Once we recover, it’ll be onto the Championship Section Final at The Royal Albert Hall on Saturday, 5th of October 2024. Finally, we’d like to thank you as our audiences and supporters. There would simply be no contest without you, both in person and online.”
Results for each section are below and full retrospective of the event will appear in the next issue of Brass Band World magazine.
Results
Section 1:
Test piece: Excalibur (Jan van der Roost)
Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs, Alan Morrison, Roger Argente
1. Northop Silver (Mark Peacock)
2. Lydbrook (Gareth Ritter)
3. Jackfield (Ryan Richards)
4. Horsham Borough (Will Wilkins)
5. Wardle Anderson (Brad McCulloch)
6. Langley (Cliff Parker)
7. Kibworth (Brendan Caddy)
8. Kidlington Concert (Jonathan Pippen)
9. Michelmersh Silver (Kevin Smith)
10. Tyldesley (Neil Samuel)
11. Blackburn & Darwen (Daniel Thomas)
12. Tewit Silver (Martin Hall)
13. Yorkshire Imperial (Garry Hallas)
14. City of Bristol (David Hirst)
15. Kirkintilloch (Hedley Benson)
16. North Skelton (Tim Oldroyd)
17. BTM (Jeff Hutcherson)
18. Milton Keynes (Matthew Brown)
19. Crofton Silver (Dean Jones)
Best Soloist: Aled Williams (euphonium) — Northop Silver
Section 2:
Test Piece: Albinus Variations (Etienne Crausaz)
Adjudicators: Andrea Price, Dr Brett Baker, Ian Porthouse
1. St Austell Town (Steve Sykes)
2. Skelmersdale Prize (Benjamin Coulson)
3. Besses Boys (James Holt)
4. Audley (Tom Hancock)
5. Diggle (Sean Conway)
6. City of Cambridge (Philip Fisher)
7. Newmains & District (Paul McKelvie)
8. St Keverne (Karl Long)
9. Raunds Temperance (Jonathan Pippen)
10. South Yorkshire Police (Leigh Baker)
11. Saint Sebastian Wokingham (John Watts)
12. Durham Miners' Association (Stuart Gray)
13. Abertillery Town (Stephen Sykes)
14. Emley (Tim Sidwell)
15. Tilbury (Melvin White)
16. Usk (Jamie Jones)
17. Ferryhill Town (Jonathan Fenwick)
18. Gosport Solent (Phillip Littlemore)
19. Broxburn & Livingston (Charlie Farren)
Best Soloist: Jon Gibbs (Principal Cornet) — Audley Brass
Third Section:
Test piece: The Shipbuilders (Peter Yorke)
Adjudicators: Sandy Smith, Nicholas Garman, John Maines
1. Golborne (Les Webb)
2. Flookburgh Silver (John Iveson)
3. Croy Silver (Kenneth Blackwood)
4. Clifton & Lightcliffe (John Clay)
5. Morecambe (Billy Porter)
6. Nailsworth Silver (Anri Adachi)
7. Penclawdd (John Jones)
8. Towcester Studio (Neil Brownless)
9. Barnsley Metropolitan (Alex Francis)
10. Spennymoor Town (Fiona Casewell)
11. Verwood Town (Kevin Smith)
12. Thrapston Town (Nathan Waterman)
13. Amersham Concert (Malcolm Peach)
14. Lydney Town (Thomas Dunne)
15. Putney & Wimbledon (Dr Sam Topp)
16. Perthshire (William MacMullen)
17. Wellington (Telford) (Ian Johnson)
18. Eccleston (John Wood)
19. Welwyn Garden City (William Douglas)
20. Crwbin (Alex McGee)
Best Soloist: Adrian Harrison (euphonium) — Clifton & Lightcliffe
Section 4:
Test piece: Smoke Sketches (Daniel Hall)
Adjudicators: David Hirst, Paul Holland, Stephanie Binns
1. Betteshanger Colliery Welfare (Mike West)
2. Holywell Silver (Jamie Duncan)
3. Bon Accord Silver B (Harry Marshall)
4. Littleborough (Ashley Higgins)
5. Bugle Silver (Mark Arnold)
6. Stalybridge Old (Nigel Lawless)
7. Penrith Town (Ian Butterworth)
8. Syston (Alex Bland)
9. Illogan Sparnon Silver (Shaun Marsden)
10. Friendly (Sowerby Bridge) (Mick Silson)
11. Whitwell (Rob Deakin)
12. Watford (Ian Graves)
13. Loxley Silver (Lindon Bolt)
14. Craghead Colliery (Stephen Goddard)
15. Reading Spring Gardens (Matthew Ruel)
16. Severn Tunnel (David Ferris)
17. Buckhaven & Methil Miners (Steven Craig)
18. Coventry Festival (Allan Wheelhouse)
Best Soloist: Solo cornet (Holywell)
Youngest Player Thomas Arnold (Bugle Silver)
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