With days to go before the West of England brass band finals in Torquay, Aldbourne Brass Band took all the main prizes at the Oxford and District Brass Band Association’s Winter Contest at Woodstock.
The Band had entered this year’s competition to give themselves an opportunity to play, in contest conditions, their test piece for the Torquay finals.
This year’s piece, St Magnus by Kenneth Downie, is regarded by many bandsmen as the most difficult they have ever played, so preparations have been going on since Christmas.
Playing it in an actual contest and receiving detailed criticism from an experienced adjudicator was an extremely valuable part of the preparations. As it turned out, they had no need to worry.
The adjudicator, John Winterflood, awarded all four of the contest’s section prizes to Aldbourne. He gave best soloist jointly to the percussion section. Unusually, there was a “Best Bass section” prize, which went to Aldbourne. And they were also awarded best overall performance in the championship section.
To cap it all, in a separate march tune competition Aldbourne were awarded best performance.
The adjudicator said that the playing was “majestic” and “a fantastic performance of a very difficult piece.”
Aldbourne Brass Band’s chairman, James Sheppard, was delighted with these results: “The Band is perfectly placed to put on a great performance at Torquay next Sunday. We have been working hard on the few areas where we know we need to improve in order to achieve our aim of qualification for the National Finals in October at the Royal Albert Hall. “
The West of England Finals take place in Torquay on Sunday, March 9.
There is a coach for the band and supporters leaving at from Aldbourne. To accompany the band on this exciting day contact James Sheppard on 01672 516888. The cost is £20 per person. More details at the band’s website.
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