Pontypool Brass will be providing Wales with two leading performers at the Euros this weekend.

Two top men from Pontypool Brass will be enjoying themselves in Oslo this weekend.

Cory and Youth Band

MD Owen Farr will be flying with Welsh representatives Cory to take part in the Blue Riband Championship Section event, whilst the band’s principal cornet player, Rob Spencer, has been performing with the European Youth Band.

Rob, 18, is a sixth form student at Fairwater Comprehensive School in Cwmbran, and is one of three players representing Wales.

He is also a member of the National Youth Brass Band of Wales as well as a player with a wide variety of county ensembles in the Torfaen and Greater Gwent area. He has been principal cornet with Pontypool Brass since the band reformed in 2010.

Proud

A spokesperson told 4BR: "Pontypool Brass is very proud of them both and would like to wish both of them all the very best for what should be a memorable event."

The trio of young conductors hoping to win the 6th European Conductor's Competition in Oslo on Thursday evening have been announced.

The European Brass Band Championships are already underway in Oslo, with the first major final of the event taking place at the Oslo Konserthus on Thursday evening, when a trio of talented conductors look to win the 6th European Conductor’s contest.

Whittled down

The 16 contenders have been whittled down through three rounds of competition and will now face the daunting task of impressing a panel of adjudicators that include Peter Szilvay, Hans Urbanek, Fried Dobbestein, Ivan Meylemans and Robert Childs.

Finalists

The three finalists conducting Oslo Brass Band are Adam Cooke from England, who will direct Edward Gregson’s ‘Dances & Arias’, Dominik Koch of Germany who will conduct Wilfred Heaton’s ‘Contest Music’ and Kalle Huusava of Finland who lead the band on Robert Simpson’s ‘Energy’.

Reached final

Adam and Dominik reached the final by conducting the Norwegian Radio Orchestra on Weber’s ‘Der Freischütz’ Overture, with Kalle directing Verdi’s ‘La Forza de Destino’.

The Flemish Open is looking for bands for its 2014 event.

The Flemish Open Brass Band Championships is looking entice entrants from all over Europe to perform at its 2014 event, which will be held at the wonderful City Theatre in Mechelen.

Four sections

There will be four sections open to bands on the weekend of the 5th/6th April 2014, with a substantial prize list, international adjudication panels and the opportunity for bands to perform in concert in the historic city itself.

Closing date

Bands will have to perform a short set work, in a 30 minute programme.

Any band that would like to take part has until 30th November to register their interest.

More information

For more information, go to:
http:/­/­www.vobk.org/­en/­2013/­04/­29/­register-now/

There's a great prize to be won with our European Championships quiz sponsored this week by Ev-entz.

Once again there is a great prize package sponsored by our friends at Ev-entz - as long as you can guess the winners in Oslo.

Light and sound package

We have a pair of TGI music stand dual lights to be won, plus six of the latest CD releases from Foden’s, Brett Baker, the Masters 2012, the Birmingham Citadel Band, the wonderful trumpet player Jonathan Freeman-Attwood and cornet star Jim Hayes.

Oslo 2013

All you have to do is pick who you think will win the 2013 European Championships in Oslo this weekend.

The competitors are:

A. Black Dyke
B. Brass Band Buizingen
C. Brass Band Fribourg
D: Brass Band Oberosterreich
E: Brass Band Schoonhoven
F: Cory
G: Eikanger Bjorsvik Musikklag
H: Leyland
I: Lyngby Taarbaek
J: Paris Brass Band
K: Windcorp Brass Band

Clues:

Just take your pick of who you think may win!

Closing date:

All answers for this one must be in by 8.00pm (GMT) Saturday 4th May.

The overall winner will be chosen at random from the list of correct entries.

How to enter

Email us the answer at:

We will be sending out the 2013 European Championship results as a FREE text message.

Not going this weekend?

4barsrest will we be providing our comprehensive live text coverage of the event, and Twittering our way through the contest but you can also receive the results as a FREE SMS to your mobile as soon as the results are announced.

All you need to do is sign up, log in and give us your mobile number.

Not got an account yet?

Create an account with us - it'll only take a few minutes.

www.4barsrest.com/­accounts/­create.asp

Already got an account?

Log in and check you have supplied your mobile number in the correct format and ticked the box to receive the text message.

www.4barsrest.com/­accounts/­login.asp

Kalle Suuava of Finland becomes the 2013 European Conductors Champion in Olso

The first major title of the 2013 European Brass Band Championships was decided on Thursday evening in Oslo, when Kalle Kuusava of Finland won the 6th European Conductors Contest.

Adam Cook of the United Kingdom was runner up, with Dominik Koch of Germany in third.

Energetic win

Kalle claimed the first prize of 3,000 Euros after he impressed the international panel of adjudicators with his direction of Robert Simpson's 'Energy'.

He got through to the final after first battling his way through three preliminary rounds that saw also him conduct the Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra as well as the Oslo Brass Band.

Precise direction

Although the audience for the final was sparse in number, they were certainly impressed by his precise direction of Oslo, on what is regarded as one of most difficult conductor's pieces in the brass band repertoire. They also voted to award him the 'Audience Prize'.

Confident Cook

Meanwhile, the Oslo band members were impressed by Northern Ireland's Adam Cook, representing the UK.

The Becontree Brass MD, showed a great deal of confidence in leading them through a finely structured performance of Edward Gregson's, 'Dances & Arias' to claim the 2,000 second place award, as well win the 'Band Award' for his fine efforts.

Adam was delighted at his achievement, which he felt would have a great impact upon his future development as a conductor.

"I'm thrilled to have come runner up, as the quality of the competitors not just in the final was incredible," he said. "I'm so glad that I took the opportunity to come here, and I really do think the experience will benefit both me and the bands I conduct in future."

Dom delight

German representative Dominik Koch also won many admirers for his flamboyant conducting style during the week, and especially during his engaging direction of Wilfred Hetaon's, 'Contest Music' which saw him claim the 1,000 Euro third prize.

He too hopes to work with more brass bands in future.

"I am taught by Maurice Hamers, and he has helped me a great deal with understanding brass band repertoire. Now I hope to be able to use this experience to work with more bands both in Europe and the UK if I have the opportunity."

Opera work

The winner has worked for the last four years as an operatic accompanist at the magnificent Oslo Opera House, and revealed that until this week, he had never conducted a brass band in his life.

"I saw the advertisement for the competition and thought I would give it a go," Kalle told 4BR.

"I want to become an orchestral or symphonic conductor in time, but I have now been bitten by the brass band bug, and would love to conduct a top band in the UK."

Fan

Kalle has also become a fan of the repertoire too - and especially of Robert Simpson's work, which he found very demanding.

"It looked quite easy when I first looked at the score, but what a difficult piece it turned out to be! It was so difficult to get the right pace and flow, and I was very grateful to the band who really helped me so much. I would love to conduct more of Simpson's works after this."

Results:
Adjudicators: Peter Szilvay, Dr Robert Childs, Ivan Meylemans, Hans Urbanek, Fried Dobbelstein

1. Kalle Kuusava (Finland)
2. Adam Cook (United Kingdom)
3. Dominik Koch (Germany)

Audience Award: Kalle Kuusava
Band Award: Adam Cook

Further details to follow, but please go to: goo.gl/vhL1e

Full results from the European Championships held at the Oslo Concert Hall in Norway.

For videos and comments, go to:
www.4barsrest.com/­live/­2013EuropeanChampionships

Adjudicators:

Set work: Phillip McCann, Ivan Meylemans, Preben Norgoord
Own Choice: Adjudicators: Garry Cutt, Arsene Duc, Cathrine Winnes Trevino

Test piece: 'Myth Forest' (Stig Nordhagen)

1. Cory (5/2) 95/96 = 191 pts
Philip Harper

2. Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag (8/4) 94/97 = 191pts
Professor David King

3. Black Dyke (10/5) 92/94 = 186pts
Dr Nicholas Childs

4.Brassband Buizingen (3/10) 89/95 = 184pts
Luc Vertomenn

5. Brass Band Schoonhoven (2/6) 91/91 = 182pts
Erik Jansen

6. Brass Band Friborg (9/7) 90/92 = 182pts
Frederic Theodoloz

7. Leyland (6/9) 88/93 = 181pts
Michael Bach

8. Paris Brass Band (1/1) = 87/90 = 177pts
Florent Didier

9. Windcorp Brass Band (11/3) = 85/88 = 173pts
Alexander Hanson

10. Brass Band Oberosterreich (4/11) = 83/89 = 172pts
Hans Gansch

11. Lyngby-Taarbaek (7/8) = 84/87 = 171pts
Selmer Simonsen

Solo prize = Richard Marshall - Cornet - Black Dyke

Things are on the up and up for the ambitious Pleasley Colliery Band it seems...

2013 is turning into a great year for Pleasley Colliery Welfare Band.

The band started the year at the Butlins Mineworkers Contest with a well deserved 2nd place in the Fourth Section, which was soon backed up by claiming runner up spots in both the 3rd and 4th sections at the Leicester Brass Band Association contest.

Bounce back

February saw the band come second at the NEMBBA contest, and after a 6th place finish at the Midlands Area contest they bounced back with victory at the recent Buxton Brass Band Festival

Great start

Band spokesperson Nick Harris told 4BR: "It’s been a great start to the 2013 season—and we hope there is more success to come."

He added: "We are celebrating the release of our first CD, entitled, ‘Blaze Away’ and the filming of our part in the forthcoming television series with the celebrity chefs, the Hairy Bikers at the Pleasley Colliery Pit Top Museum."

Euphonium star Steven Mead is to perform at the prestigious Deutsches Musikfest in Germany.

Euphonium star Steven Mead is set to perform as the guest soloist at the famous Deutsches Musikfest (German Music Festival) in the city of Chemnitz, in Saxony.

Every five years

15,000 musicians descend on the city for 4 days every five years for music making, seminars, workshops and concerts.

Steven will perform in the prestigious Gala Concert on Saturday 11th May at the Opera House with the Polizeiorchester Bayern (Munich Police Band), one of the top professional wind bands in Germany.

Premiere

The main featured contribution will be the premiere of ‘Euphonic’ by the leading Austrian composer Franz Cibulka - a groundbreaking new work in jazz/big band style.

Honour

Steven told 4BR: "It’s is a huge honour to be invited to play at this historically important German music festival, and to have the euphonium as the featured solo instrument is an indication of how much it has become accepted in this country in the last 20 years.

I'm looking forward to the premiere of ‘Euphonic’ very much indeed. It is a quite amazing work!"

Artistic Director

In addition to his busy solo schedule, Steven has also been appointed Artistic Director of the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival, one of the largest music festivals in the world, based on the island of Jeju, South Korea.

This annual festival invites bands from all round the Asia, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Malaysia, as well as bands from Europe and USA.

Steven is the first European artistic director in the festival's 18 year history and he hopes that in his four year tenure he can help promote brass band representation at the event.

Buizingen's little green men claim yet another banding title

Brass Band Buizingen included a repeat performance of their recent European Championship own choice work, ‘When World’s Collide’ in winning the De Luxemburgse Muziekfederatie Union Grand-Duc Adolphe internanational competition held in Luxembourg.

150th anniversary

The event was held as a part of the 150th anniverasay celebrations of the organisation and saw bands from Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany take part.

The two legged event saw the Belgian champion under the direction of Luc Vertommen, play the set work, ‘Connotations’ by Edward Gregson followed by their own choice programme that included Nigel Clarke’s amazingly inventive tribute to the 1950’s Hollywood sci-fi movies, subtitled, ‘Little Green Men in Interglatic Spaceships with Rayguns and Phasers’.

Principal cornet Harmen Vanhoorne also delivered a sparkling account of ‘Fortune’s Fool’ written for him by his great friend Stan Nieuwenhuis.

3,000 first prize

The open competition organized by renowned Dutch conductor Jan Cobert saw the band claim the 3,000 Euro first prize and a ‘Great Distinction’ award ahead of Concordia Vetroz from Switzerland, who also performed ‘Triastan Encounters’ conducted by Geo-Pierre Moren, with Brassband de Waldsang of the Netherlands in third.

Results:
Set work/Own Choice: Total

1. Brass Band Buizingen (Luc Vertommen): 94.5/97.5 = 96.00
2. Concordia Vetroz (Geo-Pierre Moren): 94.25/96.25 = 95.25
3. Brassband De Wâldsang (Rieks van der Velde): 92.25/88.5 = 90.38
4. Brass Band du Conservatoire d’Esch-sur-Alzette (Guy Conter): 80.8/89.5 = 88.88
5. Brass Band Düren (Martin Schadlich): 82.00/83.5 = 82.75

Oberschwaben-Allgau create a title winning firestorm in Chemnitz to take German Open title.

Brass Band Oberschwaben-Allgäu conducted by Peter Schmid has won the 2013 German Open title at the Deutsche Musikfest in Chemnitz.

Narrow margin

The former B Section European champion beat their Austrian rivals Oberösterreichische Jugend Brass Band by the narowest of margins to claim the title with 2012 Euro champions 3BA Concert Band in third.

The winners opened their 40 minute programme with the march ‘Jubilee!’ by Paul Drury, followed by Philip Sparke’s ‘Partita’, ‘S'isch ä-bene Mönsch uf Ärde’ by Thomas Ruedi and their own choice test piece, ‘Firestorm’ by Stephen Bulla.

Improving

Principal cornet Uli Bestfleisch told 4BR that the result showed that Oberschwaben-Allgäu were continuing to improve under the baton of their exciting young conductor.

"It is a great result for us and we are very happy," he said. "We are improving all the time and want to be able to compete against other brass bands on a more regular basis."

In the First Section, a clear victory went to Brass Band Sachsen conducted by Johnny Ekkelboom.

Results:

Championship Section:
Adjudicators: Hannes Buchegger, Stefan Fritzen

1. Brass Band Oberschwaben-Allgäu (Peter Schmid)—90.5pts
2. Oberösterreichische Jugend Barass Band (Karl Geroldinger)—90.0pts
3. 3BA Concert Band (Franz Matysiak)—87.5pts
4. Cologne Concert Brass ( Heinrich Schmidt)—83.5pts

First Section:
Adjudicators: Hannes Buchegger, Stefan Fritzen

1. Brass Band Sachsen (Johnny Ekkelboom)—89.0pts
2. Nordbayerische Brass Band (Mathias Wehr)—85.0pts
3. Brass Band Blechlang Jena (Alexander Richter)—82.0ot
4. Berlin Concert Brass (David Rodeschini) - 80.5pts

Former National Youth Band of Great Britain player Ben Gernon has won a prestigious international conducting competition in Salzburg.

Former National Youth Band of Great Britain tuba player Ben Gernon has won the prestigious Nestle and Salzburg Young Conductors Award, and with it the opportunity to direct the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in a Festival concert at the Felsenreitschule later this year.

Latest high profile success

It is the latest high profile success for the 23 year old, who played in the National Youth Band between 2004 and 2008. The final of the event saw three conductors’ direct performances during a weekend of festival concerts, with Ben leading the Camerata Salzburg and pianist Sophie Pacini in works by Peter Maxwell Davies, Mozart and Beethoven.

In addition to his concert prize, he also claimed the prize of €15,000 after beating off the challenge of 81 of the world’s leading conductor’s under the age of 35.

Sir Colin Davis

Ben studied tuba and conducting at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Sir Colin Davis and Martyn Brabbins, and has worked with orchestras from London to Sweden. He made his professional debut with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in the St Magnus Festival, in Orkney in 2011 and has been invited to return to the festival to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra next year.

In 2012 he won the second prize in the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition and is now principal conductor of the Southwark Youth Orchestra as well as working with Gustavo Dudamel during his Los Angeles Philharmonic residency at the Barbican in London earlier this year.

Great musicality

Jury Chairman Ingo Metzmacher stated: "The three concerts had a very high level. The jury decided quickly and unambiguously for young Ben Gernon from Great Britain.

His great musicality and his special connection with the orchestra convinced us."

Most important

Artistic Director Alexander Pereira, added: "At the recent award ceremony for the International Opera Awards in London, several experts confirmed to me that the ‘Nestlé and Salzburg Festival Young Conductors Award’ is among the most important initiatives for giving young conductors a platform for their later career.

This year, we are delighted that we are able to give Ben Gernon the opportunity to conduct the Prize Winner’s Concert with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra as part of the Salzburg Festival on August 17th."

National Youth congratulations

National Youth Band Administrator Philip Biggs also added his congratulations, adding that the seeds of his conducting career may well have first been sown by Bramwell Tovey on a NYBBGB course a few years ago.

He later went on to win the 2009 National Association of Brass Band Conductors, 'Young Conductor of the Year' Competition.

"I’m sure everyone in the banding movement and especially those associated with the National Youth Band is thrilled by hearing about Ben’s wonderful success."

He added: "I recall Bramwell Tovey (who also offered his congratulations to Ben through his Twitter account) giving Ben the opportunity to conduct the band in one of his popular masterclasses when he was a player with the band, so the seeds may have been sown there!"

A relaxed competitiveness saw Skanderborg Brass win the 6th Aalbourg Festival in Denmark.

One of the most relaxing brass band contests of the year took place in Denmark last weekend, when a record turnout of 15 lower section bands and ensembles took part in the 6th Aalbourg Festival.

Key

Enjoyment was the key word, with competitors providing entertainment sets ranging in length from around 15 to 25 minutes mixed in with various BBQ ensembles of different sizes and instrumentation who provided their own programmes for the adjudication team of Robert Childs, Huw Thomas, Stig Mærsk and Russell Gray.

On the Saturday evening a packed audience enjoyed a Gala Concert featuring the Danish National Youth Band with guest soloist Russell Gray, who entered into the relaxed musical mood with solos that ranged from Harry James and Ivor Bosanko to George Michael.

Refreshing

Dr Robert Childs, who also gave a well attended low brass masterclass on the Sunday morning to players from each of the competing bands, told 4BR that the inventive approach was refreshing change.

"It really was an enjoyable event. The standard of competition playing was very good, with the bands having to play Wilfred Heaton’s ‘Passing By’ as a form of set work.

The materclasses provided by the adjudication team were well attended by eager students too—and that was after a wonderful late night party that everyone enjoyed!"

Impressed

Huw Thomas was also impressed by the set up that encouraged an inclusive atmosphere of friendly competitiveness.

"It was great to be a part of such an inventive contest set up. We even had a superb singer as a featured soloist with the B Section winners who delivered a belting rendition of ‘Skyfall’ that Adele would have been proud of!"

He added: "Everyone wanted to enjoy themselves, but also learn something from the experience—with the masterclasses on the Sunday morning a real treat to be part of."

Copy

Russell Gray was also impressed by the enthusiasm. "My conducting masterclass was one of the best I’ve been part of—and summed up the whole event: There is a bit of blueprint here for others over the banding world to try and copy."

Father

There was also a lovely touch this year with a prize given by Scandinavian Brass and Woodwind in memory of the great ‘father of Danish brass banding’, Herbert Møller. The first winner was Gunnar La Cour.

Winners

The eventual Section A winners were Skanderborg Brass Band conducted by Gert Skovlod Hattesen, who opened with the march, ‘Knight Templar’, followed by ‘Strike up the Band’ and the set work ‘Passing By’.

They followed this with ‘The Children of Sanchez’ featuring best soloist winner, Svend Lykkegaard, before finishing with ‘La Danza’.
Organiser Henrik Juul-Pedersen, later told 4BR it was hoped that in the next few years the contest will develop to include the elite bands in Norway and from the rest of Scandinavia.

"We are very pleased with the contest this year, and it would be great if we can now increase the scope of the event to include the elite Danish bands and perhaps even some from other parts of Scandinavia and maybe even the UK."

Results:

Section A:
1. Skanderborg Brass Band
2. Svogerslev Blæserne
3. Frederikshavn FDF Brass Band
4. Hjørring Brass Band
5. Peder Most Garden

Best Soloist: Flugelhorn (Skanderborg Brass Band)
Best March: Svogerslev Blæserne
Best Conductor: Henrik Juul-Pedersen (Hjørring Brass Band)

Section B:
1. Thy-Mors Hjemmeværsnorkester
2. Brovst Pigegarde
3. Aalborg Brass Band
4. Hjallerup FDF Brass Band
5. Hjemmeværnsdistrikt Nordjyllands Musikkorps

Best Soloist: Solo singer (Thy-Mors Hjemmeværsorkester)
Best March: Brovst Pigegarde
Best Conductor: Torben Kjær (Thy-Mors Hjemmeværsorkester)

Section C:
1. Frederikshavn Talentband
2. Løgstør Garden
3. Brovst Pigegardes Talentband
4. Tordenskiold Garden
5. Superblæserne - Brønderslev Musikskole

Best Potential: Superblæserne - Brønderslev Kulturskole
Best Soloist: Tordenskiold Garden
Best March: Brovst Pigegardes Talentband
Best Conductor: Marie Bak (Løgstør Garden)

Best New Composition Frederikshavn Talentband
Best Soloist under 21: Michael Rebild (Frederikshavn Talentband)
BBQ Ensembles: Concord Ensemblet
Herbert Møllers Prize: Gunnar La Cour

The Ray Farr 'Signature' flugel is already making a mark on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean...

Despite having only had a Ray Farr ‘Signature’ flugel horn for just over two weeks, Andrew Seymour of the Central Ohio Brass Band recently put it to the test during the North American Brass Band Association Championships in Cincinnati.

Play and sell!

Andrew saw the flugel at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester during a visit to the RNCM Festival of Brass earlier in the year and immediately not only wanted one, but asked to be involved with selling it in the USA!

He told County Instruments: "To start out let me say that I WILL be playing it at the North American Championships. There is probably no better testimony to a horn than casting aside one that I have played for 9 years in favour of the Ray Farr ‘Signature’ Raw Brass flugel."

Exquisite

And after the performance he was equally as impressed too!

"It’s pitch and tone colours were exquisite in all ranges. We competed early on Saturday and other than during our competition time, the flugel was on display with me at our stand, where it created a great deal of excitement and interest.

I was also very excited to have people play this horn. Many in our band had a go - including our MD and they were stunned by its response, tone colour and consistency of pitch."

Wonderful sound

Andrew added: "Some interesting expletives were muttered by our MD as she went higher and higher and produced such a wonderful sound and on pitch too...and she is a trombone player!

My MD was delighted with the sound of the flugel on the test piece and on our own choice piece. I had some very high and melodic passages that seemed much easier playing the Ray Farr flugel."

Speaking volumes

Chris Waters, the man behind the flugel’s design, said he thought this spoke volumes about the performance of the instrument.

"For someone to enter a competition as high profile as the NABBA Championships, with so little time to get the feel for an instrument, is testament to its intonation and quality of playing!"

More information:

For more information contact:-
Chris Waters
County Instruments

www.rawbrassflugel.co.uk

There's a fantastic pocket trumpet bundle prize to be won with our All England Masters quiz sponsored this week by John Packer.

Once again there is a great prize package sponsored by our friends at John Packer - as long as you can guess the winners of this weekend’s All England Masters International Championship in Kettering.

Pocket Trumpet, CDs and DVD

We have the brilliant JP159 pocket trumpet to be won, plus a bundle of great CDs and a DVD, including the latest ‘Electra’ from Black Dyke, Mark Wilkinson’s wonderful new release, ‘Milestone’, the 2012 All England Masters International Championship highlights and the remarkable ‘Masterclass’ DVD from David Childs.

It's all worth well over £200.00.

The added bonus is that you can choose your own colour too—from Red/Blue/Green/Black/Silver plate or lacquer

Find out more

Find out more about the JP159 at:

http:/­/­www.4barsrest.com/­news/­detail.asp?id=17019#.UaBQMrVOR8E

The winner

All you have to do is pick who you may think will win in Kettering on ‘A Kensington Concerto’—and as long as it’s the same as the judges come the results then you will be in with chance of winning the prize!!

Simples....

Beware:

Its a bit of a roll over for this one as we had over 400 entries for the Grand Shield—and not one picked the winning duo of Milnrow and Kirkintilloch, so it may be a little harder than it first looks....

The competitors are:

1. Aveley & Newham
2. Bournemouth Concert
3. Brass Band Willebroek
4. Concorde Brass
5. Friary Guildford
6. Hammonds Saltaire
7. Hepworth
8. Kortrijk
9. Marsden Silver Prize
10. NASUWT Riverside
11. Newstead Brass
12. Regent Brass
13. Seindorf Beaumaris
14. Skelmanthorpe
15. Staines
16. Thoresby Colliery
17. Tongwynlais Temperance
18. Tredegar
19. Unite the Union (City of Sheffield)
20. Virtuosi GUS
21. Wantage
22. Zone One Brass

Clues:
Just take your pick of who you think may win!

Closing date:
All answers for this one must be received by 4BR before the announcement of the results on Sunday 26th May.

Tickets for the Masters can be purchased by ringing the Lighthouse Theatre Box Office on 01536 414141,

Please put a contact telephone number on your entry so that if you win we can get in touch ASAP!

Answers
E-mail:
E-mail us the answer at:

The Masters title returns to Wales as Gwyn Evans leads an ecstatic Seindorf Beaumaris to the title in Kettering.

There was at least one man even happier than a newly married bridegroom at a wedding party in North Wales on Sunday night, as Gwyn Evans took the opportunity to lead the celebrations as the conductor of the newly crowned 2013 All England Masters International Champions - Seindorf Beaumaris.

News phoned through

Gwyn was sitting in the hotel car park waiting to meet up with the players from his own wedding party jazz group, when the news that his band had beaten 20 rivals to claim the Masters Trophy and £3,000 first prize was phoned through by his ecstatic sister.

She may have been sat miles away in the Lighthouse Theatre in Kettering, but as Gwyn revealed, he could have heard her voice without the help of her mobile phone!

Bloody fantastic

"The only words I could make out to start were ‘Bloody fantastic!’" Gwyn told 4BR as he sat, still alone, waiting to meet up with his group to perform in the post nuptial celebrations.

"Then came ‘We’ve won!’ and the rest of the message that we had become Masters Champions. I couldn’t quite believe it for a moment before it finally sunk in."

He laughed: "Now I’m certain I’ll be the happiest man at this wedding party tonight!"

Title win

Off the number 8 draw, Beaumaris claimed the title ahead of Virtuosi GUS, with Zone One Brass in third.

A delighted Thoresby Colliery was fourth, with reigning champion Tredegar unable to make it a hat trick of Masters wins as they eventually came fifth, ahead of their much fancied South Wales counterparts Tongwynlais Temperance in sixth.

Beaumaris principal cornet Nick Hughes also claimed the 4BR ‘Best Instrumentalist’ prize for his exquisite playing from start to finish on Eric Ball’s ‘A Kensington Concerto’.

Ball passion

Gwyn also revealed that a life-long passion for Eric Ball’s music may have been the key to his band’s success.

"I was brought up on Eric Ball’s music and love it. It’s my cup of tea. I told the band its music that will win out on the day, and I think was proved by our performance.

I may have to celebrate with something a little stronger than a cuppa later tonight—and I know the band is already celebrating on their way home!"

Essence of Ball

Speaking to 4BR after the announcement of the results, David Read MBE revealed that the adjudication team (he was joined by Dennis Wilby and Stephen Roberts) felt the winners were the only band on the day to really evoke the musical essence of the composer’s musical intentions.

"They were a clear winner," he said. "They really captured the spirit of Eric Ball and his music—especially the lightness of touch and style in the Allegro following a lovely opening. It was a very fine performance."

He also added that the judges had greater difficulty in separating out the bands that filled the remaining top six places.

"They were very close indeed," he added. "None really quite managed to play without mistakes—and that just spoilt the style that was needed to be portrayed."

Tribute

The winning MD was delighted to hear what the judges had said, and paid tribute to his band and in particular, his young cornet star, who was also presented with the Robert Howard Award as principal cornet of the winning band.

Gwyn added: "Nick has been working his socks off over the last two weeks and has been in the bandroom practicing every night. The band has also worked so hard too - especially the younger players who found the music a bit alien to them to start with. Now they love it."

He added: "This is a wonderful result and another significant step in our progress. We can now look forward to the British Open and National Finals boosted by being crowned Masters Champion."

Varied quality

In a contest that varied greatly in quality, (the judges revealing that there was a real fall after the top eight places) a purposeful account from Virtusoi GUS under John Berryman as the last band of the day, couldn’t quite see the Butlins champion claim their first Masters success.

They had to be content with the £1,500 prize as runner-up for the second time in three years.

Delight

There was delight for the Londoners of Zone One Brass, as they claimed third place under Richard Ward, with their solo trombonist winning the Maxwell Thornton Award as the ‘Best Trombone’.

Meanwhile, Thoresby Colliery bounced back after their lowly placing at the Grand Shield to post their best ever result at the contest under the direction of Melvin White.

Disappointment

In contrast, there was to be no hat-trick triumph for reigning champion Tredegar, as a noticeable minor error count put paid to their chances of taking the Masters Trophy back to South Wales for a third consecutive year under Ian Porthouse.

There was also disappointment for Welsh Area champion Tongwynlais Temperance conducted by Steve Sykes, who came sixth, despite catching the fancy of many neutral critics both in the hall and the press box.

Top 10

Marsden Silver put behind them their recent Grand Shield disappointment to end seventh, with former European champion Brass Band Willebroek in eighth. The final top 10 places went to Wantage Silver and the Danish visitors of Concord Brass.

Before the announcement of the results Chris Jeans and Youth Brass 2000 provided a wonderful musical counterpoint with their high energy Glenn Miller programme, before Chris was presented with the All England Masters Dedicated Service Award.

A full retrospective of the contest will appear on 4BR in the next couple of day.

Result:

Sunday 26th May
Test Piece: 'A Kensington Concerto' - Eric Ball
Draw: 8.45am
Commence: 10.00am

Adjudicators: David Read MBE, Stephen Roberts, Dennis Wilby

1. Seindorf Beaumaris (Gwyn Evans)
2. Virtuosi GUS (John Berryman)
3. Zone One Brass (Richard Ward)
4. Thoresby Colliery (Melvin White)
5. Tredegar (Ian Porthouse)
6. Tongwynlais Temperance (Steve Sykes)
7. Marsden Silver (Glyn Williams)
8. Brass Band Willebroek (Frans Violet)
9. Wantage Silver (Philip Bailey)
10. Concord Brass (Dennis Aaberg Anderson)
11. Kortijik (Ward de Ketelaere)
12. Friary Guildford (Chris King)
13. Aveley & Newham (Melvin White)
14. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths)
15. Hepworth (Stig Maersk)
16. NASUWT Riverside (Ray Farr)
17. Staines Brass (Melvin White)
18. Skelmanthorpe (John Roberts)
19. Unite the Union (City of Sheffield) (Derek Renshaw)
20. Bournemouth Concert (Captain Dave Barringer)
21. Regent Brass (Alan Duguid)

4barsrest.com Best Instrumentalist Award: Nicholas Hughes - Principal Cornet (Seindorf Beaumaris)

Best Trombone: Zone One Brass

Cory's victory in Oslo secures top spot in the latest rankings.

The latest update of the World of Brass - 4barsrest.com Rankings sees little change at the top following the recent round of contests, although there have been significant changes further down the table.

Cory’s victory at the European Championships in Oslo further enhances the Welsh band’s position at the top, while Eikanger’s runner-up spot takes the Norwegian Champion to seventh place.

Milnrow’s recent fine contesting form, including victory at the Grand Shield, sees the North West band enter the top 20 for the first time, while new North American Champion Princeton makes a major mark in entering the rankings at number 59.

The next update will follow the English National Championships at the end of June, which will include the results at this weekend’s All-England International Masters.

The other ranking contests taking place since the last update were:

Australian National Championships - won by Brisbane Excelsior
Irish Championships - won by Downshire Brass
Grenland Festival - won by Oslofjord
SCABA Spring Contest - won by Friary Guildford
Buxton Brass Band Festival - won by Silk Brass
Northern Ireland Brass Band League Spring Festival - won by Strabane Concert Brass
Luxembourg Music Federation - won by Brass Band Buizingen
Senior Cup - won by Woodfalls
Senior Trophy - won by Newtongrange Silver
German Open - won by Brass Band Oberschwaben-Allgäu
East Anglia BBA - won by Cawston
SEWBBA Ebbw Vale Contest - won by Burry Port
Weston-super-Mare - won by Sandhurst Silver

To view all the ranked bands, go to:

www.4barsrest.com/­rankings/­default.asp

If you want to go and see Mnozil Brass then make sure you get your tickets.

The anarchic Austrians of Mnozil Brass arrive in the UK this coming Friday for three very special 20th birthday shows in Oldham, Huddersfield and Llangollen.

Good news

And the good news is that there are just a handful of tickets remaining…..but you’ll need to be quick!

Organiser Brian Taylor of Diggle Band told 4BR: "As you would expect ticket sales have been going extremely well, but we still have a limited number available for each concert. It’s best not to leave it until the last minute though to avoid disappointment!"

New show

The guys will be bringing their new show, ‘Happy Birthday’ to Oldham and Huddersfield and the brilliant Bond inspired ‘Blofeld’ to Llangollen.

Both are guaranteed to bring the house down and whether this is your first Mnozil concert or if you are already a member of the crazy septet’s legions of existing fans, these are dates not to be missed.

Tickets can be purchased on the numbers below, which are followed by links to 4BR’s interviews with the guys during their last visit to Oldham and Huddersfield in 2012.

Further ticket information:

Friday 31st May, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Oldham: 0161 7704083 (Happy Birthday)

Saturday 1st June, Huddersfield Town Hall: 01484 4221913 (Happy Birthday)

Sunday 2nd June, Llangollen Pavilion Theatre: 01978 860828 (Blofeld)

All ticket details can be found on www.mnozilbrass.at

See Mnozil

http:/­/­www.4barsrest.com/­vision/­play.asp?id=485#.UaKSxJVQW20

http:/­/­www.4barsrest.com/­vision/­play.asp?id=486#.UaKS5JVQW20

Cranbrook Town enjoy a weekend entertaining the good folk of Oostende and Ghent.

Fresh from their recent impressive trophy haul at the SCABA Spring Contest, where they claimed all five prizes available in the Second Section, Cranbrook Town set off for what proved to be a highly successful Bank Holiday tour to Belgium featuring concerts in Oostende and Gent.

Festival

The band left the UK on Friday evening and stayed in Ghent before unpacking for their first concert on Saturday afternoon as a part of the ‘At Anchor in Oostende Festival’.

Their performance was very well received by an enthusiastic audience who braved the rather unseasonal cold weather.

Popular

The second concert in the Vrijdagsmarkt in Ghent took place on Sunday morning and was part of the popular Arteveldehogeschool Concerts series.

Once again the band’s splendid efforts were well received by the audience, whilst at the end of the concert they were delighted to be presented with a plaque on behalf of the Royal Music Association as well as an invitation to return at any time for further performances.

Thanks

A spokesperson told 4BR: "The band would like to thank David Newsom for all of the hard work that he put into organising the tour and are already looking forward to the next one."

Uckfield Concert Brass has just returned from a successful trip to France.

Uckfield Concert Brass has just returned from a successful musical trip to France as guests of Just Brass 79.

Wonderful

The band spent four wonderful days based in the town of Chef Boutonne, where they set up at the excellent facilities provided by Camping Moulin.

The band performed an informal concert on the final day of the tour to the delight of the many British holiday home owners at the site.

Pleasure

A spokesperson told 4BR: "It was a pleasure to work once again with Just Brass 79 and our thanks must go to Neville James, George and Kathy Ball and Fabrice Michelet for organising two great joint concerts in Chef Boutonne and Maire L Evescault."

The band also managed to fit in an outdoor concert in the lovely market town of Melle in between rain showers!

French connection

The tour not only provided former Uckfield player George Ball, to chance to once again play with the band, but to also join up with six former band members.

Meanwhile, Just Brass 79 would love to hear from any other ex-pat brass players in their area of France who would like to have a blow: http:/­/­www.justbrass79.fr/