National Champions 2nd Section 2007
It's been a long time coming but for the first time in the bands' history we can call ourselves "National Champions". September 30th 2007, at the International Conference Centre at Harrogate, will be a day that all associated with Newbridge (Celynen) Band will remember for ever.
Led by the talented Paul Holland the band playing Darrol Barry's Toccata, Elegy and Scherzo earned the title National Champions, winning the second section by three clear point from North Wales band Beaumaris. Chairman Colin Price said "this is the proudest moment of my banding life, to see the band win the National title is something I will remember for ever ". Solo Euphonium Nigel Thomas won the prize for the best soloist in the section. Adjudication.
Full results
1. Newbridge (Celynen), Paul
Holland, 3, 189
2. Beaumaris B, Gwyn Evans, 8, 186
3. Phoenix West Midlands Brass, David Maplestone, 13, 184
4. Wakefield Metropolitan, Norman Law, 10, 183
5. Kippax, Alan Morrison, 16, 181
6. Wardle and Anderson District Brass, Sean Conway, 2, 180
7. Portishead Brass, Ian Dickinson, 11, 179
8. Wansbeck's Ashington Colliery, Nigel Stedman, 14, 178
9. Blackpool Brass, Andrew Warriner, 6, 177
10. Ocean Brass, Ivan Hutchinson, 15, 176
11. Egham, G. Green, 7, 175
12. Granite City, Tom Paulin, 12, 174
13. St Ronan's Silver, Alex Knox, 9, 173
14. Cawston, Colin Swaep, 1, 172
15. Harborough, Chris Groom, 4, 171
16. Cockerton Prize Silver, G. Nicklin, 5, 170
Soloist: Euphonium, Nigel Thomas, Newbridge.
Extracts from 4BarsRest Website
Wales did have something to celebrate on the weekend as Newbridge (Celynen) and Beaumaris made it a one/two in the Second Section. There may not have been too much for the followers of Welsh rugby to cheer about on the weekend at Harrogate, but the bands of Newbridge (Celynen) and Beaumaris B certainly showed that when it came to the Second Section, they were both able to raise their performances to the levels of the All Blacks.
The Welsh duo dominated the contest to such an extent that even a fine performance from Phoenix West Midlands Brass ended up some seven points behind the winners. It was just reward for the ambitious South Wales band under the direction of Paul Holland and emphasised the progress they continue to make as they seek to become a force on Welsh domestic banding too.
"This is a fantastic result
for the band," Paul told 4BR after the announcement of the results amid scenes
of celebration on the Harrogate stage.
"We are an ambitious band but we also knew we had to play to the top of our form
here to come away with the National title. We’ve worked hard on the piece and
made sure we kept control of both dynamics and tempo. Last year we left the door
open and paid the penalty, but this year I think we slammed it shut, although
Beaumaris played exceptionally well and I think pushed us all the way."
Newbridge also had the added
bonus of picking up the Best Instrumentalist prize on offer too, with a battle
between principal euphonium Nigel Thomas and solo cornet Andrew Smith just
seeing the experienced old campaigner coming out on top.
Adjudicator Philip Harper told the audience that the overall standard of solo
playing was excellent although in the end it came down to a choice between the
pair from Newbridge for the individual award. "One euphonium player was
outstanding," he said from the stage.
"I can’t quite believe it," Nigel told 4BR. "All the years I played with bands on different instruments and now since taking up the euphonium with Newbridge I seem to be winning awards. Perhaps I should have played it all along!"
In modern day life, time is one of our most precious commodities, so we’re always looking for shortcuts in the things we do. Take cooking for instance – don’t defrost the chicken properly you got for Sunday dinner and the next thing you have is a nasty dose of food poisoning. Follow the instructions though (on the tin or the package – you will see why we are using the analogy pretty soon) and things should be OK.
The same goes for the preparation of a
test piece with instructions from a composer. If there are directions in the
score such as ‘Driving’, ‘Reflective’ or ‘Poco agitato’ then
that’s what the chap intended in the first place – and judges are the type of
cooks who like following the instructions – almost to the letter.
Welsh wonders: Forget the rugby Wales have a winner!
For Colin Hardy and Philip Harper, the secret to finding the winning success in
Darrol Barry’s new work, Toccata, Elegy and Scherzo was, as they put it,
‘doing what it says on the tin’, ‘…as per instructions on the score’.
In short, those who took notice of the markings, got rewarded for their efforts,
and those who didn’t, missed out.
Darrol Barry’s piece in effect proved to be a tough ask for many of the bands on the day itself. The suite provided many challenges throughout, from the opening ‘Toccata’, a taxing ‘Elegy’ that exposed soprano, principal cornet, euphonium and flugel, and the closing, playful ‘Scherzo’. It was the type of work needed to find a National Champion.
For those who took notice got their just rewards whilst in some cases (and forgive the cookery pun), the bands got their just desserts. There were no bad performances, plenty of admirable ones, but plenty that didn’t take enough notice of the directives in the score.
Both Colin and Philip spoke eloquently to the audience, whilst Philip was the one who spoke extensively about the piece, reinforcing the point that if bands ‘did what it said on the tin’ they were subsequently rewarded for their efforts.
Praise was given to the soloists, but overall both men knew what they wanted to hear, had done their preparation (especially Colin) and nobody could have had any complaints about the result. In the end though, cometh the results, it was the Welsh bands who had most to celebrate, providing the rugby fans amongst them something to seriously lift their spirits after the Principality’s rugby team went out of the World Cup 24 hours earlier.
The victors were Newbridge (Celynen) from South Wales, led by Paul Holland, whilst Beaumaris ‘B’ from North Wales under Gwyn Evans took the runners-up spot. To suggest that the Welsh dragon roared on Sunday evening is a bit of an understatement. It scorched the opposition.
Newbridge (Celynen) were more than worthy winners. This was one of those days when being drawn early (number three) didn’t make any difference. The band’s conductor, Paul Holland told 4BR afterwards that the band had worked hard on keeping control of both dynamics and tempo as last year they left the door open and paid the penalty. This year they all but slammed it shut.
Anything was possible of course it is, but Newbridge’s performances left an impression on the adjudicators that meant it would take something exceptionally special to remove it from top spot, and despite a super effort from their north Wales rivals, they were never seriously threatened.
Best Soloist: Nigel Thomas enjoys his bit of glory
Their opening was strong and purposeful and the dynamics were terrific. In the
middle ‘Elegy’ section, the mood was reflective with Ellie Holland
taking the opening exposed soprano part in her stride, and this was followed by
a fine performance on principal cornet Andrew Smith, and an exquisite solo
performance on euphonium from Nigel Thomas that earned him the Best
Instrumentalist prize. Rob Nesbitt on flugel also maintained the standard of
the soloists that had gone before him in a movement of rich musical excellence.
Welsh Dragon: MD Paul Holland gets his hands on the Second Section
silverware
The final ‘Scherzo’ section was again full of good solid playing,
accurate tempi and some well-drilled percussion that enhanced the performance,
and all the band could do was wait another four hours or so to see what the
judges really thought. They need not have worried.