Milnrow Band 10th place at the National Championships of Great Britain

Milnrow Band 10th place at the National Championships of Great Britain

Milnrow Band came tenth in competition with 19 of the best bands from across the UK in the the National Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Saturday (14 October).

Each band had gained the right to perform in the Final of the National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain by virtue of being successful in gaining first, second or, in some cases, third place in their respective area contests earlier in the year.

Five of the eight banding areas, Scotland, West of England, London and Southern, North of England, and Midlands each provided two of the contestants, and by virtue of size, three areas, Yorkshire, Wales and the North East four, three and three representatives respectively.

Thus a total of 20 bands vied for the Championship Trophy and total prize money of £4,500.

The test piece 'Gallery' was composed by Howard Snell and the music presents 'a wide range of challenges, some of the toughest rhythmic ones being some of the oldest'.

The music is comprised of seven sections and commences with 'Entrance', a lovely introduction by soprano cornet with a musical view inspired by the Kelvingrove Gallery and taking the 'viewer' on a stroll up the gallery.

Each of the following sections portray various musical images of remembered pictures of the composer with a total playing time of approximately 16 minutes.

'Street Market' (Paul Cox), a lively market scene, 'The Skaters Waltz' (Henry Raeburn) gives a vivid account of the ups and downs of skating on the Duddingston Loch,
'Love Story- Old Couple' (Catriona Campell), a 'simple song like movement'.

'Cut Outs' (Henri Matisse) jazz type music with a big band drive and perhaps some South American influence which allows the percussion section to give vent to its frustrations. The music instills vivid mental visions of brilliant colours and abstract paper shapes as used by the artist Henri Matisse when unable to paint through illness.

'Landscapes- Two Views from Ben Lomond' (John Knox) is a final salute to the Trossachs visualising the magnificent and ever changing views as climbers scale the heights of the mountain and gaze in wonderment.

The final rehearsals had gone well and having drawn to play number 14 of 20 bands it was late afternoon when Milnrow Band led by Principal Cornet David Gillson arrived on stage and MD Mark Bentham raised his baton.

Right on cue, the first entry was superbly handled by Chris Musgrave on soprano cornet with a pure soaring sound to usher listeners into the gallery.

Solo cornets set the scene to convey the busy and bustling market place.

The waltz theme portraying the ice skating element was lyrically played by the ensemble and gave a musical image of the slipping and sliding, falling and rising of a reverend gentleman on the frozen loch as remembered by a famous painting hanging in the Edinburgh gallery.

The love story element was lovingly and sympathetically interpreted by Milnrow with a nice flugel solo excerpt from Natalie Beer.

To convey the sharp edged and colourful methods and abstract forms of Henri Matisse, a jazz theme (as previously described) is used, which in some ways is reminiscent of the drive of big band music and helped on by enthusiastic percussion.

The five percussionists came into their own in this section, using the vast array of kit at their disposal to full advantage, aided by a full-on band accompaniment and a delicious few bars provided on the vibraphone courtesy of James Kershaw.

The final ascent to overcome (in more ways than one) was the all-out musical attack to climb to the top of Ben Lomond to appreciate the magnificent vistas.

Milnrow arrived with a final flourish with the ensemble enjoying a full on musical jamboree.

Band president Ken Watts said: "Milnrow players came off stage showing emotion befitting their fine performance with every player happy in the knowledge that they had once again excelled and held their own against the best brass bands in Great Britain.

"It is normally viewed that alongside such elite and dedicated banding company Millnrow is consistently 'punching above its weight'.

"It is appreciated that there are perhaps eight or nine elite bands who are perceived to be in an unassailable position.

"However, the way Milnrow band has improved and is improving, one below par performance from the finest could open the door to further success for this village band.

"Plaudits must go to the the whole band for this excellent 'Team Milnrow' performance.

"This was only the band's second nd appearance at the Royal Albert Hall in its 148 years of existence and another assertion that Milnrow Band is the one to watch."

The three adjudicators, Howard Snell (composer of the test piece) Phillip McCann and Dr Luc Vertommen gave their verdict, with Brighouse and Rastrick first, Tredegar second and  Cory third.

Milnrow band received good remarks from the adjudicators and was awarded 10th place out of the 20 bands, an improvement of two places on its last appearance at this venue.

Ken Watts added: "The players and all concerned are highly delighted with 10th place and look forward to continued success under the baton of Mark Bentham.

"This latest success would not have been possible without the wholehearted support the band has received in funding received for this latest venture.

"Thanks go to our many friends and supporters, to members of the 200 club, local businesses, Milnrow Workmen`s Club, Milnrow Cricket Club and the Pennine Townships and to those who gave but are not mentioned here.

"Special thanks go to band member Chris Buckley for his unstinting efforts in completing six half marathons in six months in aid of this London engagement and to the players my personal thanks for making your president a happy and contented man."