Milnrow Band fourth in All England Masters

Milnrow Band

Milnrow Band came fourth at the All England Masters International Brass Band Championships (2016) held at The Lighthouse Theatre Kettering on Sunday (29 May).

Milnrow were competing against 12 top class bands, 11 from the UK and the Brass Band Willebroek from Belgium.

After weeks of preparation under MD Mark Bentham, the members of Milnrow Band were upbeat and enthusiastic about their chances of at least equaling last year's fourth place.

The test piece, "Cambridge Variations" by Philip Sparke, was to prove a stern test for each competing band, with most struggling to do full justice to some very difficult passages.

Milnrow band were awarded fourth place, bringing home the City of Cambridge Cup and £500.

The adjudicators, Stanley Lippeatt and Stephen Roberts, enjoyed Milnrow's performance but indicated that it included a few unfortunate errors which "cost them a higher placed finish".

"A spokesman for Milnrow Band said: "We would like to congratulate local friends and rivals Diggle Band for achieving fifth place at their first attempt."