Milnrow Band: Scottish Open Brass Band Championships

Milnrow Band in rehearsal just before the competition

Weeks of strenuous rehearsals under MD Mareika Gray and Milnrow Band were well prepared to make the long journey over the border on Friday to compete in the Scottish Brass Band Open Championships for the fourth consecutive year.

In great spirit the band and guests boarded the 'Rothwells' coach and set off on what has become the annual pilgrimage to do battle with some of the best bands from around the UK and beyond.

Contest day dawned and after a final  run through of the music, the members of the band were free to relax until their appearance time. 

Pre drawn to play in the unpopular number one spot, the band arrived on stage at 2.00pm and prepared to set  the bar for the following 17 bands in this championship section.

Milnrow's rendition of this relatively new test piece 'Earthrise',  chosen by MD Mareika Gray to best high light the qualities of the band, was to be the first public performance of the music in the UK.

With 'Earthrise', the composer  Nigel Clarke successfully paints a musical picture
of the conquering of space in the 1960`s portraying the colourful earth rising from a black void and providing the listener with the power to imagine this first sight that so impressed those privileged astronauts.

Under Mareika Gray the band opened with an explosive sound which launched listeners into the imagined realms of this impressive music and must have given following bands thoughts that Milnrow Band was the one to watch, thus emphasising a four bars rest preview that the band could possibly clinch fourth position.

Mention should be made of a certain amount of showmanship brought into play to highlight some well performed solo items of the music by placing soloists Chris Binns (Trombone), James Emberley (Euphonium), Chris Buckley (Cornet) and Russell Gray (Principal Cornet) front of stage to great effect.

In addition, special mention was made in the adjudicators remarks of the playing of Soprano Cornet (Kenny Pain) and Repiano Cornet (Donna Towse) but everyone without exception played with maximum control and effect on surely the most difficult contest piece the band has ever attempted.

Passages of almost impossible fast finger execution, loud passages of high intensity sound and more melodic areas requiring playing of a softly softly nature proved to be well within the capabilities of all  blowing members of the band, whilst the five strong percussion team headed by John Connell excelled with their support on the numerous instruments at their disposal.

Ardent band supporters had the pleasure to sit through the musical offerings of all remaining 17 bands in an effort to pick out the winners and with the knowledge that only the opinions of the three adjudicators in residence would count.

Several performances stood out and, as remarked upon by the adjudicators, the acoustics in the hall played a large part in the results with percussion apt to overshadow some of the band efforts.

Finally, with the adjudicator’s individual marks correlated into final order the results were announced, and in the final analysis Milnrow Band was awarded 7th position out of the 18 competing bands.

All concerned with Milnrow Band were pleased that it had maintained its better than mid way position in this elite competition and proud that only three English bands competing (local rivals Marsden Silver placed third), Eyms and Yorkshire Imps had actually been placed above Milnrow and that our local band was the only North West band to figure in the first seven in front of normal rivals Blackburn and Darwen (13th) and Pemberton Old Wigan (14th).

Bands in the winning frame were:

1st Co-operative Funeralcare

2nd Tertnes (Norway)

3rd Marsden

4th EYMS (East Yorkshire Motor Services) 

A spokesman said: "All concerned with Milnrow Band would like to gratefully thank the firm of Minky of Rochdale for its generous sponsorship given to the band to assist in travel expenses and to all well wishers, sponsors, supporters and guests for helping to keep our self supporting local band competing at the highest level and looking forward to the long term future of this 143 years old institution."