Youth Band competes in Brass Band Championships

Wardle Academy Youth Band at the National Youth Brass Band Championships

Wardle Academy Youth Band competed in the National Youth Brass Band Championships, at the Maxwell Hall in Salford University, in the Intermediate Section.

As reigning champions, the band was keen to defend their title.

Despite their hard work and a brilliant performance they narrowly missed retaining the title and came second to a county band: Pembrokeshire Schools Brass Band.

Their programme was made up of five pieces, including the test piece, A Colwell Suite by Philip Harper. Musical Adjudicator Steve Pritchard-Jones said the test piece had ‘confident playing’ and ‘lots of detail’.

The other pieces played included Fill the World with Music by Erik Sifverberg and Prismatic Light by Alan Fernie. Musical Adjudicator Mareika Gray said: "Thank you – really enjoyed this’ while Steve Pritchard-Jones said, ‘A very good performance with lots of detail on display."

Mrs Janet Emsley, Director of Performing Arts, said: “Our school’s musicians did themselves proud; they thoroughly enjoyed participating in the Championships. Despite their hard work, the band missed out on first place by a whisker, the adjudicators said it had been a very difficult decision.”