Ebbw Vale and Weston 2009

17th May 2009

It was a big step up for the band and in Ebbw Vale the nerves and sense of occasion got the better of us and we failed to deliver.  A disappointing performance of Music for the Common Man marred by uncharacteristic errors and some timid playing throughout the band.  We did manage 4th place in First Section but that was out of 4 bands!

A last minute change of Adjudicator to Brian Buckley couldn't save us but like he said in his remarks we will be a better band from having studied and played this piece.

The Junior Band were also on show in the morning with a decent performance of an entertainment programme including Pots and Pans, Nightcap and The Muppet Show. There were a few errors and some tuning problems (it's that big huge hall!) but the juniors really enjoyed themselves despite what Mr Prichard said.

Results from Saturday

First Section:
Adjudicator: C. Brian Buckley

1. Lympstone South West Telecoms (Charlie Fleming) – 186
2. Rogerstone (Jamie Jones) – 183
3. RAF St Athan (Alan Bourne) – 181
4. Blaenavon Town (Lyndon Price) – 180

Best Instrumentalist: Sarah Gray (solo cornet) – Lympstone
Best Soprano: Paul Luford – Lympstone

Junior Section:
Adjudicator: Gareth Pritchard

Silver Awards: Cwmtawe Training (Rhodri Morris) & Tongwynlais Youth (Robin Hackett)
Bronze Award: Blaenavon Town Juniors (Evan Smith)

On Sunday it was a second chance to put a few things right.  Having two contests on consecutive days does provide the band with a second chance and that is what we did. Here were still some errors but there were also lots of good playing and none of the timid nervousness that were evident. 

Weston was all about putting on a good performance which we felt we did not the result which was however and disappointing 6th place in a very strong field that included 2008 Third Section National Champions Wellington (Telford)

2nd section

1st Cinderford - Clive Lewis, 187pts
2nd City of Bristol - Ceri Thomas, 186pts
3rd Phoenix Brass (Crewkerne) - Paul Slater, 185pts
4th Wellington (Telford) - Steve Curtis, 184pts
5th Forest of Dean Brass - Jackie Gwynne, 183pts
6th Blaenavon Town - Lyndon Price, 182pts
7th Crystal Palace - Michael Gray, 181pts