South Australian State Band Championships - Retrospective

The South Australian State Band Championships were held last Saturday in the picturesque Barossa Valley.

Saturday 22nd October had a pleasant start with the bands marching down Tanunda's main street; not just brass bands, but pipe bands too. The day kicked off with a real carnival atmosphere.

The bandsmen then all headed to Chateau Tanunda for the on-stage performances. The venue had a magnificent ambience, with wine tasting and purchases throughout the day tempting many a player! A nice touch to the atmosphere was the inclusion of a the pipe-band competition which took place on the lawn. This was certainly entertaining and drew a larger audience for the day.

The venue was suitable for performance, although the acoustic seemed to vary depending on where a listener was located: whilst some commented that it was 'not too boomy', the adjudicator's position seemed to bear the brunt of the reverberance. The facilities were top class and the contest ran smoothly, despite getting a little behind time towards the end. The lack of a warm-up room was a little complicated, but the bands coped well.

The music adjudicator for the day was Greg Aitken from Queensland. His overall comments were positive and complimentary of the competition and standard of bands. His discussion included the need for bands to adjust their dynamics to suite different venues; in this case, the louder dynamics really needed to be toned down. The marching adjudicators included Keith Moore and Trevor Ratsch.

Kensington and Norwood Brass continue to be the leading brass band in South Australia, winning A Grade, and their Junior Band being placed Second in C Grade.

Bruce Raymond, conductor of Kensington and Norwood

A Grade
Test "Montage" (Peter Graham)

Kensington and Norwood Brass, conducted by Bruce Raymond were placed First with a total of 189 points. Their Hymn, "I Know Thou Art Mine" (Ballantine) revealed a lovely warm sound. The opening was not completely secure and the cornets had some minor intonation problems, but the dynamic contrast was superb, and overall it was an enjoyable performance.

The Test was handled well, as expected from this fine band. The first movement had some minor mishaps by soloists, but was generally excellent. The second movement had occasional intonation problems with muted passages, but the dynamics were superbly controlled throughout and there was some fine solo work. The soprano and tuba entry to the final movement was tidy and there was some impressive horn work, but the tubas lead the way through this movement.

K&N chose Rimmer's "The Cossack" as their March. The tempo was bright and the band played this with precision and energy. The soprano was impressive throughout.

For their Entertainment piece, K&N played a work by Bill Broughton, "Fantasy Australia". It was refreshing to hear this new arrangement, and it was certainly enjoyed by the audience.

Kensington and Norwood were also the winners of the Street March for A Grade, and the overall Aggregate winners for the day.

Tanunda Town Band, conducted by Robert Hower, were placed Second with a total of 178 points; quite a gap behind the winning band. Their Hymn, "In Perfect Peace" (Kenneth Downie), was approached with a lovely style, although at times the dynamic level was a little too loud for ‘Piano'. There was some lovely horn playing, and the hymn was a pleasure to listen to.

The first movement to the Test was handled quite well, although general intonation problems and some untidiness marred the effect. The low brass had a nice even sound, and the difficult cornet/trombone duet was admirably handled. The second movement was nicely controlled and the soloists acquitted themselves well, although there were intonation problems throughout the movement in the accompaniment. The third movement revealed some fine horn playing and the tubas put in a good show too.

Tanunda chose for their March "The President" (William German). This was played at a comfortable tempo and not over-blown, although the "Piano" sections were not really maintained.

The audience thoroughly enjoyed Tanunda's Entertainment piece, "Toccata in D Minor" (Bach, arr Ray Farr). This was approached as a solo feature with Melinda Pfeiffer on the xylophone.

Jeff Wescombe from Tanunda Town Band was awarded Bandsperson of the Year.

B Grade
Test "Oceans" (Goff Richards)

Salisbury City Band, conducted by Geoffrey Meikle, was placed First with a total of 180 points. For their Hymn, the band played Peter Graham's arrangement of "O Lord My God". The horn opening was nicely controlled and the intonation was secure. The band revealed a sweet sound throughout. There was a hint of intonation insecurity in the louder dynamics, and the cornet soloist was a little over-balanced by the accompaniment.

Geoffrey Meikle, conductor of Salisbury City Band

The Test was approached with terrific energy and was enjoyable to listen to. At times some clarity was lost, and some mute noises were a little distracting, but not to detriment of the overall performance. The soloists were excellent and the last movement was fun.

Their March, "Glemdene" (John R Carr) took off at a cracking pace, but maintained the energy and style throughout. The solo cornet was impressive, as were the dynamics. This was a rousing rendition.

Their Entertainment piece, "Greatest Love of All" (arr Ed Wilson) was a little disappointing in comparison to the rest of the program as the vocalist over-balanced the band through the sound system.

Salisbury City Band were also the winners of the Street March for B Grade.

Enfield Brass, conducted by Geoff Magin, was placed Second with 170 points. This band is C Grade, but regularly competes in B Grade for the State Band Championships – and regularly performs in this grade at a high standard. Their Hymn, "Stracathro" (Hutcheson), revealed a lovely warm sound and good balance.

The overall sound of the band in the Test was excellent with some lovely lyrical playing in middle movement.  There were some occasional slips in solos and the euphonium struggled with a few high notes. Apart from some intonation problems and general untidiness, the band gave a fine performance of this work.

Enfield's March, "Simmoraine" (Barraclough), was loaded with energy, but at times the up-beat tempo resulted in a loss of clarity. The dynamic contrast could have been more obvious. The trombones were really impressive in this piece.

Their Entertainment piece, "Swingin' Kilts" (John Blanken), was a lively and fun number that certainly did entertain the audience.

C Grade
Test "Dimensions" (Peter Graham)

Mitcham City Band, conducted by Peter Smith, won the C Grade section with 174.5 points. This band was a surprise for the day, having not competed for a few years, and having not responded to 4BRDU with comments for the Preview. So if we thought they were hiding something – they certainly were: a very fine band indeed! This was a very small band, but the sound was huge.

Peter Smith, conductor of Mitcham City Band

Their Hymn, "Crimond" (Oldenstijl), was played with much musicality and a lovely warm and balanced sound. The Test was equally impressive for such a small group and was approached with style and musicality. The soloists were confident and the dynamics were adhered to.

The March chosen was "Montreal Citadel" (Norman Audiore). The playing throughout was tidy and it was approached with heaps of energy. There were many comments from the audience about Mitcham's Entertainment piece "The War of the Celts" (Frank Bernaerts) – it was certainly well received.

Kensington and Norwood Youth, conducted by Bruce Raymond, were placed Second with 173 points. They played their Hymn, "Blaenwern" (Rwolands arr. Kerwin), with warmth and a rich tone. The Test was handled well by the young players, although some clarity was lost at times in the faster tempos. This work perhaps needed more dynamic contrast and tempo variance. K&N Youth's March, "The March of the Herald" (Nicholls) was energetic and tight, and their Entertainment piece, "Walkabout" (Ray Woodfield) was received well by the audience.

Marion City Band, conducted by Veronica Bowman, was placed Third with 171 points. Their Hymn, "O Lord My God" (arr. Graham) had a nervous start but was well played, with a pleasing cornet solo. The Test had a solid opening with effective dynamic changes. Some intonation problems were evident at times in the euphoniums, but the most impressive feature throughout was the excellent control of the softer dynamics. The March, "Army of the Nile" (Kenneth J Alford) tended to be a little overblown and untidy at times, and the soprano had an unfortunate attempt with an exposed solo towards the end. The Entertainment piece, "When I'm Sixty-Four" (Lennon/McCartney arr. Fernie), had a few blotched entries and some untunefulness which really spoiled a good choice for entertainment.

Nick Bowman, playing Principal Cornet on permit with Marion (from Tanunda Town Band), won soloist of the day for his solo playing in the C Grade competition.

Hahndorf Town Band, conducted by Kevin Cameron, was placed Fourth with 167 points. Their Hymn, "I Know Thou Art Mine" (Ballantine) had a nice opening, unfortunately spoiled by intonation problems between horns, cornets and tubas. The dynamics were good. One tuba seemed to be over-balancing in the louder sections and losing pitch further. The Test was played well – particularly the second half: the first half seemed nervous and edgy. The problems to stand out overall were intonation, clarity and dynamic contrast. The March, "Hands Across the Sea" (Twitchings) was a pleasing and energetic performance, with some nice cornet work throughout. Again there was a tuba standing out with suspect intonation. Hahndorf's Entertainment piece was well suited for a pleasant Saturday afternoon: "Spartacus" (Siebert).

Hahndorf Town Band were the winners of the Street March for C Grade, Al Kidney won the Drum Major award, and the band won Band of the Year.

Junior Grade
Own Choice

Warriparinga Brass, conducted by Veronica Bowman, was the only junior band to compete in this section. Warriparinga Brass is the training band for Marion City Band. There are some very young and inexperienced players in this group and it was a real treat to see them performing. There were the obvious intonation problems (and more) to expect with such youngsters. Their Entertainment piece, "Funky Town" (Greenberg arr. J Thorp), featured a young vocalist, and it was obvious that the band really enjoyed this one.

Jacob and Chelsea Bain from Warriparinga Brass

James Bowman from Warriparinga Brass and Tanunda Town Band was awarded Youth Bandsperson of the Year.

James Bowman - Youth Bandsperson of the Year

Conductor of the Year was awarded to Roy Pettifer from Riverland Brass.

There were three concert bands to compete during the day in the Concert Band sections of the SABA State Championships.