2006 Australian National Championships - Retrospective D Grade

Brisbane, Queensland was the setting for the Australian National Band Championships this year. 4BRDU takes a look at the D Grade performances over the Easter weekend.

Test: Voices of Youth (Edward Gregson)

There were five bands to compete in D Grade at this year's Australian National Band Championships. The bands performed in the Ithaca Auditorium, City Hall, Brisbane.

The adjudicator for D Grade was Philip Davis. His comments at the end of the Section were complimentary of the bands and he particularly praised the bands for their selection of Own Choice. He remarked on the problems some bands had with intonation and phrasing in general and cautioned bands to take more care with the Stage March – to not lose concentration and attention to detail and ‘blow' us away. He mentioned that bands should have paid more attention to the titles of the movements in the Test and perhaps given more consideration to adopting the style suggested by these titles.

Norman Short, conductor of Yagoona District Brass

Yagoona District Brass

Yagoona District Brass, conducted by Norman Short, were the winners of D Grade with a total of 463 points, taking out the Hymn, Test, and Own Choice, and placing Second in the Stage March. They led the field by a huge margin of 22 points.

Yagoona set the scene for a great performance with the lovely opening to their Hymn, I Know Thou Art Mine (Ballantine). This was indeed a tasteful and musical performance with generally good intonation, great balance, excellent use of dynamics and very musical shaping of phrases. The band played very well together, with the only slight consideration being lapses in tuning with louder volumes.

The Test was tackled head-on, with a confident opening to the First Movement, demonstrating a rich full band sound.  The cornet section on occasion over-balanced the rest of the band. The Second Movement revealed a great horn section and the band played this section with much musicality. There were some intonation problems in the cornet section, especially evident in the soprano. Be careful with mute noise. The third Movement was tackled with energy and the band certainly captured the mood of this movement. Again, the cornets had intonation problems – possibly exacerbated by tiredness. There was some impressive low brass work in this movement.

Yagoona's Own Choice, The Call of the Righteous (Condon) really showed off the band's capabilities. The cornet opening was fantastic and the trombones came to the fore as well. At times the snare drum was a little too loud for the band in the softer passages. The band had a lovely overall sound and there were some very exciting passages throughout this piece. Attention to the dynamics was impressive. The ending was first-class – bravo Yagoona.

The final performance by Yagoona over the weekend was of their Stage March, Castell Coch (Powell). Whilst there were occasions when intonation in the loud passages was not controlled, the overall energy and effect of the dynamic contrast was indeed stirring.

Yagoona District Brass were also placed First in the Parade of Bands, led by their Drum Major, Phil Mead.

Brisbane Brass 3

Brisbane Brass 3, conducted by Bill Barker, was placed Second with a total of 441 points. They were the winners of the Stage March. This band was very young.

The band's Hymn, Nicaea (Himes) was played with a lovely warm sound and the conductor had a very musical approach to the music. There were some hesitant entries at times and the cornets occasionally overbalanced the rest of the band. The intonation was generally sound, just wavering in the louder sections.

It was pleasing to see a change-over of players prior to the Test: this meant that everyone got to have a go! The First Movement had a rousing opening and was played quite well together. A good tempo was achieved and the band was balanced. Some fine playing was achieved in the percussion section. There was great horn playing in the Second Movement. The cornet section tended to be out-of-tune with higher notes and louder volumes. The muted trombones were sharp and needed to consider compensating when the mutes were used. The Third Movement was a little messy in the opening and the band was not always moving together, but as it settled the band captured the style, playing musically and with a great overall sound.

Brisbane Brass 3 chose the fantastic Saddleworth Festival Overture (Richards) for their Own Choice and Castell Caerffili (Powell) for their Stage March. Unfortunately 4BRDU missed this performance (heard through door only) - those door ladies certainly did a great job: there's no way they were going to let me in! From all reports the band gave a fine performance of these pieces.

City of Holroyd Band

City of Holroyd Band, conducted by Mark Strykowski, were placed Third with a total of 430 points. This was quite a small group, with only two basses.

The band played for their Hymn, O Perfect Love (Jordan). The beginning was very clean and the band had a balanced and warm sound. The cornet soloist was a little unsteady, but throughout there was lovely musical phrasing and the performance was generally quite tidy.

The opening of the Test was rhythmic and quite solid. The band played well together. The intonation was sound and most impressive was the neat beginning and ends to notes – this band had the basics of ensemble nailed. The cornet soloist's entry in the Second Movement was a little harsh and the tone was quite ‘quivery' – vibrato or nerves? The middle section was lovely, but towards the end of this movement the cornet section's intonation started to lapse some. The trombone section were quite sharp with their mutes in and needed to compensate. The Third Movement did not have as secure an opening as previous entries. It was unsteady and not quite together. The horn section had some intonation problems too. Whilst there was an excellent style and feel for this movement, the band seemed to lose concentration; perhaps tiring towards the end.

Holroyd chose Rococo Variations (Street) for their Own Choice. Whilst this work started well, the band seemed to tire rather quickly, with generally many messy and frantic sections, especially from the cornets. The sound really would have benefited from more basses to give more depth to the sound. There were some very nice moments though – in particular from the euphonium and flugelhorn.

The band still sounded fatigued in their Stage March, Quality Plus (Broadbent), but the energy was there and it was quite neat throughout. 

Warwick City Band

Warwick City Band, conducted by Ian Macdonald, were placed Fourth with a total of 423 points. This band had a lot of very young members.

There were many intonation problems evident as soon as this band commenced their Hymn, Deep Harmony (C Miller). The soprano player struggled from the outset and the phrases were not sustained. Some colour was achieved with a good attempt at the dynamics.

The Test had a rousing opening, although the cornets were a little too harsh at times. There was great energy and the band was obviously enjoying themselves. In the Second Movement the soloists put in a great effort, although the band could have been a little softer with their accompaniment. The Third Movement was quite out-of-tune and more dynamic contrast was needed.

Warwick City Band played Johnston's Island Music for their Own Choice. There were similar issues in this piece as in the Test: intonation was needing more care, dynamic contrast was needed, and the players really needed to try and move together. The band was much more comfortable with their Stage March, St Kilda (Trussell). Intonation was still a problem and there was quite a lot of detail missed, but there was loads of energy and the band obviously enjoyed playing this piece.

No doubt Warwick City Band has a secure future with so many youngsters. It was great to see them having a go and hopefully we will hear from them again in the future.

Warwick City Band were placed Second in the Parade of Bands, led by their Drum Major, Lachlan Boyd.

Beenleigh Brass Band

Beenleigh Brass Band, conducted by Gordon Beitz, were placed Fifth in this section with a total of 416 points. This band is another group to have many youngsters in the ranks, and what a striking green uniform!

Their Hymn, Amazing Grace was arranged by the conductor himself. The band had intonation problems throughout and was a little rough in places, but the musicality and sense of phrasing was secure. 

The Test revealed quite a few areas for this band to work on: playing together, intonation, balance, dynamics, tempo consistency, and phrasing. Despite this, there is much promise for this group, especially with so many youngsters.

Beenleigh's Own Choice was the old favourite by Eric Ball, Indian Summer. The band really put in a good effort to capture the style of this work. Another old favourite, their Stage March, Slaidburn (Rimmer), was played with heaps of energy and enthusiasm.

Beenleigh Brass Band were placed Third in the Parade of Bands, led by their Drum Major, Mark Harper.

Well done to all the competing bands. It was terrific to see so many young people having a go. The future of banding certainly looks healthy and the teachers and conductors are to be congratulated for their fine efforts.

Veronica Bowman