2006 Australian National Championships - Retrospective Junior Grades

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

Junior A Grade

Test: Lyonesse (Simon Dobson)

There were three bands to compete in Junior A Grade at this year's Australian National Band Championships. The bands performed in the Ithaca Auditorium, City Hall, Brisbane. The adjudicator for this section was Bryan Hurdley.

Gunnedah Shire Band - Australian Junior A Grade Champions

Gunnedah Shire Band

Gunnedah Shire Band, conducted by Danny Alexander, were the winners of Junior A Grade with a total of 468 points.

Hymn: On a Hymnsong of Philip Bliss (Holsinger)
Own Choice: Laudete Dominum (Gregson)
Stage March: Castell Coch (Powell)

This band produced a fantastic sound, especially from the lower brass and it was particularly noticeable at the beginning of the Test. There were some intonation problems occasionally, particularly noticeable was the cornet lower notes in the beginning of the Test and in the muted sections of the Own Choice.

Gunnedah played with great clarity – every note could be heard. They created a fantastic atmosphere and played with brilliant musicianship. The balance was great throughout particularly the middle and lower brass, although more volume was needed in muted sections from the lower voices to balance the sound.

The cornet and flugel solos were decidedly delicious and the percussion was just as it should be: the icing on the cake.

Danny Alexander was an animated conductor and led this very large, young band (of mostly females) through an amazing performance, despite a crying baby and someone's mobile phone ringing!

City of Wollongong

City of Wollongong, conducted by Tara Grimm, were placed Second with a total of 461 points and were also the winners of the Parade of Bands.

Hymn: The Day Thou Gavest (Wilby)
Own Choice: Triptych (Sparke)
Stage March: Barnard Castle (Richards)

This band was a lot of fun: they had a mascot (bear) and all the players had their hair coloured. They were quite a small group and had a very close set-up on stage.

Wollongong's Mascot

Wollongong had a nice sound and particularly noticeable was the subtle soprano providing the icing on top. Intonation was a problem for the back row cornets – particularly with mutes – remember mutes make you sharp. Technically Wollongong mostly had it all together, although some sections needed to articulate more clearly. Musically the band created a great atmosphere, particularly in the middle section of the Test. The Hymn seemed to be a bit too fast. Dynamics were great throughout, particularly in the Stage March.

The band was not quite balanced thoughout – there were many times when the middle of that band was missing. The bass line was excellent and certainly filled out the depth of sound. Soloists worked well and produced some tasty sounds, particularly the flugelhorn, and the cornet/euphonium conversation in the Own Choice. The percussion section, at times, got a bit carried away and were too loud – percussion is generally only a timbre effect.

Tara Grimm gave the impression of being lots of fun and has done a great job with this young group. Well done to the solo cornet player who only just got out of hospital to play at the Nationals.

Willoughby City Band

Willoughby City Band, conducted by Andrew Hulme, were placed Third in this section with a total of 461 points.

Hymn: Amazing Grace (Himes)
Own Choice: English Folk Songs (Wright)
Stage March: BB & CF (Ord Hume)

This was an older group of players and quite a small band. They had a very profession presentation – precisely standing and bringing up instruments. Their conductor, Andrew Hulme, was extremely animated and exciting to watch – verging on the scary side!

This band had quite a musical approach, especially in the Hymn, although need to work on a ‘whole band' sound rather than many individual sounds. Intonation was a problem at times, particularly noticeable was the back row cornets in the Hymn, and the solo cornets with higher notes.

Technically this band was on the ball although at times the tempos were a little unsteady, resulting in some unevenness. The band was generally well balanced, but the middle was lost at times - mostly in the louder sections. The cornets could work on getting a similar sound. The percussion section worked well and maintained a good level throughout.

Junior C Grade

Test: The Seasons (Philip Wilby)

There were only two Junior C Grade Bands in this year's competition. The venue was the Ithaca Auditorium, City Hall, Brisbane, and the adjudicator for these two bands was Philip Davis.

John Saunders collects the winning trophy from Philip Davis

Warringah Youth Brass

Warringah Youth Brass, conducted by John Saunders, were the winners of this section with a total of 465 points.

Hymn: Martyn (Heaton)
Own Choice: Legend in Brass (Curnow)
Stage March: Slaidburn (Rimmer)

This band was an older group and quite a large ensemble. They produced a very nice sound, assisted by a great bass end. Their intonation throughout was generally sound and they played quite well together. To balance the sound more, the middle really needed to be stronger.

Technically this band needs to work on consistency of articulation, but otherwise this was a group of capable players indeed. There were some lovely solos throughout: a very nice solo from a small flugelhorn player, a sweet tenor horn solo (though a little soft), and great euphonium and trombone in the Test. The percussion had good levels throughout and the timpani was excellent at the end of the Own Choice.

John Saunders was artistic and obviously interacted well with this group – a fun looking conductor!

Brisbane Brass Juniors

Brisbane Brass Juniors, conducted by Bill Barker, were placed Second with a total of 453 points. They were also the winners of the Parade of Bands.

Hymn: Arizona (Dockerill)
Own Choice: Partita (Gregson)
Stage March: Victoria (Lithgow)

This was a large and very young band with a lot of euphoniums and baritones, and probably the cutest back row cornets in Australia (feet didn't touch floor). The conductor, Bill Barker, was quite animated and helpful with the youngsters – certainly deliberate with what he wanted from them.

The band had a great sound and the intonation was generally okay – just needed more care when mutes were used. There was great dynamic contrast in general, and the softer volumes were particularly impressive. The band mostly played well together and the balance was quite good – although despite the many middle instruments, there could have been a bit more volume from the inner voices.

Some players to stand out: very nice soprano, lovely cornet solo in Test, great percussion levels achieved, and a strong and impressive bass section. Bravo to all!

It was fantastic to see so many young people involved in this year's Nationals – not only in the Junior Sections, but overall. Let's hope the movement just keeps growing and next year we have even more entries in the Junior Sections.

Thanks must go to the energetic, enthusiastic, inspiring and patient conductors of these groups. Their task is the hardest of all, but no doubt the most rewarding too.

James and Veronica Bowman

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