2006 Queensland Band Association Northern Zone Band Festival - Retrospective

Cairns Brass Youth Blitz their First Contest!

The Northern Zone Band Festival 2006 was held in Cairns on the 26th and 27th of August.

This year's competition took on a different format to previous years. The street march, hymn, stage march and own choice sections were discarded, leaving just the entertainment element.  This was done with the hope of attracting more of the smaller rural bands in the north who rarely get the opportunity to compete or perform at such an event.  This new format was generally well received by those who attended.  If the Northern Zone continues to run in this format, hopefully it will be successful in attracting more and more bands each year, and building up the contesting scene in the North. 

This year's festival attracted four competing bands, Cairns Brass Youth Band, Cairns Brass, Townsville Brass and City of Thuringowa, and one non-competing band, Tropical Brass.  The entertainment program was performed at the ‘City Place Sound Shell' starting at 4.30pm on Saturday afternoon and attracted a large appreciative crowd of all sorts of people.

The first band to perform was the Cairns Brass Youth Band conducted by Maureen Cameron.  Beginning their program with Barnard Castle, this young band showed what they are made of from the very beginning, with a huge sound to open the show (and contradict the size of most of the players!). The band performed with very well controlled dynamics and a tight snappy ending.  Next was Riff Raff Rock, featuring the ‘riff raff' of the band as soloists: Callum Thoren on Flugel, Caitlin Hamill on Euphonium, Gabrielle Farrelly on Tenor Horn, and Anna Quinn on Cornet.  Despite a few untidy sections due to splits and inaccurate timing, this was a very enjoyable piece.  Anna Quinn was featured next on cornet in her rendition of The Lazy Trumpeter.  This was a well rehearsed piece, capably performed by Anna, however the accompaniment was not always complementary.  Next was Mambo No5 complete with actions and drama! This was a well presented piece which captured the audiences' attention from the very beginning.  Troublemaker was played with great style and although at times there were tuning problems, it came together well.  The final piece Kongalela was an eye-catcher (and audience jaw-dropper).  As all the chairs and stands were cleared away, the stage exploded with dancing, yelling, actions and choreographed movements, all whilst the piece was played from memory.  This visual and aural spectacular was a fantastic finale to the program.  Although at times the tone quality of this band made it obvious it was a ‘young band', the endless energy and enthusiasm of the players and their conductor was infectious, and made this performance one to remember. A great effort for the first time competing band, and a much deserved 1st place.

Cairns Brass Youth Band

Townsville Brass performed next and was conducted by Roy Hosking.  Townsville began their performance with an Own Choice selection: A Celtic Suite. (Not part of their entertainment program.) Although not very well received by the audience, as they were expecting an entertainment concert, this piece was performed with conviction.  However it was not very challenging for a B grade band.

Townsville began their entertainment program with Charade. Although at times this was a bit rocky, it was very energetic and entertaining.  Next was a somewhat disappointing performance of Windows of the World – I Amazonia and II Drums of thunder.  These were well selected pieces for the occasion, but were not performed to the full potential of the music nor the band.  Misty brought a change of atmosphere from the tribal styles of Windows of the World, with its peaceful and expressive flugel solo.  Performed by the much deserved winning soloist Kiera Hosking, this piece came together perfectly, with a delightful soloist and very sympathetic band accompaniment.  Birdland was performed next and brought with it some intonation errors in the cornet section.  Syncopation was a little untidy throughout, whilst there was not always a general consensus on dynamic levels.  Prayer of Thanksgiving brought a light change to the program which demonstrated some very expressive and meaningful playing. Although there were a few minor tuning problems, and the band did not always move together, the climax was successful, making the piece a very special performance.  Townsville finished their program with a lively performance of Salute to the Count.  Overall Townsville's performance was a little dragged out, due to the inclusion of the own choice piece.  There was some fine solo work within the program, and the entertainment element was appreciated by the audience.  However as a band, their sound was a little flat and lacked ‘sparkle'.  Having gone through a musical director reshuffle since the Nationals, Townsville Brass has done very well in maintaining its level of performance.
 
Tropical Brass performed next as non-competing guest performers.  Under the umbrella of the ‘Cairns Municipal Band' and conducted by Jim Cadman, Tropical Brass provided a very entertaining show full of old time favorites.  The performance included: Pretty Woman, I've Got You Under my Skin, Love is in the Air, Sway, Sweet Caroline, Delilah, and Best of Bond, and featured vocalist Pauline Bradshaw. It was great to see a non-competitive band get involved in this festival, and it is hoped that Tropical Brass will participate in the future.

The next competing band was City of Thuringowa conducted by Dave Finlay.  Their program began with a novel skit that included a mad pirate conducting the band with a dagger.  Audience members who had witnessed Thuringowa's performance last year watched curiously, anticipating what the sound and quality of music would be like this year.  The first note of Pirates of the Caribbean brought a sigh of relief from those audience members. Thuringowa continued to impress with a very entertaining performance.  This band has come on in leaps and bounds since last year!  Although still a typical ‘D Grade' sounding band, with their intonation and tuning issues, and general sloppy and often un-stylistic playing throughout, Thuringowa did not fail to ‘entertain', which was the aim of this whole festival.  Thuringowa performed a large program including Pirates of the Caribbean, Georgia on my Mind, On Broadway, He Ain't Heavy, African Waltz, American Trilogy, and the crowd pleaser March From the Movie: The Great Escape.  Better known as the "Carlton Beer Ad song", this was very well performed, complete with beer cartons, and random objects being tossed into the sky. (I think they were trying to make it rain beer!) However there was no rain in sight on this fine tropical night.  Congratulations to Thuringowa for winning the "Band of the Year" award. It is very pleasing to see this band developing at such a rapid pace. A well deserved award!

Finally Cairns Brass took to the stage under the baton of Brian Hurdley, performing a themed program of "Songs from Stage Productions".  Opening with a catchy and stylish performance of Seventy Six Trombones, this band impressed the audience from bar one with their huge and tight sound. Next was Mack and Mabel, a lengthy piece full of variation and colour! Most sections were well played with only a few minor slips here and there.  Share my Yoke brought a change of pace featuring a lovely cornet solo played by Andrew Eather.  During the solo, the accompaniment held back nicely.  However when the band was featured, it seemed a little restrained in that they could have done so much more with the music.  Puttin' on the Ritz was well executed and very entertaining complete with moves.  The back row cornets shone in this piece with a huge sound that kept increasing at each new section.  The highlight of the piece was the oldest member of the band Fred Schipke letting his hair down for a ripper of a solo, followed by huge audience applause.  Next was Be A Clown.  A short snappy piece performed with great energy!  Some very difficult sounding sections all performed well and in style.  Hello Dolly followed and featured five fine vocalists from within the band.  Although the tempo was very relaxed, the style was effective and the singing top notch! A few syncopated cornet rhythms however, were not always played together.  Finally Cairns Brass finished with Riverdance.  Moves added mystery and spice to this well known Irish song, and although in the finale a few cornets may have been fumbling over their ‘memorised' quavers, it was a well presented piece, and a definite audience pleaser.  Overall Cairns Brass performed well and the "Most Entertaining Band" award was much deserved.  This band has a lot of potential, and is on the upward rise.  There were moments where the standard of playing was well into the mid-ranges of A grade, however the band still has a long way to go to meet some of it's southern counterparts in standard. 

After the entertainment concert, all bands headed back to the Cairns Brass band room for a BBQ, beer and to socialise (as well as hear the results!).  The 2006 Northern Zone Band Festival was a very well organized event, and proved to be a great success.  Cairns Brass did a fine job in organising a contest geared to help regional bands gain some momentum.  The atmosphere of the whole weekend was overwhelmingly positive. Congratulations to all participating bands.  Next year's festival will be held in Townsville and promises to be even bigger and better!