2007 Australian National Band Championships

The Adjudicators

Profiles for the Chief Brass Adjudicator as well as the brass adjudicators for other events.

Chief Music Adjudicator – Brass Bands
Ken MacDonald, BA (Mus.), Grad. Dip. Ed

Ken MacDonald was one of those fortunate people to be born into a musical family, and to grow up in an atmosphere where music was part of daily life. He was born in Sunderland, England, at the end of the Second World War. Even though Ken has studied and played under many famous musicians, he firmly believes that he owes most of his success to his father, Stanley, who taught and encouraged him as a young boy.

Stan (who has since passed away) conducted many Brass Bands, composed and arranged and concentrated a lot of time to the development of younger players, his involvement spanned over seventy fruitful years. At the age of 11 Ken started his playing career, and over the next 5 years gained many honours in Solo Competitions, including a hat trick of wins at the Northern England Championships.

He was accepted into the National Youth Orchestra and Youth Brass Band of Great Britain after a series of auditions at the age of 14. In 1966 he was approached by Harry Mortimer to join one of his "MEN OF BRASS" Bands, Morris Motors, this was the beginning of his association with England's Top Bands.

The following year Ken took up his first teaching post in Barnsley, Yorkshire and joined the world famous Grimethorpe Colliery Band as Assistant Principal Cornet and was soon promoted to Principal Cornet. In 1974 Ken made another career move, to the renowned Black Dyke Mills Band.

The following 9 years proved even more successful in many areas: Contests, cutting numerous records, making many Television and Radio appearances, and playing an average 80/100 concerts per year.

Since his arrival in Australia in 1983, Ken has played a significant part in the development of Concert and Brass Bands throughout Australia, imaginative concerts, the production of many compact discs and an enviable record of Competition successes. He has adjudicated throughout Australia, America and New Zealand, made many guest appearances (playing and conducting) and conducted seminars and workshops for Boosey & Hawkes and Yamaha.

He retired from serious playing to take up the position of Musical Director with Hawthorn City Band in 1985, leading them to 5 National Championships and many State and overseas titles, as well as tours to America and New Zealand. He took over the leadership of Footscray-Yarraville City Band in 1998 and very quickly built them up to be one of the finest in the Country.

Ray Farr

Ray Farr was educated at the Birmingham School of Music and at the Royal Academy of Music. After 10 years as a professional musician with the BBC Radio Orchestra he started his career as a conductor.

Ray has appeared in hundreds of concerts around the world and in some of the finest concert halls including the Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House and has gained a reputation as a stylish conductor and a planner of interesting concert programmes ranging from light music to "avant-garde".

Ray has had vast experience conducting both orchestras and brass bands across Europe and currently holds a position at the University of Durham, England as Conductor in Residence, and conducts the University's brass band in residence, Reg Vardy Band.

Eric Anderson

..soon

Chris Earl

Chris Earl has a lifetime of experience in the community music scene in Australia.

He began on cornet with the Maryborough Combined Schools Band and was a member of this group when the Victorian Junior Brass Band Champions in 1974.
Soon after joining the school band, he became a member of the Maryborough City Brass Band under bandmaster Jack Harris, and at that time one of the leading B Grade bands in Australia.

Over the last 25 years has played in successful bands in all grades and has enjoyed success in ensemble competition - on either cornet or flugel horn.

As a conductor, Chris has conducted in all grades including taking Darebin to the 2002 National Championship in A Grade. He has had a five-year association with Eaglehawk Brass which has seen that band achieve contest success and perform in concert with leading brass soloists Brett Baker (twice), Riki McDonnell, Oystein Baadsvik, Alex Kerwin and Paula Russell. He has coach a number of bands and acted as chief instructor at annual camps.

He was conductor for a specially-formed band which performed at the Royal South Street centenary brass band contest and was appointed musical director of the brass band of the II Commonwealth Youth Games held in 2004.

Chris also adjudicates regularly at brass band competitions and eisteddfods thoughout Australia. Among appointments have been at Royal South Street (Ballarat) on five occasions, Victorian and Tasmanian solo championshipsand Western Australian brass and concert band championships. He positive approach to adjudication and assessment is seen as a great way to encourage developing young musicians.

He founded music business Muso's Media in 1992 and founded Australia's Band World Magazine in 1993, having edited the publication ever sence. He has been executive producer or producer of numerous brass band recordings.

He co-wrote Legends in Brass: Australian Brass Band Achievers of the 20th Century with Jack Greaves and regular contributes articles to brass magazines around the world and was a contributor of several entries to the Australian Companion to Music and Dance (Currency Press, ed John Whiteoak and Aline Scott-Maxwell).

Mark Ford

Mark commenced playing the cornet at the age of seven. In 1985 he exchanged his instrument for a baton when he was appointed Musical Director of the Greater Bendigo Concert Brass Band, a position he held from 1984-1996.

In 1996, Mark took on the Principal Conductor position with the Kew Band and with that band won two Australian Championship titles in 1998 & 2000. Kew Band won State Championship titles in three states during the 1996-2000 periods. In 1999, Mark directed the Kew Band on a ground-breaking tour of Japan as guests of the All Japan Brass Band Festival.

In 2000, he resigned from Kew Band to direct Moreland-Brunswick Band. This band progressed from D grade in 1996 to its current A Grade status under the leadership of Mark Ford. He returned to Kew Band in 2003 and is currently this band's principal conductor.

All three of the abovementioned bands have won Australian National Titles under his direction and in sixty five contest performances since 1985; Mark has guided these bands to no fewer than thirty eight contest wins. In 2001, Mark accepted an invitation to travel to the Netherlands to conduct Brass Band de Waldsang in the Euro-Brass Survento contest. Brass Band de Waldsang won the Championship section of this prestigious contest under his baton.

His reputation as one of Australia's finest directors of bands was acknowledged in 2001, when he was appointed Principal Conductor of 'Australian Brass' (National Band of Australia) for its 2001 season. Also in 2001, Mark was nominated for the position of Conductor in Australia's Band World Magazine 'Band of the Century'. Mark is a well-known and respected educator and adjudicator. He has officiated at many competitions and eisteddfods including The Australian National Band Championships in 1998 and The Ern Keller Memorial Solo Event in 2004.

He was a brass teacher in Victorian Schools for 12 years where his last appointment was as Head of Brass and Band studies at Westbourne Grammar School. In 1997 he was lecturer/conductor of brass band at The Victorian College of the Arts. He was lecturer in brass at The University of Melbourne in 1999. Mark was Assistant Musical Director of the Victorian State Youth Band from 1987-1993 and was Musical Director of the Queensland State Youth Brass Band in 1998-1999.

Mark Ford is also a renowned soloist who has won many Local, State and National Championship titles. His skills as a multi-instrumentalist have seen him win major titles on Soprano Cornet, Bb Cornet, Tenor Horn, Baritone and Euphonium.

Adjudicators:

Chief Music 
Ken MacDonald, Brass Bands
Maj Graham Lloyd, Concert Bands
   
Brass Bands: 
Ray Farr  
Eric Anderson  
Chris Earl  
   
Concert Bands: 
Eric Anderson  
Mark Ford  
   
Solo: 
Ken MacDonald  
Bruce Armstrong
Eric Klay  
Steve Ford
Mark Ford  
Chris Earl
Geoff Collinson  
Prof Brenton Broadstock
David Thornton  
Eric Anderson
Chris Smith  
Maj Graham Lloyd
Glen McGowan  
Sergeui Golovko
   
Ensemble:
Ray Farr