2007 Australian National Band Championships

Report: B Grade Own Choice and Stage March

A report on the performances of the B Grade Own Choice and Stage March.

Diamond Valley Brass (Vic)   Dean Hughes

Own Choice - Airs and Dances Alan Fernie

1st Movement - Good start, could of had more dynamic contrast. Band played well to end of movement. 2nd Movement - A little untidy, not moving together at start of movement. Lovely bass sound throughout this movement. Better dynamic contrast in this movement. Slight intonation problems in lower end. Last chord out of tune. 3rd movement - good work, euph/cornet and horn at start. Flows along nicely. Good balance. Ensemble playing during Flugel
solo a bit rough with wrong notes evident in the basses. Cornets a little harsh after flugel solo in the bigger dynamics. Exciting finish, maybe just a little over blown.

Stage March - Army of the Nile  Kenneth J Alford

Good style and excellent dynamics at the beginning, played at a nice steady tempo. Side drum a little overbearing in all dynamics.
Horn intonation a bit suspect when they held the tune. Bass end could match the rest of the band in the louder dynamics.
Excellent soprano work.

Ulverstone Municpal (Tas)  Christopher Lusted

Own Choice - Connotations  Edward Gregson

Good start and tight playiing. Semi quaver runs not convincing. Intonation problems with the muted cornets. Lovely middle sound in eupho/baris, muted cornet duet not in tune. Semi quaver work good and excellent tempo. More bass needed.

Good percussion work just the right dynamic throughout. Band not always playing together. Lovely cornet solo but seemed to tire towards end of solo. Eupho a little sharp, sounded a little nervous. Some nice work through the slow section. Eb and Bb bass solo not convincing. Good cornet cadenza, this could of been enhanced more with a warmer sound. Outstanding horn cadenza and bravo
eupho. Into suffers and some untidy playing after the good work in the cadenzas. Basses dragging generally throughout.

Good work to the end just got a little harsh and cornets run out of steam.

Stage March - Punchinello  W Rimmer

Good start with excellent dynamic contrast. Good work in troms and eupho/baritones.More bass required in bass solo, cornets a little harsh in this section. Side drum too loud and plays behind the beat. Band seems a little tired at the dc and thru to the end.

Box Hill City (Vic)   David Farrell

Own Choice - Second Suite in F Major   Gustav Holtz

1st Movement - Excellent start with nice warm sound. Excellent bass work in semi quaver work. Basses and troms not together in eupho and bari tune. Euphos a little untidy in the jig section and band not playing together in quaver work.
At the DS not as convincing as at the start. Could do with a warmer eupho/bari sound throughout the tune, sounded a little wooden. Nice full band sound through out this movement.

2nd movement - Unconvincing start. Flugel and solo horn intonation issues. This movement lacks in quality of sound. Too many strained sounds. Bascis ensemble playing was not together.

3rd Movement - Percussion too loud at start of this movement,distracts from the good work the band is putting.

4th Movement - Euphos/baris a little unsettled. Lovely bass sound, lower cornet not together in the jig. Excellent bass work in the tune. Good work in the euph/bari in the tune greensleeves. Good finish to the piece.

Stage March - Eagle Squadron  Kenneth J Alford

Drums usteady with 2 x 3beat rolls. Band lacking in style a little, too rushed and more dynamic contrast needed. Good style change at trio. Not always together though.

Sutherland Shire Brass (NSW)   Warwick Tyrell

Own Choice - The Year of the Dragon  Phillip Sparke

1st Movement - Good tight start,bass end not together, nice work throughout all sections, good balances. Nice cornet and
troms. Troms a little edgey. Excellent finish with muted parts.

2nd Movement - Lovely sound and good work. Flugel and horn nice sounds, early entry bari?, good Eb bass. Well done trom, good sound, very safe job. Nice ensemble work on inner parts under trom solo. Beautiful flugel, feel it could move a little more here, outstanding cornet solo from Phil Edes gorgeous sound. Feel the pp are a little too loud, maybe you are playing it safe? Some beautiful playing leading up to and at the climax of this movement. Good work baris and solo horn.

A little intonation trouble with soprano and horn. Finished off nicely with the trom and flugel/baris.

3rd Movement - Good effort at the start cornet and eupho, excellent soprano on shot notes. Well done eupho and solo cornets. Euho sitting nicely, good bass work. Semiquaver work throughout not bad. Trombone duet not balanced, not enough second trom. A little unsteady in the bass duet. Some fine playing of this work, Bravo.

Best we have heard today so far.

Stage March - Ravenswood  W Rimmer

Excellent start with good attention to detail. Great sound through this opening section. Solo cornet don't try too hard, came across too harsh. Good Bass solo - a little more bass. Maybe accent a little too overdone on DC. Good solo cornet.
Fine sound overall, just be careful not to blow too loud. Excellent style throughout. Well played.

Salisbury City (SA)   Geoff Meikle

Own Choice - Tallis Variations Phillip Sparke

Could do with a little more cornet, excellent trombone sound, shaky muted cornets and intonation. More Bb needed in pedals and intonation dodgy. Shaky tempo and unsteady but lovely horn sound in tune. Band not always together. Some nice sounds through eupho, baritone and flugel. Good work in muted cornet semiquavers. Flugel nice sound, pity about top note, thought band was a little heavy for her. Some nice sounds coming out, just marred by intonation. Generally very musical throughout.

Well done baris, good balance. Nice cornet solo,good horn and eupho solos. Once again it was the back row cornet muted parts untunefullness that got in the way. Bass not fff too overblown and untuneful. Good solo cornet at Jubiloso. Nice work eupho through this section. Basses seem a little disjointed. We feel the band is getting very tired in this loud section. Excellent soprano in the triplets. Finish concluded nicely, but clanging of mutes spoilt the lovely finish.

Stage March - ORB Charles Anderson

Good solid start, bass drum too loud in quieter dynamic. Tidy solo cornet. Good Bass solo, band dynamics too big after the Bass solo, starting to sound a little too heavy. Good bell effect after DC. Looses tempo towards the end.

Hall Village Brass (ACT) Aaron Maddden

Own Choice - Isaiah 40 Robert Redhead

Nice bari solo, 2nd bari a little intonation problem otherwise good balance. Basses too lumpy and more intonation problems. Lost detail in the quicker section in the quieter playing. Some excellent band playing through to the slow section. Nice horn solo and accompaning parts well done. Could do with more of the tune when the whole band is playing, nice interchange between cornet and flugel, the solo cornet gets a bit thin in the lower range as he gets quieter in his solo. Cornets, good effort, outstanding soprano, great sound likewise with the repiano. Good Eb Bass solo, some fine band playing here. Soprano again stunning. Good finish to this section, nice cornet solo in this section, unfortunate end to the cornet solo. Gorgeous eupho solo, band supports this well with some fine ensemble playing. Good work basses. Troms good work with the tune
towards the end, side drum a little over the top in volume. A lot of detail was lost as we felt percussion was too over bearing. A good finish to this great piece of music.

Stage March - Blencathra W Rimmer

Good solid start, cornets play with great style, this sits well with just the right tempo. Good dynamic contrast, fine. Bass solo that wasn't over the top - well done. Best march we feel so far today bravo.

Hobart City Brass(TAS)   Simon Cawthorn

Own Choice - A London Overture Phillip Sparke

Fine start and well balanced. Good muted cornet parts, nice Bass end sound in the tune. Band playing very well, could do with a tad more inner parts. Solo trom and horn, bravo. Continued with cornet/eupho solos. That was a fine section, very well handled. The quicker section flows very nicely through various time signature changes. Good bass work at the end of the quick section and again at the start of the slower section. Nice cornet solo here, could maybe do with a little more horn. The slow section is quiet beautiful, well done. In the bigger dynamic parts of this section the band produces a fine quality of sound, not over the top at all. Some great technique displayed throughout the piece in all sections.

Stage March - The Conqueror J Moorhouse

Good start and continues through to trio. Excellent Bass solo. Good dynamic contrast. A little bit of intonation in the eupho melody line. For such a young band their overall attention to detail and quality is beyond their years. We felt your march surpassed the previous band. Well done.

Maroondah Brass(VIC)   Ron Moore

Own Choice - The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace Jenkins arr. Small

1st Movement - Interesting start, good effects, good trom and foot tapping all in time. You capture the style of this movement very well. Great finish to this movement, awsesome Bass sound.

2nd Movement - Some fine moments in this section - well done. The band has a good quality of sound.

3rd Movement - Good work cornet/troms, good Bass work and kit drumming happening. Band playing well together. Felt that the quieter playing a little loud. Great ending to this movement with plenty of intensity.

4th Movement - Good work percussion at start, felt the cornet duet not quite together and a little hesitant. Nice soprano and euph/bari. Good balance in trom with Basses underneath. A bit of trouble in solo cornet muted section intonation wise with euph,but did come right. A little trouble with flugel/horns. Some fine playing that was only marred by the odd bit of intonation problems. Lovely Euph/flugel. Good sustained Bass work throughout this section. Bass drum and Timp not always together. Nice conclusion to the movement. Excellent soprano work throughout the movement.

5th Movement - Good percussion work, nice and tight. Good Bass, again great depth of sound and some fine cornet work. You build to a very exciting finish.

Stage March - Simoraine Clive Barraclough

Nice start could have done with a little more fp. Excellenet dynamic contrast into a very well played cornet solo. Good Bass end solo one of the better Bass sections we have heard today - great. Triplets roll through nicely back
to repeated section. Bell effects a little uneven. Nice baris in trio. Good trom bell effect. The march concluded with a fine quality of sound. Another band with very few grey hairs, good to see so many talented younger players.

City of Greater Dandenong Brass (VIC)      Colin Lord

Own Choice - Connotations Edward Gregson

A little unsteady semi quavers not convincing in cornets. Good Bass semi quaver work. Good muted cornets, nice steady change in tempo. Took a few bars to settle once it did there was some good playing. Trom and baritones are a little out with the off beat quavers and semi quavers. Solo cornet a little flat in his solo and a little shaky. Nice sop work in muted parts, we feel that the accompaning parts are a little too loud at times. Excellent Bass work at the end of the
slow section going into the quicker section. Secure solo from baritone. Excellent cornet cadenza just a little strained in the higher register. Excellent horn cadenza and superb eupho. The six/eight section flowed along nicely, the solo
cornets running out of steam in the semi quavers. Very steady finish to this work but still well played, overall was a solid job but lacked intensity.

Stage March - Arabian W Rimmer

Good steady tempo.  Could do with a little less side drum throughout the march.  Good bass solo. Cornet soloist intonation issues.  Good soprano. Feel the band is too loud for the cornet soloist.  In the louder dynamic, band sound started to get a little brash and the quality of sound suffered somewhat.

Boroondara Brass Daniel Van Bergen

Own Choice - Endeavour Philip Sparke

Good muted opening in basses.  Troms a little unbalanced.  Excellent muted eupho solo - nice sound.  Basses good tone.  Excellent full band sound throughout especially the bass trom. Maybe a little OTT with the louder dynamic.  Flugel a little shakey and intonation suffered when playing with Eupho.  Lovely cornet and horn solos.  Generally throughout in the full band there were some superb moments.  As we said previously, the louder dynamic was a little too much for the accoustic.

Stage March - Florentiner Julius Fucik arr Barsotti

Cornet sound uneven in the semi's.  Tempo got faster as the band got louder.  Bass solo too loud and well over the top.  If the band held the louder dynamic back in the louder areas of the piece, we feel the band could have been well up there.  Found tempo got quicker and quicker throughout.

Our predictions:

Own Choice:
1. Hobart
2. Sutherland
3. Hall Village

Stage March:
1. Hobart
2. Hall Village
3. Sutherland

Phil Johnston