2008 New Zealand Championships

Retrospective: A Grade

Brisbane Excelsior were annointed as the best competing band in the Southern Hemisphere...

Without one of New Zealand’s marquee bands – Dalewool Auckland Brass – the 2008 version of New Zealand’s longest running music festival, threatened to be less compelling than usual. Fortunately, there were enough other elements – a controversial adjudicator appointment, a classic test piece, the presence of Australasia’s pre-eminent band, the return of David Gallagher to A Grade conducting and some very interesting results – to keep everyone awake.

Simone Rebello is universally regarded as a virtuoso musician. Her own banding experience is top drawer – time in the Fodens Band under Howard Snell. She is still early in her career as a top flight brass band adjudicator and not everyone celebrated her appointment as chief adjudicator of this year’s contest.

Horovitz’s Ballet for Band has been one of the classics of the band repertoire for over two decades now. What it lacks in A Grade technical challenge, it more than makes up for in the complex musical questions it asks both band and conductor. It was fascinating for us to see and hear that it’s still being underestimated and misunderstood, even by some of the very best in the business.

The Christchurch Town Hall is a wonderful venue for bands. Players don’t need to do anything special or extra to get their sound across – it’s arguably one of the finest contest venues in the world. Under contest manager extraordinaire, Helen Hoy, things ran smoothly and without hiccup. She’ll be sorely missed and her successor has big shoes to fill.

It was with some anticipation that we took our seats – not far from the adjudicator’s box – late Friday and Saturday afternoons.

Brisbane Excelsior are in the midst of an incredible run of contest success. We didn’t think they brought their A game to Christchurch but it was still enough to win. Their rendition of Kenneth Downie’s Peace was beautiful and their performance of Ballet for Band was full of dark humour. Their own choice, Harmony Music, was replete with very fine playing – just not, for us, the majestic, in-your-face, magic stuff we’ve grown accustomed to. It was enough for the lady in the box and that’s all that mattered.

Marlborough District Brass had a result that will have them dancing in the streets of sunny Blenheim. Lead by the charismatic Kevin Moseley, this band hasn’t been in the A Grade long and here they finished ahead of every other New Zealand band. After their sacred piece Reflections in Nature and the test, we had them in the frame. After their own choice Journey to the Centre of the Earth we’d relegated them to 6th place. They’re full of fine players but we don’t think the ensemble always gels – probably a reflection of the number of players who don’t get to rehearse with the band as much as the MD might like. The adjudicator liked them very much and they finished runners-up.

Ascot Park Hotel Brass, from Invercargill, have not had a great result in a few years. This year they were lead by former Woolston MD David Gallagher and produced some of the most musical playing of the weekend. Their hymn I know Thou Art Mine and test were well shaped and their own choice Dances and Arias was full of excitement. They may lack A Grade quality players in a few chairs but they also have some fine talent and experience and Gallagher showed what a musical architect he is. They thoroughly deserved their third placing.

Third equal with Ascot Park were Woolston Brass. This result was met with shock by many. We thought both their test and own choice Music of the Spheres were top drawer – more muscular and exciting than anything we’ve heard from this fine band in years. With the exception of a close call just before Asteroids, the playing was world-class and a pleasure for us to hear.

Unbeknownst to all of us, Woolston were out of the running before they played the first note of the test. Unlike last years, when Nigel Boddice scored all sacred items within a narrow band (recognizing the relativity of the hymn to the test and own choice), Simone Rebello chose to spread the ten bands over eight points. She didn’t like Woolston’s sacred piece Eventide as much as we and much of the audience did and they were six back of XLCR after three minutes of playing. Surely this, combined with the Gunnedah debacle of 2006, will cause the BBANZ to have a good hard think about how the scoring of the sacred piece can skew the result of a contest.

In fifth place were St. Kilda Brass from Dunedin. Their interesting version of Faure’s Agnus Dei from the Requiem just didn’t work for us. Then again, we do own about a dozen different CDs of the Faure requiem so maybe we’re a little obsessive about this tune? Their test never really caught our fancy and we had them down the field after Friday night. The adjudicator placed them third in each. Saturday was a different story for us. We loved their performance of Pageantry – class stuff all around. Simone had them sixth equal. What do we know?

North Shore Brass were a dark horse for many prognosticators. They’ve attracted some fine, experienced players augmented by several members of the Auckland Phil brass and percussion sections and soprano cornet Martin Britt from Desford. Their version of I Know Thou Art Mine appealed to us and after an indifferent start their test piece picked up momentum as it progressed. Their own choice Year of the Dragon combined some very fine playing with some of the loudest percussion we’ve ever heard. This is a band with a great deal of promise. They were sixth equal.

It was a slight surprise to us that Canterbury Brass were sixth equal with North Shore. It was good to see them return to contesting this year and we hope this signals the beginning of better times for them. Their sacred piece Reflections in Nature and the test were a mixed bag and their own choice Elgar Variations took a long time to get going but, towards the end, we saw glimpses of potential – certainly something to build on.

In eighth place were Australian visitors Brisbane Brass. We had heard of player unavailability and it was a very young band that took the stage. In the past we’ve enjoyed hearing this band – this time was a less satisfying experience all around. Their sacred piece I’ll Walk With God had issues of balance and intonation and their version of Ballet for Band would have surely been one of the most difficult to dance to. Their own choice Dances and Alleluias stretched them significantly. A forgettable contest for them – at least musically.

The ‘Trusts’ Waitakere Brass are not the band they used to be. Those who heard them in Newcastle in 2003 wouldn’t recognise them now. They have a fine MD and all the chairs seem to be full so, hopefully, a good rebuilding program is underway. In their sacred piece – the ubiquitous I Know Thou Art Mine – and test, the cornet section just couldn’t match the sound of the rest of the band. The best thing that could be said about their own choice Music for Battle Creek, was that it might be a good rehearsal for the Australian Open in October – although we fear that without cornet reinforcements, they’ll struggle to make an impression there as well.

Finally, there was Moreland City Band. While it was nice to see a Victorian band make the trip to New Zealand, this band didn’t always sound like an A Grade band. Their sacred piece Melita by Woolston soprano player Colin Clark, never gelled and both their test and own choice Elgar Variations seemed beyond them. We think that finishing only one point behind Waitakere was a surprisingly good result for them.

In her comments, the eloquent Simone Rebello said that the result was “In my opinion…….”.  She also talked about things like intonation being a ‘given’ at this level and the fact that she was looking for those “put my pen down and listen” moments. Whatever her criteria, she delivered a result that left ecstatic Queenslanders and devastated Cantabrians.

Next year’s Napier contest is one week after the Australian Nationals so we only have to wait nine months for the next installment – complete with Professor David King in the box. With Dalewool back in the frame, Woolston hungrier than ever for a win and a Wellington band back in the A Grade there’s plenty of reason to make your bookings now.

David Chaulk