Tameside Youth

Sellers International Youth Band and Mark Bousie take the Tameside Youth Open Contest at Tameside Hippodrome, Ashton Under Lyne.

Playing tenth out of eleven competing bands, Sellers' programme included two Peter Meechan compositions, Fanfare for a Festival and Apex, a cornet solo featuring Joe Murray; Volero, the march Goldcrest, Irish Blessing and concluding with The Can Can.

In addition to taking the first prize, Sellers also took the awards for having the Best Cornet, Basses and Percussion Section on the day.

Impressive year

Victory here, rounds off an impressive year for Sellers International Youth after fourth place at the Action Research Youth Entertainment Contest in February, a Gold Award at the National Youth Championships, followed by further success at the Bray Pogson contest and second in the Youth category at the Brighouse Hymn and March contest.

Not content with that 2007 has also seen the band being declared Pontins Champions in the B Section in June before a few days later the band made it's debut at the National Festival of Music for Youth at Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Gobsmacked

Speaking with 4BR after the results, conductor, Mark Bousie was 'gobsmacked but delighted to have won and it rounds off a fantastic year', by taking the title and praised his band for their commitment and spirit after what has been a 'difficult time for everybody' with the news that the senior band was to fold.

Chris Jeans and Youth Brass 2000 included in its programme, Scenes du Lac, the test piece in the Community Section at the National Youth Championships in April and this helped them take Second Place with Andy Hirst's Poynton Youth in third place and the four-times defending champion, Smithills in fourth.

Continued Council support

The contest was once again supported by the Arts and Leisure Department within Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council who also support the annual Tameside Open in March, Whit Friday and the British Open Solo and Quartet Championships held two weekends ago.

The results are as follows:

1st Sellers International Youth, Mark Bousie, 184;
2nd Youth Brass 2000, Chris Jeans, 183;
3rd Poynton Youth, Andy Hirst, 179;
4th Smithills, Chris Wormald, 178;

Best Cornet: Sellers International
Best Basses: Sellers International
Best Percussion: Sellers International
Best Horn: Flugel, Stockport Schools
Best Trombone: Bass Trombone, Fred Longworth School
Best Euphonium: Youth Brass 2000
Youngest Player: Boarshurst Youth

Other competing bands

Boarshurst Youth, D Redfearn
Dobcross Youth, Brian Lamb
Fred Longworth School
Elland Youth, Samantha Harrison
Lions Youth, Nigel Birch
Macclesfield Youth, Louise Renshaw
Stockport Schools, Colin Duxbury

The adjudicator was Richard Marshall

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