Macclesfield Youth Band was crowned the new Brass Factor Holmfirth champion at a fabulous evening of entertainment at the town's Picturedrome venue on the weekend. The event also raised £500 for the Wellchild children's charity.
32 zombies
And the band under MD Louise Renshaw literally scared off the strong competition from their podium finishing rivals Hope Bank Youth Band and BD1 Brass, with their Halloween themed programme featuring a 32 member Zombie band, led by Louise as Morticia Addams and Uncle Fester as the compere!
Not only did the band win the overall first prize, but also claimed the 'Audience Vote' award and the 'Best Soloist' accolade, thanks to a brilliant performance by 14-year-old Alex Walton on xylophone.
Commenting on Alex's performance, one of the judges said. "Wow! He's such a talented young player with a great future. What a star."
Meanwhile, after the results, another judge added: "I can see why 120 young people turn up to play in this band every Friday night — it's so much fun. All power to Macclesfield Youth Band, every town should have an organisation like this."
Great night
For Musical Director Louise Renshaw though, all her praise was heaped on her players. "This was a great night for the youth band, competing against some notable adult bands. This has been our best competition result to date.
We'd worked really hard to include a lot of drama and fun in our set and the audience reaction was amazing. The players were fantastic, totally getting into the spirit of it."
That was also the element that Alex Bray, founder of Brass Factor told 4BR made the event such a success: "We sold out prior to the night and had the biggest audience Brass Factor had ever seen! Everyone was brilliant."
We'd worked really hard to include a lot of drama and fun in our set and the audience reaction was amazing. The players were fantastic, totally getting into the spirit of itMD, Louise 'Morticia' Renshaw
Wetherby
This year's Wetherby Brass Factor will take place on 18th November at the Engine Shed Wetherby, attracting top celebrity judges and the most talented brass bands in the region.
Meanwhile, the new champions next performance will be at St Michael's Church in Macclesfield on Saturday 11th November organised by Macclesfield Castle Rotary Club.
Result:
1. Macclesfield Youth Band
2. Hope Bank Youth Band
3. BD1 Brass
Other competing bands: Wakefield Metropolitan, Old Silkstone, Besses o'th' Barn
For more information visit: www.mybb.org.uk
Photo Credit: Rachael
