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Pontins
championships 2001: Our retrospective review of the championship
section and full results
Oh for the annual delights of North Wales in October and the Pontins
Finals. Any of you out there who have come to the Prestatyn Holiday
camp will know, that the weekend is one of cold weather, warm beer,
bizarre entertainment and a pretty good brass band contest.
This year the weather was fine (even warm by Welsh standards), the
beer was still warm; the Saturday night entertainment consisted
of a pop band whose idea of communal signing consisted of a repeated
chorus of “Who’s that Fat Bastard?” and the band
contest was great value.
We’ll cover the other sections elsewhere, but the Championship
contest on the Sunday proved to be a great affair, and produced
worthy winners in the JAG Mount Charles band from Cornwall, who
beat a fair old decent field of bands from around the country to
take home the £2,500 first prize, a replica cheque the size of a
dinner table cloth, a trophy which looked like a mini replica of
the European Cup and the soloist prize. It was a good weekends work
for the band and their conductor Bryan Hurdley.
We managed to get a few comments from Bryan and the judges on a
performance of “Diadem of Gold” that they described as
“slightly head and shoulders above the rest” – so
read on……
The pre contest favourites, and our prediction for glory were Aveley
and Newham, Wingates, Besses, Point of Ayr, Woodfalls and Mount
Charles with Fishburn and Kibworth as our dark horses, and in the
event we did OK with our crystal ball as they came 4th, 10th,15th,
2nd, 5th, 1st with the dark horses coming 12th and 19th. 4 out of
the top 6 ain’t bad is it?
It was also a contest of United Nations proportions in the “dep”
stakes as just about every band on the day had some sort of help
in different departments. Bands such as Fodens, Tredegar, Flowers,
YBS and even Black Dyke sent out their players to bolster the chances
of their new paymasters and it interesting to see some very familiar
faces in unfamiliar (and badly fitting) new uniforms. Still, it’s
a good idea (if a touch unfair on those bands who can’t afford
to pay the wages of sin, or who wish to rely on their own players
to do the job).
The contest got off to a fairly low key start with Staffordshire
and David Maplestone leading off with a performance that could only
gain 16th spot, but was notable for staring the trend for conductors
putting the foot down on the accelerator when it came to the Allegro
Moderato (marked 126 beats). This was the first of many shows that
were just too fast in this section to have any clarity and detail
and so many bands paid the price.
The BTM followed on and gave a worthy performance that featured
some good stuff from the sop and bass trombone and a very strange
sounding cymbal. Still it was a signal that the band has continued
to recover form and 9th place was about right in the placing stakes
for us.
Band number 3 was the favourites Aveley and Newham and they’ll
be travelling back to London very disappointed, because once again
they faltered when the pressure of expectation was upon them. They
had plenty of excellent sections of playing (especially the sop,
who’s a class act) but some individual weaknesses lost them
the chance to win a contest that was so easily in their grasp. It
could become a worrying trend and one they will have to stamp out
if they are hoping to make that final push into the Open come the
next Grand Shield.
Wooley Pritchard Sovereign under Steve Bastable put up a decent
show, which we thought, may have merited higher than 20th, but that’s
contesting for you. Still, it was a musical interpretation, but
they did have a soprano player with the worst fitting jacket in
the world. Longridge up next under the baton of Darrol Barry and
another show bedevilled by too many splits and blips to make headway
against the opposition. We liked the sensible tempo at the Allegro,
but it was a nervous performance from around the stand and they
came home in 22nd place – bloodied but unbowed.
Aston Under Lyne put up a pretty robust effort, which featured some
great work from the solo cornet player throughout and a sensible
reading from John Maines that was balanced and well set out. Just
a few too many accidents may have cost them and we felt something
went wrong in the last few bars, but it was a good return to form
and they got a well-deserved 6th place.
Kibworth and John Berryman were one of our dark horses, but right
from the word go it wasn’t perhaps the best day they’ve
had on the contest stage for a while, with blobs and splits all
over the place. It recovered in places but the damage was done and
12th place was about right. Still, they showed they are no way out
of their depth in this standard of banding. They were followed on
by our other dark horses, Fishburn under Ian Robinson but it sounded
if they had been “nobbled” in the starting stalls. Perhaps
it was the lack of time after the Nationals, for this sounded under
rehearsed and the playing lacked confidence. They are a much better
band than this and this was perhaps a contest they could have done
without. 19th at Pontins shouldn’t disguise the fact that they’ve
had a very good 2001.
Yorkshire Co-operatives and John Roberts put up a brave showing
that owed a lot to some fine solo work off the sop and solo cornet
and a helping hand or three on the cornet section from Fodens. It’s
not often you see Mark Wilkinson playing 4th man down, but he appeared
to enjoy himself no end and the band surely benefited from the Fodens
trio. 14th place was about right for us.
Besses were our tip for a top three spot, but they never quite capitalised
on a fine start and the quicker stuff was far too scrappy and untidy
– another band who paid the price for the speed. Still, they
had a mesmerizing flugel player, who was worth the entry fee alone
– the blokes around us were enthralled! It had its moments
as a performance, but the ensemble work was far too untidy in too
many places to pose a real threat. 15th was a little low for us,
but there’s a good band here none the less.
B.T. under Mike Fowles were good value for their 3rd place and gave
a performance of real merit. Brett Baker from Black Dyke appeared
in the trom section, but it was the work of the solo cornet and
sop that really impressed. It was up tempo in places, but nearly
everything came off in a performance that was well shaped and directed
by the MD and we had no quibbles with the result.
Cottingham have just been promoted this year to the top section
and on this outing they will stay there with some comfort. OK, it
was a bit nervous in the exposed places, but not as bad as many
more fancied bands on the day and they produced a big beefy sound
in the loud bits. The sop had a pretty good day and if they had
slowed the tempo down a bit more in the quicker sections they surely
would have come a bit higher than 13th.
JAG Mount Charles and Bryan Hurdley gave notice of their intent
right from the word go – with 4 percussionists and the use
of Phil Green from Fodens on Bb bass. Judging by the amount of blowing
he had to do by the end of the piece, he will be relieved to get
back on Eb pretty sharply. This was a finely shaped reading from
Bryan Hurdley and he brought out the detail in the music without
ever sacrificing the momentum. All the dynamic and tempo markings
were in proportion and his players were on fine form, with the sop
in particular having a very fine outing and deservedly winning the
solo prize. The solo cornet was excellent and the quality of the
overall band sound was superb. This was a thoroughly good show for
us and one that merited the top prize. 2002 could be a year of real
achievement if they can build on this, because the man in the middle
is more than capable of taking the band to a higher level.
Point of Ayr followed close behind – not just as the next band
on but also in terms of the quality of the overall performance,
which for us was the most musically satisfying of the day. Thomas
Wyss put his marker out right from the start and the sound of the
band was top class. The soloists all had very decent days and the
only problem was a bit of intonation that went astray here and there.
There was some great lower end sounds towards the end and the overall
performance showed why both band and conductor can mix it with the
big boys. Real good stuff and a well deserved 2nd place.
Hepworth seemed to struggle in comparison to what went on before,
but Mark Bentham literally dragged a good show from his charges
after they made a very uncertain start. Pretty good in places, but
it lacked the overall shape and clarity of the two bands before
and they came home in 8th place, which was par for the course for
us.
Parc and Dare have had a rough old time of it over the past few
years, but Craig Roberts and his players put up a decent show that
was undone by the choice of tempo in the quick section and a few
too many frailties from the solo lines in the slow stuff. Still
it’s nice to see them back, even though there’s still
a lot of work to do for them to become contenders again at this
level. 21st was about right.
Rhos Silver have also had a more than difficult year or so, but
they too put up a decent showing under their current name for the
last time. Next year they will called the Wrexham band and even
though they struggled for most of the piece, there were plenty of
signs that the foundations are in place for a recovery and better
times ahead. The solo cornet player in particular was on good form
and we wish them well for 2002. 17th under the circumstances was
a fine return.
Glossop Old were the only band on show on the day that had performed
at the British Open in 2001 (and apologies to everyone for not acknowledging
the fact in our pre contest write up). The great Mark Frost appeared
on bass trombone and added hid usual timbre to proceedings to a
band performance that was more disappointing from a band that has
performed so much better. The sop and solo cornet played very well,
but the ensemble work was so scrappy in places and the intonation
in the middle of the band was astray on more than a couple of occasions.
Perhaps just a band day at the office for Gareth Pritchard and his
band and 18th was their result.
Our friends Soham Comrades made their annual appearance and again
put up a very decent show of things to come 7th. Some excellent
sop work throughout was the highlight for us of a well rounded show
that had some moments of real quality about it. The tempo killed
any real chances to come higher, but we would like to hear more
of this band. Congratulations Mister Ager.
SWT Woodfalls appeared on stage with Peter Parkes at the helm and
right from the word go they sounded real contenders. The sop player
was excellent and Ian Porthouse on solo cornet oozing class. It
was going so very well, but the horns were for the most part of
the piece way out of tune and this may have cost them. An excellent
middle movement should have been the prelude to victorious ride
for home, but the wheels fell off somewhat with a real dodgy moment
before the end section and it was a rather tame ending to what could
have been a winner. 5th place was the reward.
Yeovil Town put a decent fist of it as well with a good quality
opening. The band sound was a bit harsh in the louder sections but
the sop and solo cornet had very good days and there was some lovely
flugel playing. We thought the overblowing may have cost them in
places, as it started to get a bit OTT but we could see why their
4th place at the Regionals was well deserved. A good showing from
Phil Bailey and the band for 11th place.
Finally Wingates with Brian Grant at the helm for what we thought
could well be a performance of quality. It was for the most part
as they had the big beefy sound that you expect from a top class
outfit, but it was very big in places and the intonation was more
than a little suspect when it was a quieter dynamic. The poor old
sop fought a losing battle with a sticky third valve, but also had
a few moments of self induced failure as well, but the euph was
excellent and the solo cornet had a lovely sweet tone. Too many
slips (both mechanical and human) cost them any chance of coming
any higher than 10th and they will see this as an opportunity lost.
A bit of a wait for the results, but no real surprises when they
came. Most people had the top 4 or 5 and Mount Charles were good
value for the win. Bryan Hurdley was very pleased at the way the
band played and commented to us that he felt the piece was one of
the most underestimated of the repertoire and that it was a great
test. He also commented that 19 of the players on the stage with
the band had come up through their excellent Youth band and that
he thoroughly enjoyed working with them as they gave 100% commitment
to the cause. He felt sure that their performances would be up and
about the top at the end of the day, but was delighted for the band
that they had repeated their triumph of 1999. With that he was off
to join the celebrations.
The two adjudicators were also impressed and they commented to us
after the results that they felt that the winning performance just
stood above the rest in terms of the technical as well as the musical
aspects. Both David Read and Derek Broadbent felt it was a worthy
test for the bands at this level and that it had found out many
conductors as well as players.
So, 4BarsRest had survived a weekend in Pontins and had to endure
a 5 hour journey back home, whilst others got ready for a wild night
of celebration and commiseration in the bar. The serious stuff was
over and the partying was just about to begin. Lucky sods.
Test Piece:
Diadem of Gold (G. Bailey arr. F. Wright)
The results:
Adjudicators:
David Read and Derek Broadbent
The results for the Championship are as follows:
1 JAG Mount Charles: (B. Hurdley)
2 Point of Ayr: (T. Wyss)
3 B.T. (M. Fowles)
4 Aveley and Newham: (N. Taken)
5 SWT Woodfalls: (P. Parkes)
6 Ashton Under Lyne: (J. Maines)
7 Soham Comrades: (M. Ager)
8 Hepworth: (M. Bentham)
9 BTM: (D. Stowell)
10 Wingates: (B. Grant)
11 Yeovil Town: (P. Bailey)
12 Kibworth: (J. Berryman)
13 Cottingham: (R. Grantham)
14 Yorkshire Cooperatives: (J. Roberts)
15 Besses O' th' Barn: (G. Pritchard)
16 Staffordshire: (D. Maplestone)
17 Rhos: (W. Ruston)
18 Glossop Old: (G. Pritchard)
19 Fishburn: (I. Robinson)
20 Wooley Pritchard Sovereign: (S. Bastable)
21 Parc and Dare: (C. Roberts)
22 Longridge: (D. Barry)
Best soloist:
Soprano: JAG Mount Charles
© 4BarsRest
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