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2003 North of England Regional Qualifying
Championships
First Section
Sunday 16th March
Starts: 9.30am
Adjudicator: Colin Hardy
Test Piece: Passacaglia on a Theme of Brahms -
Arthur Butterworth
The First Section should prove to be an interesting contest for
Colin Hardy to enjoy and should test the bands here to the full.
How many will come through unscathed will be another matter as this
is a test piece that will take casualties.
Still, plenty of decent outfits and with just Pride Valley coming
up from the Second Section to replace the two bands promoted it
is very much the same line up as last year as no band has come down
from the top section. How that will pan out then will be interesting,
but what the bands need to do here is to perform well come the National
Finals. No North of England band has won the National and it is
about time some silverware made it’s way back to some of these
bandrooms. In fact the best position has been a couple of 7th places
and an 8th last year. Not too great eh?
Aunt Bessies EY Brass
Conductor: Tim Oldroyd
Last Year: 9th
Last Seven Years:
2002: 9th
2001: 3rd
2000: 9th Championship (rel)
1999: 9th Championship
1998: 5th 1st Section (prom)
1997: N/K
1996: N/K
Aunt Bessie’s fell away last year when they came 9th here
under the baton of M. Davison and have turned to Tim Oldroyd who
directed Lanbaurgh to victory last year in the 2nd Section. They
were promoted to the Championship in 1999 but last just the two
years and returned in 2001 when they put in a solid show to come
3rd. Could well feature again.
Barrow Shipyard
Conductor: J. Durrant
Last Year: 4th (as BAE Marine Systems)
Last Seven Years:
2002: 4th
2001: 8th
2000: 7th Championship (rel)
1999: 10th Championship
1998: 6th Championship
1997: 2nd (prom)
1996: 3rd
The talented John Durrant takes the reins at Barrow for their assault
this year after they came 4th last year under the direction Derek
Broadbent. They fell from the Championship Section after coming
7th in 2000 and put in a solid enough showing to come 8th in 2001.
They improved rapidly on that last year and they will surely be
looking for a further leap up the table and a possible qualification
spot.
Boldon Colliery
Conductor: TBA (THIS BAND HAS WITHDRAWN)
Last Year: 5th
Last Seven Years:
2002: 5th
2001: 7th
2000: 2nd
1999: N/K
1998: 2nd
1997: N/K
1996: N/K
Bolden were 4th Section National Champions as far back as 1984 under
G. Rowell and since then they have had a few good years mixed wit
the bad. They came runners up here in 1998 when they went on to
come 15th at the Nationals and repeated that qualification again
in 2000 when they went on to come 17th at Harrogate. Since then
they have dropped away slightly and came 5th in 2001 and 7th last
year when they were directed by Chris Bentham. At the moment we
don’t know who will be taking the band, so we will have to
wait and see.
Easington Colliery
Conductor: D. Dye
Last Year: 6th
Last Seven Years:
2002: 6th
2001: 9th
2000: 7th
1999: 7th Championship (rel)
1998: 8th Championship
1997: N/K
1996: N/K
The experienced David Dye will direct Easington, a band that we
remember used to be regular contenders for the top prizes in the
Championship Section and were competing at London in 1986. They
have flitted back and forth since then but the last time they were
in the top section was 1999when they were relegated after coming
7th. The last three years they have struggled a touch here as well
although they came 6th last time out. A top six place should be
on the cards if they play to form.
Flookburgh
Conductor: J. Iveson
Last Year: 10th
Last Seven Years:
2002: 10th
2001: DNC
2000: DNC
1999: 4th
1998: 3rd
1997: 4th
1996: N/K
The well known brass musician and composer John Iveson directs Flookburgh
who are making their second consecutive appearance after a couple
of years away from the contest stage. They came 10th last year,
but that was a decent result seeing that it was the first year back
and if they have strengthened the ranks further in the past 12 months
they should be looking for a slightly higher placing come results
time. Not quite as good as the three years before their break but
they should be capable of taking a few scalps.
BHK (UK) Ltd. Horden
Conductor: W. Beddell
Last Year: 7th
Last Seven Years:
2002: 7th
2001: 4th 2nd Section (prom)
2000: 4th 2nd Section
1999: 4th 2nd Section
1998: 9th 2nd Section
1997: 3rd 3rd Section (prom)
1996: 4th 3rd Section
Horden are a band that seems to be heading in the right direction
and seem to doing it in a solid fashion. Some bands rise like Icarus
only to fall back to earth with a bump but Horden’s rise has
been well measured. They came 4th in the 3rd Section back in 1996
but were promoted the following year whilst they had three consecutive
4th places in the 2nd Section before being promoted again. 7th last
year was OK but if they continue their form they should find themselves
well within the top six.
Kirbymoorside
Conductor: J. Woodward
Last Year: 8th
Last Seven Years:
2002: 8th
2001: 5th
2000: 5th
1999: 3rd
1998: DNC
1997: N/K
1996: N/K
Since 1999 when they came 3rd Kirbymoorside have fallen away somewhat
and after two 5th places in 2000 and 2001 they came 8th last year.
They will be wanting to improve on that for sure but it is difficult
to see them doing it. They were also third here back in 1995 so
they can play well here. Is their luck due to change?
Pride Valley
Conductor: B. Morton
Last Year: 5th 2nd Section (prom)
Last Seven Years:
2002: 5th 2nd Section (prom)
2001: 3rd 2nd Section
2000: 3rd 2nd Section
1999: N/K
1998: N/K
1997: N/K
1996: N/K
After the nonsense of a couple of years ago Pride Valley gained
promotion to this section after coming 5th last year in the 2nd
Section. The very experienced Bob Morton is at the helm once more
and he took Gateshead to the title here last year so he knows exactly
what it takes to win in this section. Whether Pride Valley can do
that is another matter as they could only manage 5th in the lower
section a twelve month ago. If they beat a couple of bands and hold
their own we think it could be a decent return.
Westoe (STHCT)
Conductor: J. Smith
Last Year: 3rd
Last Seven Years:
2002: 3rd
2001: Winners 2nd Section (prom)
2000: 2nd 2nd Section
1999: 3rd 3rd Section (prom)
1998: Winners 4th Section
1997: N/K
1996: N/K
Westoe (the STHCT stands for South Tyneside Healthcare Trust) did
very well indeed here last year and came 3rd and just missed out
on third consecutive trip to the National Finals by a point. They
are certainly a band on the up though and since winning the 4th
Section in 1998 they have shot up the sections. That 4th section
win led them to come 13th at the Finals, whilst their runners up
spot in 2000 saw them not compete. They came 11th in 2001 in Preston.
They should be one of the bands to watch out for here though and
could well feature highly.
Past Winners:
2002: Gateshead Brass
2001: Harrogate
2000: Cottingham
1999: Gregg’s Bakery
1998: Cottingham
1997: Skipton
1996: East Yorkshire Brass
1995: EYMS
1994: Easington Colliery
1993: Flimby Saxhorn
1992: Northumbria Police
Winning Conductors:
2002: R. Morton
2001: D. Lancaster
2000: R. Grantham
1999: J. Shepherd
1998: R. Grantham
1997: H. Lorriman
1996: R. Tait
1995: R. Childs
1994: R. Curran
1993: I. Porthouse
1992: R. Curran
Test Pieces:
2002: Royal Parks – G. Lloyd
2001: The Undaunted – E. Ball
2000: Music for the Common Man – K. Downie
1999: Kenilworth – A. Bliss
1998: Purcell Variations – K. Downie
1997: Ballet for Band – J. Horovitz
1996: Spectrum – G. Vinter
1995: Land of the Long White Cloud – P. Sparke
1994: Maoriana – A. Butterworth
1993: The Forest of Dean – D. Bourgeois
1992: Celebration – E. Gregson
Adjudicators:
2002: R. Roe
2001: M. Brownbill
2000: B. Thompson
1999: N/K
1998: G. Richards
1997: B. Thompson
1996: N/K
1995: D. Wilby
Past Qualifiers:
2002: Gateshead Brass, Harrogate
2001: Harrogate, Broughton’s Brass
2000: Cottingham, Boldon
1999: Gregg’s Bakery, Rowntree
1998: Cottingham, Boldon Colliery
1997: Skipton, Vickers Barrow
1996: East Yorkshire Brass, Skipton
1995: EYMS, Boldon Colliery
North of England Bands at the Finals:
2002: 8th, 18th
2001: 15th, 16th
2000: 12th, 17th
1999: 7th, 16th
1998: 7th, 15th
Last Years Result:
1. Gateshead Brass – R. Morton 189pts
2. Harrogate – D. Lancaster 188pts
3. Westoe STHCT – J. Smith 187pts
4. BAE Systems Marine – D. Broadbent 185pts
5. Bolden Colliery – C. Bentham 183pts
6. Easington Colliery – D. Dye 181pts
7. Horden Colliery – J. Beddell 179pts
8. Kirbymoorside Town – J. Woodward 178pts
9. Aunt Bessie’s EYB – M. Davison 177pts
10. Flookburgh – J. Iveson 176pts
11. Spennymoor Town – P. Cutler 175pts
4BR Prediction:
A difficult one to predict but there are a couple of bands that
stand out as going in the right direction and this could be the
year for them to make a bid for promotion to the top section as
well as a trip to Dundee. That’s why we have gone for Westoe
who seem to heading right there, Barrow who are on the upward swing
and Easington to battle it out. After that we can see Aunt Bessies,
Horden and Aunt Bessies making up the top six with Kirbymoorside
more than capable of making a mark.
1. Westoe (STHCT)
2. Barrow Shipyard
3. Easington
4. Aunt Bessies
5. Horden
6. Pride Valley
Dark Horse: Kirbymoorside
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