At his 15th attempt David King has led a band to be crowned Champion Band of Great Britain.
Odyssey
Directing Brighouse & Rastrick in a performance described by the judges as 'musically outstanding', and by David Read as, '...so beautifully in tune, so detailed, so expressive', the Australian capped his personal odyssey to claim the one major title to elude him since he first started conducting at the Royal Albert Hall contest in 1987.
Four second places, three thirds, three fifths and a sixth have come his way, but at around 6.00pm his quest ended with the announcement that the band from West Riding had won their first National title since 1998.
Iconic trophy
And as the man who has done so much to inspire so many winning performances at major contests around the banding world held aloft the iconic trophy, his players serenaded him with an impromptu whistled version of 'Advance Australia Fair' in recognition of their joint achievement.
The conductor graciously paid tribute to his 'wonderful band', as well as the composer of the test piece, 'Terra Australis' – Martin Ellerby, and savoured the moment before taking time to be interviewed by 4BR prior to a quick dash to Heathrow airport and a trip back to his beloved homeland.
Interview
Lifetime performance
For Brighouse & Rastrick it was a long overdue victory at a contest they dominated at the end of the 1990s, with Band President, Paul Beaumont telling 4BR that it was, 'a performance of a lifetime'.
With the players enjoying every moment to be photographed with the huge silver trophy, there was little time to reflect on a highly enjoyable contest day, which saw the band from West Riding deny their greatest rivals, Black Dyke, their place in the history books as National hat trick victors.
And as the man who has done so much to inspire so many winning performances held aloft the iconic trophy, his band serenaded him with a whistled version of 'Advance Australia Fair' in recognition of their joint achievement4BR
Gasps
There were audible gasps around the famous arena as the name of Brighouse & Rastrick was announced as the 2010 winners, with many people believing that the Queensbury band had done enough to secure a historic win.
It was not to be however, and despite delivering a formidable performance under the direction of Dr Nicholas Childs, Black Dyke had to be content with 8th place.
Disappointment
There was disappointment too for the British Open champions Tredegar, as they couldn’t provide their large band of travelling supporters with another major title to their name after a slightly error strewn performance gave them 7th place.
However, the adjudication trio of David Read MBE, Derek Broadbent and Dr Chris Davies OBE, were clear in their opinion about the winners, and the top three podium placed bands in particular, saying that it needed 'a fag paper' to separate them out – although they were in their opinion, 'quite a margin' ahead of the rest of the 20 band field
Delight
The announcement of the top six places saw shouts of delight from the travelling band of Virtuosi GUS supporters, after they came 6th under the direction of the experienced John Berryman, whilst there was also a return to good contesting fortune for Leyland, as the North West band came 5th under Philip Harper.
Confirmation
There was further confirmation of Rothwell Temperance's place amongst the big players at the major contests with their second successive top four finish, whilst Fairey (Geneva) also showed that they are once again serious contenders for major honours with a well deserved third placed podium finish.
As the encouragingly large crowd at the Albert Hall waited with bated breath, the announcement of Cory under Robert Childs as runner up seemed to set the scene for a historic Yorkshire victory — but it was not for Black Dyke.
As the roar of victory came from the supporters and players of Brighouse & Rastrick it was the band from West Riding that claimed their 8th National title and for the undoubted 'Wizard of Oz' – Professor David King, his long awaited first.
Results:
Saturday 9th October
Test Piece: 'Terras Australis' — Martin Ellerby
Draw: 8.30am
Commence: 10.00am
Adjudicators: Derek Broadbent, David Read MBE, Dr Chris Davis OBE
Results
1. Brighouse & Rastrick, Professor David King, 15
2. Cory, Dr Robert Childs, 10
3. Fairey (Geneva), Russell Gray, 6
4. Rothwell Temperance, David Roberts, 14
5. Leyland, Philip Harper, 16
6. Virtuosi GUS, John Berryman 4
7. Tredegar, Ian Porthouse, 5
8. Black Dyke, Dr Nicholas Childs, 18
9. Fodens, Allan Withington, 11
10. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery, Philip McCann, 1
11. Tongwynlais Temperance, Nigel Seaman, 2
12. Aveley & Newham, Nigel Taken, 20
13. Flowers, Paul Holland, 13
14. Desford Colliery, Garry Cutt, 8
15. Reg Vardy, Ray Farr, 17
16. Whitburn, Frank Renton, 12
17. Redbridge, Jeremy Wise, 9
18. Camborne Town, Richard Evans, 3
19. NUSUWT Riverside, Ian Robinson, 19
20. Co-operative Funeralcare, Michael Fowles, 7
Best Instrumentalist: Dominic Morrell, Soprano — Cory
