There was an excellent day of brass band contesting in Weston Super Mare on the weekend, with bands from the West of England, London, Midlands and Wales making the trip to seaside to perform in the town’s Winter Gardens.

Thanks to the glorious weather and slick organisation from John Woods and Brian Elliott of SWBBA and stewarding support from members of Weston Brass, the hall was packed with listeners throughout the day.

Adjudicators David Thornton and Chris Wormald also enjoyed a wide selection of own choice repertoire too.

Championship Section:

In the joint Championship/First Section, Sandhurst Silver conducted by Ian McElligott (above) took the Town Mayor’s Cup and the £200 first prize back up the M4 motorway thanks to a fine performance of ‘Tallis Variations’.

It proved good enough to just pip Leicestershire Co-operative’s well delivered rendition of ‘Royal Parks’, with rising star Harry Lear, aged just 13, claiming the Bill Buzza Memorial Award as the best solo cornet.

Third place went to Lympstone SW Telecoms with their performance of ‘Journey into Freedom’.

Second Section:

There was real West of England battle in the Second Section, where Cornish challengers St Keverne directed by Gareth Churcher claimed the Bailey Trophy and £150 first prize with a reprise of the recent Area set work, ‘The Plantagenets’.

Paul Villers was presented with the Fred Trego Memorial Trophy as ‘Best Euphonium’ after catching the ear of adjudicator David Thornton.

AW Parker (Drybrook) entered into the seaside musical spirit with a well delivered performance of ‘Oceans’ to come runner-up, with Cheltenham qualifiers Pendennis Brass Falmouth ending third on ‘Trittico’.

Third Section:

Welsh challengers Pontypool Brass rounded off a busy contest weekend by crossing the Severn Bridge to claim victory in the Third Section under the baton of horn star Owen Farr.

They put behind them the disappointment of coming out of the prizes at the Ebbw Vale contest 24 hours earlier by giving a commanding reprise of ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’ to claim the Sun Life Stanshawe Award and the £100 first prize.

Thomas Coaches Mid Rhondda also reprised their Ebbw Vale own choice selection of ‘Kaleidoscope’ to come runner-up for the second time in two days, with their experienced bass section taking the W Hurst Memorial Trophy for their fine individual efforts. Bratton Silver was third playing ‘Chorale and Toccata’.

Fourth Section:

The Fourth Section contest played out to recent Area form with South Molton under the direction of Gil Taylor claiming the Weston Super Mare Trophy and £100 first prize thanks to their well delivered reprise of ‘A Devon Fantasy’.

Corsham Borough’s solid rendition of ‘A Salford Sinfonietta’ saw them snatch second place from Tiverton’s ‘Four Cities Symphony’, with the band’s principal cornet Tina Pillivant taking the ‘Best Instrumentalist’ award.

The prizes were presented by Susan Oldfield, Secretary-elect for the Council of West of England Brass Band Associations and Alan McMurray Chairman of North Somerset Council.

Thanks to the glorious weather and slick organisation from John Woods and Brian Elliott of SWBBA and stewarding support from members of Weston Brass, the hall was packed with listeners throughout the day4BR

Results:

Championship Section/First Section:
Adjudicator: David Thornton

1. Sandhurst Silver (Ian McElligott) — 195
2. Leicestershire Co-operative (Graham Jacklin) — 194
3. Lympstone SW Telecoms (Charles Fleming) -192
4. Llwydcoed — 191
5. Hyde — 190
6. Verwood Concert Brass — 189
7. Forest of Dean — 188
8. Lewis Merthyr — 187

Best Cornet Player: Harry Lear (Leicestershire Co-operative)

Second Section:
Adjudicator: David Thornton

1. St Keverne (Gareth Churcher) — 192
2. AW Parker (Drybrook) (Josh Ruck) — 191
3. Pendennis Brass Falmouth (Steve Thomas) — 188
4. Bream Silver — 186
5. City Of Bristol — 185
6. Soundhouse Brass — 184

Blaenavon Town (Disqualified)

Best Euphonium: Paul Villers (St Keverne)

Third Section:
Adjudicator: Chris Wormald

1. Pontypool Brass (Owen Farr) — 188
2. Thomas Coaches Mid Rhondda (A F Gibbs) — 187
3. Bratton Silver (Simon Carr) — 185
4. Newport Borough — 184
5. Ynyshir — 183
6. Pillowell Silver — 181

Best Bass Section: Thomas Coaches Mid Rhondda

Fourth Section:
Adjudicator: Chris Wormald

1. South Molton (Gil Taylor) — 176
2. Corsham (Colin Hogg) — 174
3. Tiverton Town (David Boorer) — 173
4. Malvern Hills District Brass — 172
5. Totnes — 171

Best Soloist: Tina Pillivant (cornet) -Tiverton Town