The annual North Wales Band Association Rally took place at The John Ambrose Theatre in Ruthin on the weekend, where there was a fine display of the growing strength in depth in standards despite the disappointing number of entries.

Praise

Adjudicator, Dr Brett Baker was fulsome in his praise for the efforts of the youth bands and for the work put in by their conductors and trainers. He was also impressed by the standard of the bands in Section Four which he admitted was not always the case at many other contests.

There was some notable playing on show despite the lack of rival competition though, with Open Section winner Llanrug (above) producing excellent accounts of the march, 'On the Quarter Deck' and their own choice of 'Resurgam', whilst Royal Buckley also showed fine form in Section 2 with their winning performances of 'The Saga of Haakon the Good' and 'Ravenswood'.

Ample evidence

Elsewhere there was ample evidence that North Wales will send down some serious contenders to battle it out at the Welsh Regional Championship next March.

Hollywell produced classy performances on 'Partita' and their march 'The Senator' to take the Section 4 honours, whilst the fantastic work undertaken by the local community bands in developing the next generation of talented Welsh players was certainly heard in the Youth and Training Sections.

Dr Baker's offer to speak with any of the bands about their adjudication at the end of the day was also particularly welcomed.

Adjudicator, Dr Brett Baker was fulsome in his praise for the efforts of the youth bands and for the work put in by their conductors and trainers4BR

Results:

Open Section:
Adjudicator: Dr Brett Baker

1. Llanrug (Paul Hughes)

Best March: Llanrug
Best Soloist- Owain Llestyn Thomas (cornet) — Llanrug
Iwan Williams Memorial Trophy for Best Flugel of the Day: Rebecca Roberts (Llanrug)

Section 2:
Adjudicator: Dr Brett Baker

1. Royal Buckley Town (Scott Lloyd)
2. Newtown Silver (Steve Edwards)

Best March: Newtown Silver
Best Solo Cornet: David Gardner(Newtown)
Best Bass Trombone: Patrick Sterling (Newtown)

Section 4:
Adjudicator: Dr Brett Baker

1. Holywell (Aled Williams)
2. Porthaethwy (Chris Williams)
3. Royal Oakley (John Glyn Jones)
4. Dyffryn Nantlle (Gwenllian Jones)

Best March: Porthaethwy
Best Soloist: Alan Jones (cornet) — Royal Oakley

Section 5:
Adjudicator: Dr Brett Baker

1. Llandudno Training Band (Sue Hughes)
2. Porthaethwy Intermediate (Hannah Retallick)

Best Soloist: Rhys Lewis (Porthaethwy)

Section 6a:
Adjudicator: Dr Brett Baker

1. Beaumaris Youth (Gwyn Evans)
2. Deiniolen Youth (Osian Tomos)

Best Hymn: Deiniolen
Best Soloist: Richard Efans (soprano) — Deiniolen

Section 6b:
Adjudicator: Dr Brett Baker

1. Llangollen Youth (Trevor Williams)
2. Dyffryn Nantlle Youth (Charlotte Greene)

Best Hymn: Llangollen Youth
Best Soloist: Tom Marfus (trombone) — Llangollen Youth

Best Percussionists from Sections 6a and 6b: Ifan Pritchard & Cian Owen (Beaumaris Youth)