You suspect not even Willy Wonka himself could now invent his own splendiferously, gloriumptous gobstopper band to beat Cory in a major contest after they retained the Brass in Concert Championship title at Sage Gateshead in such simply stunning fashion.
Such was the overwhelming margin of victory on their musical theme of 'The Remarkable life of Roald Dahl', written and directed by MD Philip Harper, that they topped the 'Golden Ticket' category lists of four of the five adjudicators to take home the Yamaha Newsome Trophy for the fourth time in five years without anyone else coming remotely close to beating them.
And not only was their bank balance boosted to the tune of £5,500, but they also took home silverware awards for 'Winning Conductor', 'Best Principal Cornet', 'Best Flugel', 'Best Euphonium', 'Best Basses', 'Best Programme Content' and 'Quality of Performance'.
Jumpsquiffling
Even more significantly however, they now hold every major contest title in the world — a unique 2016 'Grand Slam' unprecedented in modern banding history: Roald Dahl would surely have described their historic achievement as 'jumpsquiffling' (something absolutely colossal).
That was also the reaction of the audience sat in the hall as they lapped up the inventive presentation that combined narration, choreography and imagery as the intriguing and complex life-story of the world's most beloved storyteller unfolded.
Compelling
"I wanted to have a programme that had a strong and understandable narrative line running through it,"Philip Harper old 4BR. "The anniversary of Dahl's birth and the Welsh connection was a nice coincidence, but his life story is simply astonishing and compelling.
The well loved stories he wrote were an important part in that, but I felt his own was also well worth retelling."
Joy and wonderment
Born in Cardiff of Norwegian immigrants, Dahl's happy summer holidays in his parent's homeland saw an opening 'Nordic Polska' feature for Helen Williams and Tom Hutchinson on flugel horns, whilst his bravery as a war time fighter pilot in the aerial 'Battle for Athens' saw the ensemble display its full array of technical powers.
Contrast came with the differing emotions of marriage to film star Patricia Neal in 'Moon River Cha Cha', as well as the early death of his daughter, in the flugel solo 'A Little Star Went Out'. The musical biography closed with a medley chapter of the tales and stories (from 'Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang' to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory') that have brought joy and wonderment to millions of his readers of all ages.
Life reflection
"The narrative allowed me to plan the musical input without trying to force an item into it to try and fit,"Philip added: "The narration from our President, Morgan Jones used quotes from Dahl himself, whilst the music was a reflection of how his life progressed.
The final medley of songs from films he inspired or was associated with was aimed at putting a positive smile on the faces of people who have enjoyed his books over the years."
So was he happy with the end result then? "I think it hung together pretty well,"he said with a modest laugh.
Judges agree
That was certainly something the judges felt too.
Speaking to 4BR after the announcement of the results, 'Music — Quality of Performance' adjudicator Les Neish said: "Cory's playing was of such a high quality and of such precision, balance and dynamic contrast. Every player was an integral part of the performance — led brilliantly of course by the MD. The ensemble and the solo playing in particular were exceptional."
'Exceptional' was also the adjective used by Programme Content adjudicator Mike Kilroy. "It really was,"he told 4BR.
"The constructed balance and contrast between the items in their programme in terms of style, pace and dynamic was that and more. The story — not a theme — was told with clarity and purpose. Not everyone did that on the day, but Cory did, and did it exceptionally well."
Well beaten rivals
Behind Cory came a host of well beaten rivals — led by a spirited Grimethorpe Colliery under the direction of Phillip McCann.
They headed back to Yorkshire with the award for 'Best Entertainment and Presentation' for a typically eclectic set that had everything from Gypsy Rose Lee and Duke Ellington to a dystopian sci-fi finish in its mix — one that also saw the excellent duo of Chris Gomersall and Michael Cavanagh take 'Best Trombone' and 'Best Baritone' prizes.
Meanwhile, third place went to a consistent Brighouse & Rastrick under Leigh Baker with their 'Eyes of a Child' themed programme. It set the early contest marker with its youthful inspired detours to encapsulate Mendelssohn to Disney and even the filmatic adventures of Sinbad.
Fire and plague
A solid Carlton Main Frickley posted their best finish at the event since 1982 in coming fourth, with their clever retelling of the Fire of London conducted by Ian McElligott, whilst the nation's capital city also inspired Flowers 'Great Plague' as they maintained their excellent major contest form with a third successive top-six finish under Paul Holland.
They also picked up prizes for 'Best Composition/Arrangement' for Paul McGhee's typically inventive new work, 'Pandemic', as well as 'Best Basses' and 'Best Soprano' for the outstanding Paul Richards.
Overseas cheer
There was also some overseas cheer as Dutch champion Brass Band Schoonhoven led by Ivan Meylemans came sixth (and would have been placed fifth if they hadn't run over time)*.
Their superb euphonium player Robbert Vos claimed the 'Best Soloist' award for his stunning rendition of 'Red Novae' by Peter Graham in a programme inspired by a 'Fireworks' theme that touched on both their celebratory as well as destructive powers.
No Nordic luck
No such luck for the Norwegians of Stavanger however, as their contemporary retelling of the story of 'Jeanne d'Arc' could only end seventh, despite Arfon Owen taking the 'Best Horn' award.
Behind them came well-presented sets from Virtuosi GUS that recalled the First World War Battle of Jutland, Reg Vardy (with a Celtic inspired set), Hammonds Saltaire (a Spanish musical travelogue) and welcome American visitors Dublin Silver, who opened a long day of enjoyable contesting with an USA/Russia seasonal crossover.
Something for everyone
Aided by the excellent facilities of Sage Gateshead, the hard working BiC management team and a loquacious Frank Renton, the weekend once again offered something for everyone — with the Saturday packed with taster sessions and youth workshops led by Philip Harper and a host of star players, as well as relaxed concerts from Youth Brass 2000, Dublin Silver, Brass Band Schoonhven and Stavanger.
Before the announcement of the final results there were presentations made to retiring BiC Chairman Trevor Caffull as well as Jackie and Paul Beere who continue to be the fulcrums around which the event is run.
Meanwhile, Saturday evening was also rounded off with a splendid gala concert featuring Black Dyke and the multi-instrumentalist 'Wizard of Oz', James Morrison — although on this occasion, even he, let alone Willy Wonka, would have been hard pressed to top the amazing achievements of Cory the following day.
* The timing penalty was revoked following a post contest investigation by the contest organisers and so the official results table has also been amended. It is now as below:
they now hold every major contest title in the world — a unique 2016 'Grand Slam' unprecedented in modern banding history: Roald Dahl would surely have described their historic achievement as 'jumpsquiffling' (something absolutely colossal)4BR
Results:
Adjudicators:
In order of marks:
Les Neish & Florent Didier (Music: Quality of Performance)
Mike Kilroy (Programme Content)
Duncan Stubbs & Derek Southcott (Entertainment)
Music/Music/Content/Entertainment = Total
Neish/Didier/Kilroy/Stubbs/Southcott = Total
Separate award: Katrina Marzella-Wheeler (Soloist)
1. Cory (Philip Harper): (1) 60 / (1) 60 / (1) 40 / (3) 18 / (1) 20: 198pts
2. Grimethorpe Colliery (Phillip McCann): (2) 57 / (3) 54 / (5) 32 / (1) 20 / (2) 19: 182pts
3. Brighouse & Rastrick (Leigh Baker): (3) 54 / (6) 45 / (4) 34 / (5) 16 / (3) 18: 167pts
4. Carlton Main Frickley Colliery (Ian McElligott): (4) 51 / (7) 42 / (2) 38 / (4) 17 / (4) 17: 165pts
5. Brass Band Schoonhoven (Ivan Meylemans): (10) 33 / (2) 57 / (3) 36 / (2) 19 / (10) 11: 156pts
6. Flowers (Paul Holland): (6) 45 / (5) 48 / (6) 30 / (6) 15 / (5) 16: 154pts
7. Stavanger (Allan Withington): (5) 48 / (4) 51 / (7) 28 / (9) 12 / (11) 10: 149pts
8. Virtuosi GUS (Adam Cooke): (8) 39 / (9) 36 / (8) 26 / (8) 13 / (7) 14: 128pts
9. Reg Vardy (Russell Gray): (9) 36 / (8) 39 / (10) 22 / (7) 14 / (8) 13: 124pts
10. Hammonds Saltaire (Morgan Griffiths): (7) 42 / (10) 33 / (11) 20 / (11) 10 / (6) 15: 120pts
11. Dublin Silver (Tim Jameson): (11) 30 / (11) 30 / (9) 24 / (10) 11 / (9) 12: 107pts
Individual awards
Don Lusher Trombone Award: Chris Gommersall (Grimethorpe Colliery)
Harry Mortimer Best Principal Cornet Award: Tom Hutchinson (Cory)
The Fesa Trophy for Best Flugel Award: Helen Williams (Cory)
The Gateshead MBC Trophy for Best Soprano Award: Paul Richards (Flowers)
The Louis and Colin Johnson Trophy for Best Percussion Section: Flowers
Best Euphonium: Glyn Williams (Cory)
Best Baritone: Michael Cavanagh (Grimethorpe Colliery)
Best Horn: Arfon Owen (Stavanger)
John Fletcher Best Basses Award: Cory
Youngest Player: Ben Smith (aged 17) — Virtuosi GUS
Best Entertainment and Presentation: Grimethorpe Colliery
Best Programme Content: Cory
Quality of Performance: Cory
Best Soloist: Robbert Vos (euphonium) — Brass Band Schoonhoven
New Composition/Arrangement Award: Paul McGhee — Pandemic (Flowers)
Winning MD: Philip Harper (Cory)
