The 'long list' of 2018 nominations for the various categories of the annual 4BR Awards have been released.

The team of judges will now cast their eyes over them to make their various personal choices, with the winners and podium finishers revealed on Christmas morning.

2018 Band of the Year:

Brighouse & Rastrick
Cory
Eikanger Musikklag
Foden's
Fountain City Brass
Manger Musikklag
Paris Brass Band
Provinciale Brass Band Groningen
Valaisia Brass Band
Wellington Brass

The bands have been chosen not just for their contest achievements, but also for their artistic ones — from concert performances and tours to recordings and projects.

2018 Conductor of the Year:

John Collins (Oldham Band (Lees))
Arsene Duc (Valaisia Brass Band)
Russell Gray (Co-operative Funeralcare, Filton Concert Brass, Foden's, Molde, Reg Vardy, Yorkshire Imperial)
Philip Harper (Cory)
Gijs Heusinkveld (Excelsior Ferwert, Loft den Heer)
Chris Jeans (GUS, Youth Brass 2000)
Lee Rigg (Wardle Junior Blast, Wardle Academy Youth)
David Thornton (Aldbourne, Bathgate, Blackburn & Darwen, Brighouse & Rastrick, Hepworth)
Nigel Seaman (City of Cardiff (Melingriffith), Wellington Brass)
Martin Winter (Manger Musikklag, Tertnes Brass)

The 10 conductors have been chosen not just for their impressive contest records during the past year, but also for their inspirational leadership qualities and progressive artistic outlooks.

2018 Player of the Year:

Anne Barras (horn — Valaisia)
Chris Bradley (cornet — Whitburn)
Tom Hutchinson (cornet — Cory)
Thomas Nielsen (cornet — International Staff Band)
Arfon Owen (horn — Stavanger)
Paul Richards (soprano cornet — Flowers)
Jaime Rolfe (soprano cornet — Brisbane Excelsior)
Chris Thomas (trombone — Cory)
Glenn Van Looy (euphonium — Valaisia)
Jon-Vega Sole Sundal (soprano cornet — Eikanger-Bjorsvik Musikklag)

These are 10 players who made the most significant impact on us with their performances, both on and off the contest stages during the past year.

2018 Test Piece of the Year:

A Brussels Requiem (Bert Appermont): British Open
Concerto Grosso (Derek Bourgeois): Swiss National Championship
Dawn Songs of the Fabulous Birds (Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen): Norwegian National Championship
High Peak (Eric Ball): Dutch National Championship — First Section
King Arthur — Scenes from a Radio Play (Paul Hindmarsh): National Championships of Great Britain — First Section
Old Licks Bluesed Up (Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen): Dutch National Championship
Purcellian Fantasia (Jan de Haan): Swiss National Championships — Fourth Division
REwrite RElapse (Stan Nieuwenhuis): Belgian National Championship
Second Suite in F (Gustav Holst): Butlins & Dutch National Championships — Fourth Section
The Turing Test (Simon Dobson): European Championship & British Composer Award

The 10 test pieces that made the greatest musical impact on 4BR this year — some old, some new, some contemporary and some a bit more traditional. All though tested the performers to their musical limits.

2018 Lower Section Band of the Year:

Birkwood Brass (England)
Fountain City Youth Honor Band (USA)
Italian Brass Band (Italy)
Oldham Band (Lees) (England)
Looft den Heer (Netherlands)
Stamford Brass (England)
Taff Vale Brass (Wales)
Wardle Academy Youth (England)
Young Brass Band Willebroek (Belgium)
Youth Brass 2000 (England)

Having been fortunate to travel the world this year, we got to hear bands at all levels in very many different countries — and the standard at times was remarkable. All these bands in their very different ways made a huge impression.

2018 Contest Performance of the Year:

Black Dyke (Yorkshire Regional Championship — 'Odyssey')
Cory (British Open Championship — 'A Brussels Requiem')
Eikanger Bjorsvik (Norwegian National Championship — 'Partita')
Foden's (National Championships of Great Britain — 'Handel in the Band')
Manger Musikklag (Siddis Entertainment Championship — 'In Time with Cubism')
Oldham Band (Lees) (First Section National Championships of Great Britain — 'King Arthur')
Valaisia (European Championship Own-Choice — 'The Turing Test')
Valaisia (European Championship Set-Work — 'Time for Outrage')
Wardle Academy Youth (Youth Brass in Concert)
Wellington Brass (New Zealand National Championship — 'Perihelion — Closer to the Sun')

The 10 'stand out' contest performances of the year heard by 4BR — and the ones that left a lasting impression on the musical mind.

2018 Newcomer of the Year:

Brass Bands England Artistic Development Programme
BrassPass.tv
Elite Division Swiss National Championship (new section created)
Gunhild Carling (multi-instrumentalist and entertainer)
Campaign to stop instrumental tuition fees in Scotland
Felix Geroldinger (European Solo Champion)
Thomas Nielsen (Young Brass Award winner)
nkoda (digital music publication service)
Sheona Wade (adjudicator)
Youth Brass in Concert Championship

Always a difficult one to select, but these 10 people, contests, innovations and campaigns all made a significant impact during the past year.

2018 CD of the Year:

Angels and Demons (Hauts de France)
Conductor: Luc Vertommen
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100200-angels-and-demons.html

Black Dyke Gold (Vol VII)
Conductor: Prof Nicholas Childs
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100352-group.html

Bolero (Brighouse & Rastrick)
Conductors: Dr David Thornton
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100159-group.html?___SID=U

December (Manger Musikklag)
Conductor: Allan Withington
http://www.worldofbrass.com/22188-december.html

Fanfares (Onyx Brass)
Conductor: John Wilson
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fanfares-Onyx-Brass-Wilson-Chandos/dp/B077PLNW56

Larsson in Brass (International Staff Band)
Conductor: Dr Stephen Cobb
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100160-group.html

Memories of Christmas (Foden's Band & Matt Ford)
Conductor: Michael Fowles
http://www.worldofbrass.com/25502-memories-of-christmas.html

Metropolis (Black Dyke)
Conductor: Prof Nicholas Childs
https://www.4barsrest.shop/product/metropolis-1927-peter-graham

The Art of Brass (Cory)
Conductor: Philip Harper
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100158-group.html

The Heaton Collection (Vol 6)
Conductor: Prof Nicholas Childs
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100389-group.html

The 10 CDs which have made the most impact not just on the brass band world with their overall quality, musical outlook and artistic importance but with a much wider audience.

2018 Solo CD of the Year:

56° North (Mike Lovatt)
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100484.html

Contrasts (Brett Baker)
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100152-group.html

Direct Message (Matilda Lloyd)
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8495611--direct-message

Freedom of Movement (Rex Richardson)
https://www.summitrecords.com/release/freedom-of-movement-rex-richardson/

Fusion (Chris Bradley)
http://tubularbrass.com/fusion-chris-bradley/

Life Force (Peter Moore)
https://www.europadisc.co.uk/classical/137920/Peter_Moore:_Life_Force.htm

Lost Treasures Vol 2 (Glenn Van Looy)
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100201-lost-treasures.html

Preserving Code (Dr Matthew van Emmerick)
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100202-preserving-code.html

This Way (Tom Hutchinson)
http://www.worldofbrass.com/100391-group.html

Timeless (Sheona White)
http://www.worldofbrass.com/25508-timeless.html

The 10 CDs which have made the most impact not just on the brass band world with their overall quality, musical outlook and artistic importance but with a much wider audience.