The Hawth Theatre in Crawley welcomed 10 bands to compete at scaba's annual Autumn contest on the weekend.

The day started with the B section for Third, Fourth, Youth Section and Ungraded Bands. Adjudicator Tom Hutchinson, the principal cornet of Cory Band was treated to a fantastic selection of pieces and thanked all the competitors for their high standard and enjoyable performances.

Newcomers

Contest newcomer City of Norwich led by MD Mark Ager, took the honours with a polished rendition of Kevin Norbury's 'Variations on Maccabeus' as well as playing the hymn tune 'Aberystwyth'.

They finished ahead of Oxted playing 'Ex Terra Lucem' and 'The Well is Deep' under Darrell Scholes, with Shanklin Town's 'Anglian Dances' and 'Eventide' in third, conducted by Malcolm Lewis.

Great spirit

The contest organisers thanked the competitors drawn later in the section for their flexibility and support of one band that was held up by a road traffic accident, allowing the contest to run smoothly.

It was also good to see that bands also took advantage in the spirit of their intention, of the new, more relaxed day transfer rules, so that some players from Championship, First and Second Section bands could help out others low on numbers.

The afternoon saw Championship, First and Second Section bands take the stage for the A Section.

Titan boost for Friary

Tom Hutchinson rewarded Friary Brass Band with the honours for what he described as a "superb performance" of Herman Pallhuber's 'Titan's Progress'.

It also gave the London & Southern Counties champion a timely boost ahead of their Royal Albert Hall National Finals appearance this weekend. The band also gave a warmly hued rendition of the hymn tune 'Angelus'.

Behind them came solid performances from each of the competitors, with Staines Brass coming runner-up performing 'Music for the Common Man' as well as the hymn tune 'Blaenwern' under Tariq Ahmed, with LGB Brass in third playing 'Tallis Variations' and 'When He Cometh' under Ian Stewart.

Fourth placed Yiewsley & West Drayton led by Christopher Cole performed 'Variations on Laudate Dominum' and 'Ellers'.

Welcome

In addition to a great day of brass music, scaba welcomed their new Vice-President Sharon McCallum. Despite living outside the region for some years, Sharon started her brass banding career in Sussex and has long been an active supporter or the Association.

Her first official act as VP was to present an award to Alan Cooper of LGB Brass in recognition of his '50 Years Service' to brass banding.

It was also announced that the scaba Spring contest will now be moving to a new date and venue in 2020 on March 8th at the Attenborough Centre for Creative Arts on the University of Sussex campus.

It was also good to see that bands also took advantage in the spirit of their intention, of the new, more relaxed day transfer rules, so that some players from Championship, First and Second Section bands could help out others low on numbers4BR

Results:

A Section:

Adjudicator: Tom Hutchinson

1. Friary Brass Band (Chris King)
2. Staines Brass (Tariq Ahmed)
3. LGB Brass (Ian Stewart)
4. Yiewsley & West Drayton (Christopher Cole)

Best Hymn Tune: Friary Brass Band

Highest Placed Championship Section Band: Friary Brass Band
Highest Placed First Section Band: Staines Brass
Highest Placed Second Section Band: LGB Brass

Best Conductor: Chris King (Friary Brass Band)
Best Instrumentalist: Richard Straker (cornet) — Friary Brass Band
Best Cornet or Flugel: Richard Straker (Friary Brass Band)
Best Tenor Horn: Angela Holloway (LGB Brass)
Best Baritone: Liz Cowlett (LGB Brass)
Best Euphonium: Chris Straker (Friary Brass Band)
Best Back Row cornets: Friary Brass Band
Best Trombones: Friary Brass Band
Best Basses: Friary Brass Band
Best Percussion: Staines Brass

B Section:

Adjudicator: Tom Hutchinson

1. City of Norwich (Mark Ager)
2. Oxted (Darrell Scholes)
3. Shanklin Town (Malcolm Lewis)
4. Hangleton (Richard Baker)
5. Godalming (James Haigh)
6. Cobham (Steven Williams)

Best Hymn Tune: City of Norwich

Highest Placed Thirdd Section Band: City of Norwich
Highest Placed Fourth Section Band: Shanklin Town
Highest Placed Ungraded Band: Oxted

Best Conductor: Mark Ager (City of Norwich)
Best Instrumentalist: Richard Wilson (soprano) — City of Norwich
Best Cornet or Flugel: Kevin Noble (cornet) — Shanklin
Best Tenor Horn: Jacki Doswell (Oxted)
Best Baritone: Darcie Brownlow (Shanklin)
Best Euphonium: Ben Hicks (Oxted)
Best Back Row Cornets: City of Norwich
Best Trombones: City of Norwich
Best Basses: City of Norwich
Best Percussion: Oxted