The first ever Slow Melody contest was recently held in Japan.

There was an excellent standard of playing to enjoy from the 58 pre-recorded video entries which were judged by Prof. Takeo Yamamoto, Prof. Tsutomu Kako, Makoto Sekiya, Masayo Umino and Kazz Kouno who had the difficult task of deciding the prize winners as well as a 'Special Jury Prize' performance.

Children's Division:

A wonderful Children's Division for those under the age of 9 was won by cornet player Kyle Sekiya who performed 'First Light' by Ben Hollings.

There were also super performances from the podium finishers Airi Miyahara (trombone) playing 'Ito' by Miyuki Nakajima and Shu Shibata (cornet) who played the 'Largo' from Dvorak's 'New World Symphony'.

Junior Division:

In the Junior Division (under 12), the winning performance came from cornet player Asahi Orikasa who played 'Twilight in Upper West' by Hirotaka Izumi.

Soprano player Aisa Kobari and euphonium player Yuka Tsukahara claimed the podium prizes with their renditions of 'Twilight in Upper West' and 'Donegal Bay' respectively. The 'Special Jury Prize' was awarded to Kyoka Matsueda (euphonium) who played 'Song for Ina' by Philip Sparke.

Youth Division:

Trumpet player Saki Horie secured the Youth Division title (under 18) with a fine account of 'Gabriel's Oboe' by Ennio Morricone. The podium prizes were presented to Ako Sato (french horn) who performed 'Romance Op.36' by Saint-Saens and Nonoka Watanabe (euphonium) who played 'Song for Ina' by Philip Sparke.

The 'Special Jury Prize' was awarded to Ema Katsuse (cornet) who played 'Soliloquy' by Philip Sparke.

Open Championship:

There was an excellent standard of performance in the Open Championship Division, which was eventually won by soprano player Koji Suga with a fine rendition of 'Demelza'.

Yoko Kanou (euphonium) playing the 'Holy Well' by Peter Graham and Jun Ozeki (tenor horn) playing 'Ito' by Miyuki Nakajima took the podium prizes with the Special Jury Prize going to Ayumi Tanaka (tenor horn) for their performance of 'Demelza'.

The full age range of competitors also saw tuba player Kazuo Mashiba performing 'Shenandoah' take Senior Division title.

Very pleased

Speaking directly to 4BR Makoto Sekiya, Vice-President of Japanese Brass Band Directors Association said: "We are all very pleased with the first competition and we hope to hold it again next year. The prize winners each received a certificate and the title of 'Japan's Best'."

They added: "There have been many solo contests for junior and senior high school brass bands in Japan in the past, but in recent years they have been notable for the technical difficulty of the pieces they perform.

We wanted to promote the art of lyrical playing and to encourage players to perform wonderful slow melodies. These are becoming more popular as it allows musicality to come through.

We also hope that we can encourage Japanese performers to enter on-line worldwide competitions in the future."

The performance of the winners can be enjoyed at: http://jbbda.jp/

We wanted to promote the art of lyrical playing and to encourage players to perform wonderful slow melodies. These are becoming more popular as it allows musicality to come throughMakoto Sekiya

Results:

Children's Division: (Under 9)

1. Kyle Sekiya
2. Airi Miyahara
3. Shu Shibata

Junior Division: (Under 12)

1. Asahi Orikasa
2. Aisa Kobari
3. Yuka Tsukahara

Special Jury Prize: Kyoka Matsueda

Youth Division: (Under 18)

1. Saki Horie
2. Ako Sato
3. Nonoka Watanabe

Special Jury Prize: Ema Katsuse

Championship Division: (Open)

1. Koji Suga
2. Yoko Kanou
3. Jun Ozeki

Special Jury Prize: Ayumi Tanaka

Senior Division: (Over 60)

1. Kazuo Mashiba