Winner: Respighi (Black Dyke Band)
2. Festivities — Cornerstones Vol. 3 (Cory Band)
3. Storm (Hauts de France)
The Yorkshire champion continues to produce CDs of the highest artistic quality under the baton of Director of Music Prof Nicholas J Childs — with 'Respighi' claiming their tenth 4BR CD of the Year award.
The Doyen release was a long term project that was cultivated into a stunning release featuring performances of 'Roman Festivals', 'Fountains of Rome' and 'Pines of Rome', and gained an imposing 9 first choice preference votes from the panel.
The latest release in Cory's long term 'Cornerstones' project of recordings was a deserved runner-up as Philip Harper's band continues to breath new life into classic banding repertoire, whilst the engaging 'Strom' release from French Champion, Hauts-de-France was third.
Panel:
The Awards Panel consisted of: Iwan Fox (4BR Editor); Chris Thomas (4BR & BBW); Malcolm Wood (4BR & BBW); Josie Sleigh (musician); Gordon Simpson (brass band statistician); Sarah Groarke-Booth (conductor/adjudicator); Michael Franz (Editor Brass Band News Switzerland); Liv Appleton (Content Creator/itsnotatrumpet.com); Camila Soderstrom Tveit (musician/adjudicator); Alexander Zwann (conductor/journalist); Tim Mutum (brass band historian); Henk Van Loon (Editor Emotions on Stage); Philippa Edwards AOM (conductor/performing arts producer); Stein Skorpholm (broadcaster/musician).
Past Winners:
2024: Bliss: Works for Brass (Black Dyke Band)
2023: Force of Nature (Black Dyke Band)
2022: Vaughan Williams on Brass (Tredegar Band)
2021: Festmusik — A Legacy (Onyx Brass)
2020: Gregson: Music of the Angels (London Brass)
2019: The Music of Bliss & Howells (Brighouse & Rastrick Band)
2018: Metropolis (Black Dyke Band)
2017: Dances & Arias (Black Dyke Band)
2016: War Memorials (Cory Band & Tredegar Band)
2015: Dark Arteries (Tredegar Band)
2014: Gaia Symphony (Eikanger Bjorsvik Musikklag)
2013: When Worlds Collide: The Music of Nigel Clarke (Brass Band Buizingen)
2012: Masquerade (Foden's Band)
2011: Only for You: The Music of Paul Lovatt-Cooper (Black Dyke Band)
2010: Romeo & Juliet (Eikanger Bjorsvik Musikklag)
2009: Maestro (Foden's Band)
2008: New Music for Brass Band (Foden's Band)
2007: Vienna Nights (Black Dyke Band)
2006: Heaton: Volume 4 (Black Dyke Band)
2005: Tales and Stories (Eikanger Bjorsvik Musikklag)
2004: Music of the Spheres (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
2003: Bourgeois in Brass (Yorkshire Building Society Band)
2002: The Heaton Collection (Black Dyke Band and the ISB)
2001: Butterworth (Black Dyke Band)
