*
banner

Welsh bands prepare for Brangwyn Hall

35 bands will compete to be crowned Welsh Champions in Swansea later this month.

Wales
  The Welsh Regional Championship take place in Swansea

The Welsh Regional Championship will take place at the Brangwyn Hall in Swansea next weekend (14th & 15th March) with 35 bands looking to claim their invitations to represent the nation at the National Finals in York and London.

Encouragement

Although it is the smallest field for some considerable time, with two late withdrawals, there is encouraging news with an entry of six bands in the Fourth Section — up from just the three in 2025. These include debutant bands, Brass@Bont and Cambrian.

Qualifiers

Two bands will qualify from the Championship Section, where the defending champion is Tredegar. The winner will also be invited to represent Wales at the 2027 European Championships in Montreux.

Two bands will also qualify for the National Finals in York in September from the Second and Third Sections, with 1 band from the First and Fourth in accordance with current rules.

Schedule

Saturday will kick off at 11.00am with Section 2 (8 bands), followed by Section 4 (6 bands) and Section 1 (6 bands).

Sunday will also start at 11.00am with Section 3 (8 bands) followed by the Championship Section (7 bands). A short concert will be given by the RWCM&D Brass Band prior to the announcement of the results.

Championship Section:

Test Piece: Elgar Variations (Martin Ellerby)
Adjudicators: Dr Stephen Cobb; Stephen Roberts

1. BTM (Richard Marshall)
2. City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) M1 (David Roberts)
3. Cory (Philip Harper)
4. Ebbw Valley (Matthew Rowe)
5. Northop Silver (Thomas Wyss)
6. Tongwynlais Temperance (Owen Farr)
7. Tredegar Town (Ian Porthouse)

First Section:

Test Piece: Variations on 'Was Lebet' (Andrew Wainwright)
Adjudicators: Dr Stephen Cobb; Stephen Roberts

1. Beaumaris (Bari Gwilliam)
2. Lewis Merthyr (Carl Saunders)
3. Parc & Dare (Dewi Griffiths)
4. Pontardulais Town (Paul Jenkins)
5. Tylorstown (Andrew Jones)
6. Usk (James Jones)

Second Section:

Test Piece: 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (Philip Harper)
Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs; Martin Heartfield

1. Abergavenny Borough (Lana Tingay)
2. Abertillery Town (Lee Blankley)
3. Ammanford Town Silver (Glyn Rhys Davies)
4. City of Wrexham (Matt Ryan)
5. Crosskeys Silver (Dave Collins)
6. Markham & District (Gary Davies)
7. Newport Borough (Martin McHale)
8. Royal Buckley Town (Keith Jones)

Withdrew: Crwbin

Third Section:

Test Piece: Three Haworth Impressions (Gordon Langford)
Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs; Martin Heartfield

1. Briton Ferry Silver (Jeff Pearce)
2. City of Cardiff (Melingriffith) 2 (John Murray)
3. Cwmtawe (Wayne Pedrick)
4. Mid Rhondda (Adrian Morton)
5. Newtown Silver (Alan Phillips)
6. Penclawdd (Alan Bourne)
7. Severn Tunnel (Louis Thomas)
8. Ynyshir (Robert Burnett)

Withdrew: Holywell

Fourth Section:

Test Piece: Indian Summer (Eric Ball)
Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs; Martin Heartfield

1. Blaenavon Town (Alun Williams)
2. Brass@Bont (Alison Gent)
3. Cambrian (Matthew Ruel)
4. Gwaun Cae Gurwen (Alex Parker)
5. Oakdale Silver (Adrian Browning)
6. Royal Oakeley Silver (Aled Williams)

Become a supporter and help make our future secure.

4barsrest continues to be a proudly independent voice. There are no paywalls to overcome to be able to enjoy what we do to keep our journalism at the heart of the brass banding world. Support us with a one-off donation or subscribe from just £2.50 per month.

Support us    


Victoria Wood

Last 5 tickets left for NYBBGB in Manchester...

April 18 • There is just room for a quintet of listeners for the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain at the RNCM in Manchester later today...


pARLIAMENT

BBE returns to Parliament

April 18 • Brass Bands England met MPs in Parliament to reignite support to meet the challenges ahead for bands across the UK.


Linz

UK trio to showcase European preparations

April 18 • Flowers, Tredegar and Whitburn will putting the finishing touches to their European Championship preparations — and you can hear how they are getting on.


Fleetwood

Enjoy the Fleetwood action next weekend.

April 18 • If you can't make it in person then why not sit back and enjoy the brass band action from anywhere in the world...


Regent Hall Concerts - Central Band of the Royal Air Force

Friday 1 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Sunday 3 May • St Alfege Church. Greenwich Church Street SE10 9BJ


Regent Hall Concerts - FiveBy5 Trumpet Quintet

Tuesday 5 May • Charlton House and Gardens. Charlton Road, . London. . SE7 8RE


Regent Hall Concerts - Royal Greenwich Brass Band

Friday 8 May • Regent Hall. (The Salvation Army). 275 Oxford Street. London W1C2DJ


Wardle Anderson Brass Band - Wardle Junior Blast

Friday 8 May • Milnrow Parish Church, 16 Westward Ho, Milnrow, Rochdale OL16 3JX


Waterbeach Brass

April 16 • Waterbeach Brass are seeking a talented and confident solo (tutti) cornet player to join our friendly and ambitious band. We offer a welcoming and social environment with a diverse and challenging musical repertoire playing at regular concerts and contests


Chinnor Silver

April 15 • With the dust settling after the areas we are looking for Bb BASS & PERCUSSION players to join us as we look to consolidate as a 1st Section Band.. Varied but realistic diary for the coming year and possible foreign trip in 2027. Rehearsals on a Wednesday


Linthwaite Band

April 15 • We are a welcoming 4th section band with a vacancy for a kit player. Our calendar is filling up with various contests and engagements to fulfil through the year.


Howard J Evans

MA (Dist), Mus.B (hons), ARCM (hons), LRAM, LTCL, PGCE
Conductor, composer, arranger, tutor and pianist


               

 © 2026 4barsrest.com Ltd