German Open Championship 2021
Christopher Houlding takes a look back at this year's German Open Championship
A total of eight bands took part in the first German Open in its new format in the pretty German Town of Brilon in the heart of the Sauerland during the weekend of October 23-24 earlier this year. The Deutsche Brass Band Verband teamed up with the long established, month long Sauerland Herbst International Brass Festival to present a two day celebration of the growing popularity of the 'British style' Brass Band in Germany. After a break of around ten years the DBBV was keen to revive the German Open Competition to run on alternate years between the German National Championships. Association members worked hard to bring this year’s event together as an incentive to bands in their return to some kind of post Covid normality.
Unfortunately a few bands found difficulties in preparing a competition programme in time resulting in only one band competing in Section A. Swiss maestro, Corsin Tuor led current German Champion, 3BA Concert Band in an electrifying performance of Oliver Waespi's classic, Other Lives together with Jacob Vilhelm Larsen's clever Emerald Heritage and Devil's Dance (Alexander Comitas) ably performed by winning soloist, Bernd Geser ensuring their qualification to the 2022 EBBC in Birmingham.
Section B, open to 1st and 2nd Division bands, provided an exciting contest with competitors offering varied programmes containing a test piece and a march or hymn tune. Victors, Brass Band Regensburg under its new dynamic young conductor, Stefan Popp, presented finessed performances of Osterfjorden (Stign Aertgeerts), Mid all the Traffic (Leonard Ballantine) and Paul Sharman's effective Inclusion, originally commissioned for the 2013 Bolsover Festival. Second placed band, the Woodshockers won the speical prize for their imaginative performance of T J Powell's classic march, The Contestor, alongside Jan Bosveld's Match – Rhythm and Curnow's popular Trittico. Other bands offered a wide range of pieces from Mendelssohn's classic Fingal's Cave Overture (arr. Lorriman) to Thomas Doss' arresting Blackout.
An early start on Sunday 24 October saw the two younger bands in the Section C take to the stage in front of a numerous and supportive audience. Both bands achieved a high mark to ensure qualification to the European Youth Championships, but in the end 3BA Academy Band inched ahead. Led by young conductor, David Schöpf, they performed Goff Richards' compelling Spirit of Youth, Thierry Deleruyelle's Viking Age and Manuel Renggli's Smash. Evolution Brass Regensburg justified its best programme award with another Goff Richards classic, Fanfare for a New Age, Lake of the Moon (Kevin Houben), Evelyn Glennie's A Little Prayer and Paul Lovatt Cooper's popular Road to Run.
The Results Ceremony took place at the conclusion of the Sunday afternoon Gala Concert given by Belgium's slick Festival Brass and saw 3BA Concert band taking the additional award for the highest awarded points across the whole competition by the adjudicators, young Tenor Horn star Tim de Maeseneer, the much respected Katrina Marzella and Festival Director, Prof. Thomas Clamor. Festival Brass's imaginative programme gave the enthusiastic audience comprising of German Open competing bands and Sauerland Herbst Festival subscribers an opportunity to experience the full gamut of the brass band experience. From Peter Graham’s Rameau Revisited to Philip Harper’s Captain from Castile via contributions from Oliver Waespi and Matthew Hall this performance left everyone in no doubt as to the depth and quality of this outfit under conductor Steven Verhaert.
Sauerland Herbst’s commitment to the development of the brass band saw a repeat of previous Festival’s popular Workshop led by NRW Youth BB director Martin Schädlich; a four day course held the previous weekend in the excellent facilities provided by the Musikbildungszentrum Südwestfalen in Bad Fredeburg. Martin was assisted by Chris Houlding and Brass Band Willebroek stars Lode and Jonas Violet and Stign Aertgeerts. Willebroek also gave a stunning concert at the conclusion of the course under their charismatic director, Frans Violet.
GERMAN OPEN RESULTS 2021
Section A
1. 3BA Concert Band (Corsin Tuor) 193.3
Best Soloist : Bernd Geser (Euphonium)
Section B
1. Brass Band Regensburg (Stefan Popp) 187
2. Woodshokers (Benjamin Markl) 184.6
3. Nordbayrische Brass Band (Mathias Wehr) 181
4. Brass Band BlechKLANG (Alexander Richter) 178.3
5. Brass Band Westfalen (Tobias Schütte) 174
Best March or Hymn Tune : Woodshockers (The Contestor - T J Powell)
Section C
1. 3BA Academy Band (David Schöpf) 186
2. Evolution Brass Regensburg (Thomas Freiss) 184
Best programme : Evolution Brass Regensburg
Adjudicators
Sections A & B: Tim de Maeseneer, Katrina Marzella & Prof. Thomas Clamor
Section C: Tim de Maeseneer & Katrina Marzella
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