North of England Success for Easington
39 bands were competing across the various sections for the North of England Regional title this weekend. The contest took place in the Gala Theatre in Durham, with two qualification spots available for each section to move forward later this year to the National Championships.
In the Championship Section there was a bit of a surprise when crowd favourites NASUWT Riverside were announced in second place, although an invitation to compete at the Royal Albert Hall in October will no doubt help to ease the disappointment. Allan Withington led Easington Colliery to its first Championship North of England victory with a superb account of Philip Sparke’s ‘Variations on an Enigma’. Judges Sheona Wade and Roger Webster were clearly impressed and also awarded the band a glut of additional prizes including Best Soprano, Best Principal Cornet, Best Basses and Best Percussion.
Lower section winners and qualifiers for the Cheltenham National Finals are: North Skelton and Tewit Silver in the First Section; Durham Miners Association and Ferryhill Town in the Second Section; Flookburgh Silver and Spennymoor Town in the Third Section and Craghead Colliery and Penrith Town in the Fourth Section. Full results are below with a review of the contest appearing in the next issue of Brass Band World magazine.
Result:
Championship Section:
Adjudicators Prof. Roger Webster & Sheona Wade Test piece: Variations on an Enigma (Philip Sparke)
1. Easington Colliery (Allan Withington)*
2. NASUWT Riverside (Prof Nicholas Childs)*
3. City of Hull (Dean Jones)
4. Ever Ready (Russell Gray)
5. Shepherd Group Brass (Richard Wilton)
6. Fishburn (Duncan Beckley)
7. Kirkbymoorside (Sarah Woodward)
8. York Railway Institute (Dr David Lancaster)
9. Ripon City (Malcolm Sidwell)
Best soprano: Easington
Best Principal Cornet: Easington
Best Baritone: City of Hull
Best Euphonium: NASUWT Riverside
Best Trombone: City of Hull
Best Basses: Easington
Best Percussion: Easington
*Qualify for invitation to National Final
First Section:
Adjudicators: Andrew Warriner & Stan Lippeatt Test piece: High Peak (Eric Ball)
1. North Skelton (Tim Oldroyd)*
2. Tewit Silver (Martin Hall)*
3. Cockerton Prize Silver (Andrew Hunter)
4. Harrogate (Craig Ratcliffe)
5. GT Group Peterlee (Chris Bentham)
6. Houghton Brass (Aidan Hodgson)
7. Westoe (Phillip Tait)
Best Trombone: Harrogate
Best Basses: North Skelton
Best Percussion: North Skelton
Best Horn Section: North Skelton
*Qualify for invitation to National FInal
Second Section:
Adjudicators: Anne Crookston & Prof Roger Webster
Test piece: Triptych (Philip Sparke)
1. Durham Miners Association (Stuart Gray)*
2. Ferryhill Town (Jonathan Fenwick)*
3. NASUWT Concert (Brian Thompson)
4. Ashington Colliery (Nigel Stedman)
5. East Riding of Yorkshire (Fiona Bishop)
6. Felling Band (Jason Smith)
7. Jayess Newbiggin Brass (Stuart Black)
8. Dunston Silver (Frazer Hodgson)
9. Bearpark & Esh Colliery (Will Harrison)
Best Euphonium: NASUWT Concert
Best Bass Section: East Riding of Yorkshire
Best Soprano: Durham Miners Association
*Qualify for invitation to National Final
Third Section:
Adjudicators: Sheona Wade & Stan Lippeatt
Test piece: Corineus (Christopher Bond)
1. Flookburgh Silver (John Iveson)*
2. Spennymoor Town (Fiona Casewell)*
3. Ellington Colliery (Claire Winter)
4. North Lakes Brass (Gareth Sykes)
5. Trimdon Brass (Andrew Hall)
6. Barton Community (Gary Oglesby)
7. Knaresborough Silver (Nicholas Garrett)
Best Principal Cornet: Knaresborough Silver
Best Percussion: North Lakes Brass
Best Basses: Spennymoor Town
*Qualify for invitation to National Final
Fourth Section:
Adjudicators: Anne Crookston & Stuart Gray
Test piece: Music for Jock Tamson (Alan Fernie)
1. Craghead Colliery (Stephen Goddard)*
2. Penrith Town (Ian Butterworth)*
3. Backworth Colliery (Chris Travis)
4. Billingham Silver (Vaughan Evans)
5. Swinton & District Excelsior (Bob Stradling)
6. Cleethorpes Band (Brian Harper)
7. Burneside Brass (Dave Higson)
Best Principal Cornet: Penrith Town
Best Euphonium: Backworth Colliery
Best Percussion: Craghead Colliery
*Qualify for invitation to National Final
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