2024 Youth Champs
Nearly 40 ensembles took part in this year’s Youth Champs which was superbly presented by Alex Humphreys and David Hayward. Sponsorship partnerships included World of Brass, who live streamed the day on the www.wobplay.com media platform, Besson, Yamaha and ABRSM. The day began with the fantastic entertainment provided by the eight ensembles in the non-competitive 'Besson Prodige Showcase' section.The inclusive ethos was seen and heard in full, and was certainly reflective of their collective musical development as well as that of the areas they came from.
Next came the Yamaha Performance Section where an outstanding Elland Silver Training Band regained the title under MD Samantha Harrison. Such was the standard on show for judges Emily Evans and Gavin Saynor that they also gave Gold Awards to Pembrokeshire Music Service Youth Brass Band, St Austell Youth Band, Delph Youth Band and Shepherd Group Youth Band. Speaking to the audience before the results, Gavin Saynor said, "What a privilege Emily and I had today. Brass bands need young people, but young people need brass bands as well. We enjoyed every performance; all had quality. I ran out of superlatives in the end. Every performance was fantastic today."
In the World of Brass Championship Section it was Wardle Academy Youth Band under MD, Brad McCulloch who took the ultimate honours. It was the band’s first victory in the World of Brass Championship Section, just pipping nine-time consecutive winners Youth Brass 2000 and MD Chris Jeans to the prize. The band will now be invited to represent England at the European Youth Championships in Stavanger in 2025. There were also deserved Gold Awards to third placed Elland Youth Band with their cleverly conceived 'Viking' set under Samantha Harrison, and Lions Youth Brass conducted by Ian Raisbeck.
Commenting on the success of the day Kenny Crookston, Brass Band England's CEO stated, "We decided to bring the event to the South West for the first time and its was a great success. We were delighted to welcome a range of youth and school bands, many of which were also performing at the event for the first time. We hope to build on this further with other initiatives such as the Youth Fest, in Barnsley in June which is a new non-competitive event for youth bands. It's going to be great fun, whilst I can confirm that we will continue to take the National Youth Championships around the country, with the 2025 event taking place on Saturday 29th March at Hymers College in Hull."
Results:
World of Brass Championship Section:
Adjudicators: Mike Cavanagh and Helen Varley
Prize Winners:
1. Wardle Academy Youth Band (Bradley McCulloch) (Gold)
2. Youth Brass 2000 (Chris Jeans) (Gold)
3. Elland Youth Band (Samantha Harrison) (Gold)
Gold Award:
Lions Youth Brass (Ian Raisbeck)
Silver Award:
Lancashire Youth Brass Band (Helen Minshall)
Northamptonshire County Youth Brass Band (Iain McKnight)
Oldham Music Centre Youth Brass Band (Jonathan Leedale)
South Wales Youth Brass Band (Carol Flanary-Davies)
Tewit Youth Senior Band (Martin Hall)
Bronze Award:
Amersham Youth Band (Ash Horton)
Birmingham Schools' Brass Band (Saphran Ali)
Cardiff County & Vale of Glamorgan Youth Brass Band (Charles Maynard)
Macclesfield Youth Brass Band (Louise Renshaw)
Best Soloist: Percussion trio of Sam Erian, Tim Sealey and George Cragg (Lions Youth Band)
Yamaha Performance Section:
Adjudicators: Emily Evans and Gavin Saynor
Prize Winners:
1. Elland Silver Training Band (Samantha Harrison) (Gold)
2. Pembrokeshire Music Service Youth Brass Band (Ian Wilkinson) (Gold)
3. St Austell Youth Band (Anna Minear) (Gold)
Gold Award:
Delph Youth Band (Matt Stimpson)
Shepherd Group Youth Band (Craig Brown)
Silver Award:
Astley Youth Band (Toby Hobson)
Band Pres Ieuenctid Ceredigion (Rose Gillison)
Barnet Youth Brass Band (Peter Yarde Martin)
Enderby Youth Band (Sam McClumpha)
St Helens Youth Band (Jay Hall)
Wantage Youth Brass (Sara-Jane Wallbridge)
Bronze Award:
Birmingham Schools' Training Brass Band (David Taylor)
Firth Park Academy (Andy Harris)
Egham Youth Band (James Begg)
Tewit Youth Intermediate Band (Joe Fearnley)
Merit Award:
Macclesfield Youth Brass Band (Junior) (Joe Mahin)
Lions Academy Band (Peter McDonough)
Best Soloist Award: Carys Wood (cornet) — Pembrokeshire Music Service Youth Brass Band
Besson Prodige Showcase Section:
Adjudicators: James Holt and Sheila Allen
Certificate Presentations made to:
Cherry Tree Primary School (Paul Fisher)
Churchdown Village Junior School (Paul McLaughlin)
Forest of Dean Youth Band (Anri Adachi)
Haberdashers Aske's Boys Prep School Brass Band (Alan Duguid)
Lions Debut Band (John Barber)
MK Young Brass Hoppers (David Rose)
St Helens Debut Band (Peter McDonough)
Wantage Beginner Band (Judith Atkins)
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