Wellington Brass Wins NZ Nationals
Wellington Brass retained their elite level National Band of New Zealand title for the fourth consecutive time in their home city on the weekend. Guided to victory for an 8th time since 2013 by MD David Bremner, Wellington Brass impressed in all three areas of the contest. The band received an unprecedented perfect score for their sacred item 'Ave Maria', as well as securing a 3 point margin of victory over runners-up North Shore Brass with their superb performance of ‘Heroes’ by Bruce Broughton in the set-work contest. Even a dreaded number 1 draw in the own choice contest didn’t put the band off stride as they gave a terrific performance of ‘Fraternity’, which secured Wellington’s first place.
MD, David Bremner was rewarded with the prestigious KGL Smith Memorial Trophy as winning conductor, whilst their outstanding euphonium player Luke Spence and cornet section also claimed awards. Commenting on social media a spokesperson for the band stated, “Still absolutely fizzing following a memorable week of performances in the Michael Fowler Centre and truly honoured to be crowned 2022 National Champions! Congratulations to all our friends and colleagues for their performances throughout the week, especially the mighty Buzzing Brass Wellington Youth Band. A special thank you to all the contest organisers and volunteers who give us and all the bands the opportunity to do what we do best – perform. And lastly thank you to all our supporters near and far, the support we receive means a great deal to us. We hope you enjoyed our performances as much as we did, thank you!”
Congratulations also go to Auckland City Brass, Upper Hutt Brass, North Shore Brass Academy and Auckland City Youth Band on winning the National titles in their respective divisions. Full results are below:
Results:
A Grade:
Set Work: Heroes (Bruce Broughton)
Adjudicator: Kenneth Young
Sacred item/Set Work/Own Choice = Total
1. Wellington Brass (David Bremner): 50/94/91 = 235.0
2. North Shore Brass (Harmen Vanhoorne): 48/91/94 = 233.0
3. Hamilton City Brass (Mason Elliot): 47/87/89 = 223.0
4= Brass Whanganui (Bruce Jellyman): 48.5/90/83 = 221.5
4= Waitakere Auckland Brass (Grant Langdon): 46.5/89/86 = 221.5
6. Canterbury Brass (Andrew Snell): 47.5/85/87 = 219.5
7. Woolston Brass (Tyme Masters): 48/87/84 = 219.0
8. St Kilda Brass (Alan Spence): 47/85/85 = 217.0
Sacred Item: Wellington Brass
Test Piece: Wellington Brass
Own Choice: North Shore Brass
Outstanding Soloist in Set Work: Luke Spence (euphonium) — Wellington Brass
Outstanding Section in Set Work: Cornets of Wellington Brass
Outstanding Principal Cornet in Own Choice: Todd Smith (Hamilton City Brass)
B Grade:
Set Work: Aotearoa — Land of the Long White Cloud (Philip Sparke)
Adjudicator: Kenneth Young
Sacred item/Set Work/Own Choice = Total
1. Auckland City Brass (Mark Close): 48.5/91/92 = 231.5
2. Marlborough District Brass (Robin Randall): 47.5/88/89 = 224.5
3= Hutt City Brass (Matt Stein): 47.5/89/82 = 218.5
3= Addington Brass (Adrian Dalton): 46.5/85/87 = 218.5
5. Trust Porirua City Brass (Clynton Payne): 46/86/86 = 218
6. Alpine Energy Timaru Brass (Paul Black): 45.5/84/84 = 213.5
Sacred Item: Auckland City Brass
Test Piece: Auckland City Brass
Own Choice: Auckland City Brass
Best Soloist in Test Piece: Jake Krishmurti (cornet) — Auckland City Brass
Best Principal Cornet in Own Choice: Jake Krishmurti (Auckland City Brass)
C Grade:
Set Work: Napoleon on the Alps (Philip Harper)
Adjudicator: Mark Carter
Sacred item/Set Work/Own Choice = Total
1. Upper Hutt Brass (Aaron Lloydd): 45/91/90 = 226
2. Tauranga City Brass (Steve Thompson): 44.5/87/94 = 225.5
3. Woolston Concert Brass (Kevin Hickman): 45.5/89/90 = 224.5
4. Howick Brass (Brendan Agnew): 42.5/86/88 = 216.5
5. Matamata Brass (Glenn Richards): 43.5/85/86 = 214.5
6. Te Awamutu Brass (Sarah Carroll): 42/85/87 = 214
7. Levin & District Brass (Colin Honey): 42/81/88 = 211
8. Hawera Brass Band (Karl Anderson): 42.5/80/84 = 206.5
Sacred Item: Woolston Concert Brass
Set Work: Upper Hutt Brass
Own Choice: Tauranga City Brass
D Grade:
Set Work: Kinloch (Jack Bewley)
Adjudicator: Mark Carter
Sacred item/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. North Shore Brass Academy (Andrew Leech): 86/84/81 = 251
2. Maamaloa Brass (Kalino Pongi): 83/83/81 = 247
3= Kumeu Brass (Linda Filimoehala): 78/82/83 = 243
3= Buzzing Brass Wellington (Byron Newton): 82/81/80 = 243
5. Whanganui Concert Brass (Bruce Jellyman): 81/80/79 = 240
6. Cambridge Brass (Rob Hocking): 80/79/78 = 237
7. Masterton District Brass Bruce Roberts): 76/68/78 = 222
Sacred Item: North Shore Brass Academy Band
Own Choice: North Shore Brass Academy Band
Stage March: Kumeu Brass
Youth Grade:
Own Choice/Concert = Total
1. Auckland City Youth Brass (Josh Rogan): 90/91 = 181
2. Buzzing Brass Wellington Youth (Byron Newton): 88/90 = 178
Own Choice: Auckland City Youth Brass
Concert Programme: Auckland City Youth Brass
Best Soloist in the Youth Grade: Hamish Williams (tuba) — Buzzing Brass Wellington Youth
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