Sydney City wins Australian Championships
The 2025 Australian National Championships sponsored by Yamaha Music Australia, took place in Melbourne over the Easter Weekend at Xavier College and Methodist Ladies College in Kew.
Congratulations to Sydney City Brass on becoming the inaugural winners for the new Premier Grade event. Under the direction of Jason Katsikaris the band came second in the own choice competition and third in the Stage March, however wins with their hymn and performance of the set test earned the band a convincing 5-point lead over runners-up Brisbane Excelsior.
Commenting on social media, a spokesperson from Sydney City Brass stated, “The determination, total commitment and inspired vision of our music director Jason Katsikaris has guided us every step of the way towards this happy achievement. Thank you to all those involved in organising this contest. Congratulations to all the other bands, it was wonderful to hear you play and catch up with friends from the banding community across the country. Thank you to our supporters who came to our pre-nationals' concert, who travelled to Melbourne for the competition, and who followed us on the livestream.”
Congratulations are also deserved for Footscray-Yarraville City, Cairns Brass No. 1, Wonthaggi Citizensand City of Ballarat Municipal Brass on winning National titles in their respective grades. Full results of the senior and junior competitions are below.
Results:
Premier Grade:
Adjudicators: Margaret S Antrobus; Tyme Marsters; Ken Waterworth
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Sydney City Brass (Jason Katsikaris): 99/198/196/96 = 589
2. Brisbane Excelsior (David Bremner): 97/195/194/98 = 584
3. Darebin City Brass — Preston (Andrew Snell): 98/196/193/95 = 582*
4. Willoughby City Band (Dominic Longhurst): 96/192/197/97 = 582
5. Brisbane Brass (Alan Spence): 96/190/191/92 = 569
6. Glenorchy City Concert Brass (Simon Reade): 95/189/190/91 = 565
*Test Piece score takes precedence
A Grade:
Adjudicators: Margaret S Antrobus; Tyme Marsters; Ken Waterworth
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Footscray-Yarraville City (Glyn Williams): 94/190/195/96 = 575
2. Willoughby Band No. 2 (Dominic Longhurst): 93/188/192/94 = 567
3. Kensington & Norwood Brass (Jonathan Baker): 92/186/190/94 = 562
4. Geelong West Brass (Jason Mears): 93/185/187/91 = 556
5. Boroondara Brass (Daniel van Bergen): 90/181/189/95 = 555
6. Glenferrie Brass (Phillipa Edwards): 92/182/186/93 = 553
7. Holroyd Brass (Dail Vail): 91/183/185/92 = 551
B Grade:
Adjudicators: Heather Aitken; Brian Hogg; Bryan Hurdley
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Cairns Brass No. 1 (Jon Christodoulides): 88/191/183/82 = 544*
2. Parramatta City (Luke Bradbury): 84/185/190/85 = 544
3. Box Hill City (Simon Brown): 84/179/186/84 = 533
4. Canberra Brass (Veronica Boulton): 79/183/184/83 = 529
5. Whitehorse Brass (Broden Ford): 81/179/179/78 = 517
6. Diamond Valley Brass (Jeff Steele): 82/181/173/78 = 514
7. City of Greater Dandenong (Jamie Lawson): 80/180/173/77 = 510
8. Ulverstone Municipal (Thomas Lamb): 71/170/171/79 = 491
*Test Piece score takes precedence
C Grade:
Adjudicators: Joanne Heaton; David Musk; Richard Shirley
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Wonthaggi Citizens (Craig Marinus): 89/185/184/89 = 547
2. Darebin City Brass — Northern Brass (Martyn Scrimshaw): 82/171/191/95 = 539
3. Western Brass (Jared McCunnie): 82/171/190/87 = 530
4. Hyde Street Youth (Phillipa Edwards): 83/160/192/94 = 529
5. Marion City (Aaron Madden): 86/173/179/87 = 525
6. Moonee Valley Brass (Dean Hughes): 83/169/180/82 = 514
7. Creswick Brass (Katrina Bird): 85/167/177/84 = 513
8. Wodonga Brass (Fenella O'Sullivan): 77/161/184/90 = 512
9. Sunshine Community Brass (Shan Amunugama): 81/163/179/85 = 508
10. City of Greater Bendigo Brass (Cally Bartlett): 72/167/170/80 = 489
D Grade:
Adjudicators: Karina Filipi; Andrew Porter; Louisa Trewartha
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. City of Ballarat Municipal Brass (Dennis Stevenson): 95/189/181/82 = 547
2. Marist Brass Band (Colin Wellard): 89/183/177/88 = 537
3. Boroondara Harmony Brass (Robyn Lowenstein Waugh): 84/180/184/87 = 535
4. City of Wollongong Junior Brass (Desmond Cannings): 78/168/194/86 = 526
5. Aberfeldie Brass (Brad Johnson): 85/170/183/80 = 518
6. Sale City Band (Tom Cousin): 77/184/171/76 = 508
7. Stonnington City Brass (Kevin Hillier): 75/173/170/71 = 489
Junior A Grade:
Adjudicator: Margaret S Antrobus
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Hyde Street Youth (Andrew Wilson/Bethany McAuliffe-D'Rozario): 97/191/192/97 = 577
Junior B Grade:
Adjudicator: Margaret S Antrobus
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Box Hill Academy Brass (Lauren Innes): 97/192/193/98 = 580
2. City of Wollongong Junior Brass (Desmond Cannings): 95/189/189/96 = 569
Junior C Grade:
Adjudicator: Margaret S Antrobus
Hymn/Test Piece/Own Choice/Stage March = Total
1. Richmond Youth Brass Band (Adam Arnold): 95/192/190/97 = 574
