National Music Festivals 2014
With another set of Festivals completed there was lots of fabulous music played! The two events undertaken at Chandlers Ford Methodist Church and Carters Lane Baptist Church were a testament to the amount of musical talent and fellowship that exists within our community. The national BB/GB Music Festivals saw a total of 90 entries over the two venues with lots of supporters, spectators and the local churches joining in on the whole day of music. We were also visited by the Brigade Secretary, Steve Dickenson and CEO of the Birmingham Battalion, Roger Green, who actually got involved in the mechanics of the day and thoroughly enjoyed it.
There were entries in six class groups: brass, woodwind, keyboards, mixed instrumentals, percussion and voice as well as holding workshops in voice and strings. We had a number of new visitors and participants to the festivals this year as well as a number of familiar participants who came to entertain.
There were representatives from 19 different companies with nearly 200 participants from companies representing all parts of England. There were representatives from six companies that had not competed before as well as a number of beginners experiencing the festivals for the first time.
The entries this year continue to have an 'all-age' appeal with adults entering, demonstrating that this is not just a youth event. There were adults continuing to expand their experience by using the event as a platform to demonstrate new skills. A number of cross-company entries were made by 'Brigade friends' particularly in the ensembles and some Brigade participants used the occasion to perform with non-Brigade members in the ensemble entries.
The adjudication was provided by Christopher Mahy in the South, who has an extensive background in music education and Terry Colley, in the Midlands, a local musician and performer. Their expertise and professionalism was put across with enthusiasm. Performers were given positive pointers for future development goals, targets and aspirations.
The Festival, although non-competitive, encourages the individual as well as the team to perform to their highest standard, and performances which are clear, concise and communicate to the audience bridging the gap between technical ability and artistic nuances achieve very creditable results.
Click here to view photographs of the Southern Festival.
Click here to view photographs of the Midland Festival.
The broad marking range for participants was:
| Fair | 75-77 | A performance limited in its communications |
| Promising | 78-80 | A performance showing development of technique and/or communications |
| Merit | 81-83 | A capable performance showing some artistic appreciation and/or technical ability |
| Highly Commended | 84-86 | A convincing performance technically and artistically |
| Distinction | 87-89 | An excellent performance technically and artistically |
| Honours | 90+ | An exceptional performance technically and artistically |
The results were very encouraging and all faired very well, resulting in the following categories:
| Fair | 0 |
| Promising | 3 |
| Merit | 6 |
| Highly Commended | 40 |
| Distinction | 24 |
| Honours | 11 |
For the ‘best of classes’ the adjudicator had the discretion to award cups and trophies to entrants who are awarded the following levels of attainment: Highly commended; Distinction or Honours.
The results for the 2014 Southern Festival were:
| Brass | |
| Brass player (13 years and under) | N Taylor, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Brass player (14 and over) | M Tompkins, 6th South East Essex BB |
| Ensemble classes (13 years and under) | Not Awarded |
| Ensemble classes (14 years and over) | D Lewis and T Wood, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Fred Mansfield Shield - brass band classes | Senior Band, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Woodwind | |
| Woodwind player (13 years and under) | Not Awarded |
| Woodwind player (14 years and over) | V Brownlee, 5th Hull BB |
| Ensemble classes | Flute Ensemble, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Vocal | |
| Junior vocalist (13 years and under) | C Baker and A Letcher, 1st Totton GB |
| Vocalist (14 years and over) | J McCarthy & S Chiverton, 1st Totton GB |
| Youth Choir | 1st Totton GB |
| Keyboards | |
| Keyboard player (13 years and under) | J Dixon, 1st Newport BB |
| Keyboard player (14 and over) | P Herman, 1st Newport BB |
| Mixed Instrumentals | |
| Most promising player | B Tompkins, 6th South East Essex BB |
| Most promising ensemble | Folky Trio, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Percussion | |
| Most promising player | Not Awarded |
| Most promising ensemble | Ding Dong Belles, 1st Eastleigh, 1st Hedge End and 1st Chandlers Ford GB Companies |
| Adjudicator's Medals | |
| Brass – solos | J Burley & G Hurrell, 6th South East Essex BB |
| Brass – ensembles | 6th South East Essex BB |
| Woodwind – ensembles | Ocarina Choir, 1st Chandlers Ford GB |
| Vocal – solos | Lizette Bailey, 1st Hedge End GB |
| Mixed Instrumentals | BB Ukulele Group, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
The results for the 2014 Midland Festival were:
| Brass | |
| Brass player (13 years and under) | Not Awarded |
| Brass player (14 and over) | Not Awarded |
| Ensemble classes (13 years and under) | O Fowler and J Stewart, 5th Hull BB |
| Ensemble classes (14 years and over) | 5th Hull BB |
| The Greatorex Shield - brass band classes | 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Woodwind | |
| Woodwind player (13 years and under) | L Chauhan, 14th Leicester BB |
| Woodwind player (14 years and over) | G Burnett, 5th Hull BB |
| Ensemble classes | G and L Burnett, 5th Hull BB |
| Vocal | |
| Junior vocalist (13 years and under) | Not Awarded |
| Vocalist (14 years and over) | L Bailey, 1st Hedge End GB |
| Youth Choir | Not Awarded |
| Keyboards | |
| Keyboard player (13 years and under) | H Giles, 53rd Birmingham GB |
| Keyboard player (14 and over) | Not Awarded |
| Mixed Instrumentals | |
| Most promising player | E Tovey, 53rd Birmingham GB |
| Most promising ensemble | Folky Trio, 1st Chandlers Ford BB |
| Percussion | |
| Most promising player | C Powell, 14th Leicester BB |
| Most promising ensemble | Ding Dong Belles, 1st Eastleigh, 1st Hedge End and 1st Chandlers Ford GB Companies |
| Adjudicator's Medals | |
| Woodwind – ensembles | C Powell, 14th Leicester BB |
| Vocal – solos | W Bruce, 1st Halesowen BB |
| Mixed Instrumentals | Carters Lane Baptist Church Worship Group, 1st and 3rd Halesowen BB and 53rd Birmingham GB |
The dates for 2015 have been fixed for the 28 March at Chandlers Ford Methodist Church and 25 April at Carters Lane Baptist Church (please note earlier date). Come and get involved or at least come and support us!
We hope to widen the scope to include more types of instruments. If there are suggestions then please let us know. The syllabus is available from the main Festival web page.
Please note: that this is not just youth but open to all ages and remember 50% of your ensemble can be made up of non-brigade members.
Looking forward to your entries in 2015.
Regards
Simon Farrenden
Director of Music
National BB Brass Band Association
bbgbfestival@live.co.uk