2009 : Yorkshire Champions

2009 started off with some excellent concerts. The first of these was our trip down to Stroud for the Stroud Festival. This is always well attended and the band picked up some new patrons too. Up next was a trip to Bridlington to play at Christ Church. A good evening was had by all.

In February the band played a concert in the Blackburn Hall, Rothwell for the Rotary Club. After performing music from the shows for the last couple of years this time we played music from both Shows and Films. Music from various films was performed including The Empire Strikes Back, Harry Potter, Braveheart and Jurassic Park. Shows included Cats, Chicago and They're Playing Our Song. Our next concert was more traditional, when we played at Yeadon Town Hall as part of these Leeds Best of Brass season, compered by Mike Meadmore.

In March the band had a stunning result at the Yorkshire Area, winning the contest ahead of all the local rivals including Black Dyke, Grimethorpe and Brighouse. (Contest Report) Contgratulations to Hepworth who took the runner up spot.

The band website resembled the births, marriages and deaths column from a newspaper soon after the Area, with babies for Paul Argyle and Neil Cole, the wedding of Tim Sawyer to Sharon D'Aucourt and the sad death of Donald Brown, one of our staunchest supporters.

In May, the band competed in the Grand Shield after being demoted from the British Open last year. It was their second contest of the year, and their second win. (Contest Report) The band therefore qualified back to the British Open in September.

Mid May, the band played their usual half concert for the Rotary Club at the free Old Folks concert in the Blackburn Hall, Rothwell.

At the Masters at the end of May, the band were looking for their third win in a row, but it was not to be. The band was tired, and our interpretation did not find favour with the judges, who played us 10th. (Contest Report)

In June the band competed at a very wet Whit Friday, managing 4th overall in Saddleworth with three seconds, two thirds and a fifth place.

The band were due to compete at the English Nationals at the end of June, but after our mammoth start to the year we pulled out of the contest. We had spent most of the year working on one test piece after another, and didn't feel that we'd be able to do the contest justice. We spent the time instead rehearsing and recording music for BBC Radio 2's Listen to the Band programme, and on contest day the band held another race night.

At the beginning of the year we had four contests planned - the Yorkshire Area, Grand Shield, Masters and English Nationals. At the mid point of the year we'd gained two more towards the end - the British Open and the National Finals at the Albert Hall. We also got busier when, over the summer, we received our first invitation to the Brass in Concert entertainments contest at the Sage Gateshead.

In July we got gained some new players in Matt Hindle on Eb Bass, Vikki Holland on the back row, and Bob Blackburn on Euphonium. Bob came in on second Euph to cover for Matthew Allsop who left to join the Hammonds Saltaire band on principal Euphonium. The season ended with the traditional football match and BBQ at the Rugby Club. The band featured as 4barsrest's Band In The Spotlight during July, recognising the achievements so far this year.

In August, Ed Hodkin also gained a daughter, meaning that he didn't play at the British Open in September. The piece for this was difficult, and though we had a good performance it didn't find favour with the judges and the band were placed fifteenth. (Contest Report)

In October our recording for Listen To The Band was broadcast, and we took part in the finals at the Albert Hall. We gained a stunning fourth place (Contest Report) behind some of the best bands in the world.

We now came to the busiest time of the year, with concerts at Yeadon Town Hall with Frank Renton conducting, a Best of Brass concert in Morley Town Hall, and a concert in the church at Kirkby Overblow. This last concert featured Lucy Rhodes who would be performing with us at Brass in Concert.

After performing for the Remembrance Day parade in Rothwell, the band had just a week left to prepare their programme for Brass in Concert. Their performance on contest day went well, and whilst the musical aspect was praised, we did not do as well on the entertainment side. (Contest Report) The band was placed 10th overall.

The band then relaxed into Christmas Concert season, kicking off with the now traditional two concerts at the Blackburn Hall, which we well receieved. After performing together with Middleton School Choir at the Parochial Hall in Middleton, the band then played carols for various events before finishing up with the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at Rothwell Church. This was Neil Cole's last event with the band before he left to spend more time with his young family.

The band held their annual Award Ceremony and dinner during December. The most improved player of the year award went to Jack Telfer, whilst the performance of the year went to James McCabe for his performances throughout the year, but particularly for the soloist prize at the Yorkshire Area. The coveted player's player of the year went to Richard Glascodine, for his work in arranging music for Brass in Concert.

The band finished the year seventh in the 4barsrest/World of Brass rankings, and were as high as fifth on the Brass Band World ones. This was after starting the year somewhere towards the bottom of the top twenty. It was an excellent year on the contesting front, but very busy, and we are hoping for a less frantic year in 2010, but still with success on the contest stage.