Weston Super Mare - Own Choice Contest 16th May 2010

Daventry Brass returns from Weston Super Mare with silverware!

With no engagements to prepare for until June, Nigel suggested we enter the own choice contest in Weston-Super-Mare to give the band something to aim for, and have a great day out.

After working our way through a varied list of candidates, we settled on Phillip Sparke’s “Music for a Festival” as our test piece. The piece is typical Phillip Sparke, brilliantly written with a myriad of different lines requiring absolute attention to detail to bring them all together.

Weeks later and the day of the contest arrived...

Most of the band travelled down by coach (with a few taking advantage of the occasion and making it into a family weekend away) and one by one, bleary eyed band members arrived at the band hall for a 6:30 departure.

After a relatively quiet (apparently there aren’t many loud snorers in the band) motorway slog, we weaved our way down increasingly narrow country lanes until we arrived in the picturesque village of Hutton, for a quick rehearsal in their Village Hall. I’m sure the residents had never heard of Daventry Brass, but after a 55 seater coach appeared outside their Village Hall and attempted (without success) to reverse into the Village Hall car park, they know who we are now.

After a few hymns and a few run throughs, we got the news at 10:10 that we were drawn 2nd so it was back on the coach and off to the contest venue, The Winter Gardens on Weston-Super-Mare’s seafront.

We arrived in Weston and took a whistle stop tour as road works along the seafront and their resulting diversions seemed to take us further and further away from The Winter Gardens.

Eventually we arrived outside The Winter Gardens to news of the first band of the section just going through registration. It seemed like an age whilst we waited to be called in to register, but once called we found ourselves on stage in no time at all.

We made our way through the exposed unison cornet section opening without any bloopers and carried off a performance we were all happy with – even though Glennis’ stand collapsed half way through, dumping her music on the floor!

During his comments the adjudicator mentioned both Bream’s and our performances as performances he was taken with and in particular, felt ours was well led by the MD.

With these comments, we felt confident we had placed but we none of us expected how well we had placed!

Before announcing the placings in the 3rd Section, an unexpected award for the “best bass section” was awarded to our bass section! Well done, basses! Congratulations to you all!

Onto the results and after we weren’t announced as placing 3rd or 2nd, we waited with baited breath as they moved onto 1st place, “… the band that played number two, Daventry Brass”. A moment of stunned silence followed by shrieks and cheering of joy – we’d done it! Nigel collected the trophy and held it high, a moment truly well deserved after the effort put in by everyone in the band and recent contest disappointment.

To top it off, the sun came out and cleared away the rain for the afternoon, making for an enjoyable afternoon eating fish and chips by the sea and in the pub for celebratory beers!

Great day for all and I’m sure we’d consider attending again.

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