Preview: National Finals

This weekend, the highlight of the UK Brass Band calendar is taking place as the best bands from around the country descend on London for the National Brass Band Championship Finals at the Royal Albert Hall. With twenty bands from across the UK, winners and runners up from the Area Contests held in the Spring, it will be a showcase of top brass playing talent and the competition is set to be fierce. As the date approaches, it’s not just the players and supporters who are getting excited.

“The Championship Section Final of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain is often referred to as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Nationals”, says Tim Jones, Events Manager at Kapitol Promotions. “The event is being held at arguably the finest live music venue in the world, and the competing bands are twenty ensembles who have qualified (or pre-qualified) for this prestigious event from their respective Regional Championships”.

Hyperlink

This year’s test piece is Hyperlink, a relatively new piece by the renowned composer Peter Graham, and commissioned by the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain for their Platinum Anniversary and who gave the world premier earlier this year.

As a piece, it’s exciting, technical, and dynamic - basically everything you’d expect from a Peter Graham test piece. It’s full of hints and snippets of other works as well as (to my ear) hints of his other pieces in there. It should be a great test for the bands, but engage the audience as well.

Thinking Inside The Box

Assigned the task of separating the bands this Saturday are three of the largest names in the movement; Robert Childs, Stephen Cobb and Rob Wiffin. As Rob explains, as routines go, it’s reasonably straightforward for the men in the box: “We arrive before the draw, say a quick hello to the band representatives and are then shut away until the contest is ready to start. It is then a matter of sitting in the box and concentrating really hard for a long time!”. Of course, there is far more to adjudication and the hard work doesn’t just take place on the day, with preparations beginning well in advance. “It’s important to read through the score many times without listening to any performances, just as if one was preparing to conduct it. Reading should focus on both macro - to get a feel for the overall structure and flow of the music, and micro - to learn intrinsic details. We have to think as the composer’s advocate, considering the balances and dynamics intended and comprehending the compositional techniques employed. Having listened to it internally it is then worthwhile listening to any existing recorded performances. So what are Rob’s expectations? It will be a demanding day listening to so many performances but the actual experience of sharing and considering those performances with my fellow adjudicators is a satisfying one. It is always a thrill to hear these really fine bands deliver the results of so much thought and work in this competitive environment.

Return to the RAH

Of course, banding has been impacted in recent years by the Coronavirus pandemic. Last year, Kapitol took the difficult, and brave, decision to run the finals at the Royal Albert Hall, despite uncertainty remaining in all walks of life. Understandably, the audience was not as large as hoped for, but there is hope that this year will see a recovery in numbers. “2021's ticket sales were substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically consumer confidence regarding large-scale events”, Tim explained. “Twelve months on however, the outlook is a lot more promising. Large-scale events have returned to close to ‘normal’, ticket sales are markedly up on 2021 and are at a similar stage to pre-pandemic levels”. Of course, there is an understanding that concerns may remain. “We appreciate that some audience members may still be tentative about attending such a large events” Tim said and wants attendees to “be assured that all of the relevant precautions have been put in place, and Kapitol Promotions & Royal Albert Hall stewards will be on hand to ensure everyone feels safe at the Final”.

A Red Letter Day

So, as bands and audiences descend on the capital and excitement builds anticipation is building. So, what are the hopes ahead of the big day? “We will be hoping for successful and accurate realisations of the score”, explains Rob. “There are limits as to what can be written down in music notation and it can be guaranteed that some bands will deliver performances that will transcend the written notes and deliver something awe-inspiring!” For the organisers, Kapitol Promotions “Our fundamental hope is that everyone attending our event, whether that be performers, supporters, VIPs, exhibitors and the general public have a thoroughly enjoyable day at the RAH”, says Tim, “and we expect to have an extremely exciting (but tiring!) day providing this culturally significant event for the brass band movement. All of the hard work has been put in place by our expert events team, and we can't wait to welcome everyone to the Royal Albert Hall this Saturday”.

What more is there to say? The waiting is nearly over. Finals day is nearly here. It's sure to be a belter. 

List of competing bands:

1. Aldbourne
2. Black Dyke
3. Bon-Accord Silver
4. City of Cardiff (M1)
5. Cory
6. Desford Colliery
7. Easington Colliery
8. Flowers
9. Fodens
10. Hammonds
11. Haverhill
12. Leyland
13. NASUWT Riverside
14. Northop Silver
15. Oldham (Lees)
16. Ratby Co-Operative
17. Redbridge Brass
18. Rothwell Temperance
19. Tredegar
20. Whitburn