Rodney Newton Percy Fletcher's Labour and Love, this year's 3rd Section Regional test-piece, and looks at the life of its composer

Frank Renton reflects on the current debate regarding young composers and their exposure in the band contest marketplace.

Rodney Newton surveys the life and works of Torstein Aagaard-Nilsen, Composer-in-Residence at this year’s RNCM Festival of Brass, with particular reference to his large catalogue of works for brass band

Kenneth Crookston meets the Brass Band of Battle Creek, based in Michigan in the USA, and discovers that there is much more to this remarkable ensemble than an occasional get-together of brass superstars.

Brass bands are often criticised by those outside the fraternity for not being able to play swing and jazz in an authentic manner. Rodney Newton considers this topic with the help of Dr. Robin Dewhurst, Tony Fisher and Allan Withington

by Kenneth Crookston It seems a distant memory now, but the Scottish Open Brass Band Championship struggled to make a mark when it was established in Glasgow in 2003, beset as it was by late withdrawals, financial deficits and a venue that was just too big to allow the audience it attracted to generate an atmosphere conducive to a good day’s contesting.

by Dr. Roy Newsome

I get quite angry at all the griping by certain members of the brass band public - and press - about adjudicators, who are not in a position to bite back. They make their decisions, honestly and impartially, announce them to the world and have to live with them. They can only sit back and ‘take it on the chin’. It’s often said that adjudicating is not an exact science. Arthur Butterworth explains it like this in an article which appears on the website of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators (ABBA): ‘While it may be possible for a listener – an adjudicator – to state a personal preference for one performance more than another, it is not possible to measure such preference in hard and fast arithmetical terms and say without contradiction that such and such a performance is the “best” in the same way that a referee or umpire can decide the outcome of a game.’

by Frank Renton

The British Open was a super day this year; after all, what could be much better than listening to music in a great concert hall and being able to meet, and chat, with old friends between performances? The piece chosen as the set test, Titan’s Progress by Hermann Pallhulber, is a monster, and few bands managed to sufficiently master the technical demands to take their performances completely into the realms of great music-making. Having said that, I thought the performances by the bands placed first and second were truly awe-inspiring. The piece was, of course, written for Brass Band Oberösterreich and its conductor, Hannes Buchegger, to play in the own-choice section of the 2007 European Championships. I was backstage for that performance rather than in the auditorium, but the audience reaction was tremendous, and what I heard was mightily impressive, although Oberösterreich is a mightily impressive ensemble with the technical mastery to play virtually anything well. I seem to remember, though, that the adjudicators didn’t think much of the performance!

by Kenneth Crookston

It’s only three weeks since I wrote in this publication about all the passion going out of brass band contesting, recalling the ‘good old days’, when adjudicators would be chased for their lives by defeated bandsmen, to be defended on the station platform by the winning band’s players. Thankfully, nothing ever happens like that nowadays - at least that was the case when we published that particular article. However, seven days later, events following the 157th British Open Championship in Birmingham appear to have precipitated the modern-day banding equivalent of World War III.

Thanks to a bumper entry in our competition to win tickets to see Hayley Westenra and Mnozil Brass, we have secured additional prizes, meaning a total of six winners.

BB has a great competition, with tickets to see Hayley Westenra and Mnozil Brass at the Royal Festival Hall

Dinnington Colliery revival to be covered on BBC2

In a groundbreaking initiative, the University Centre Stratford campus of Newham College, at the heart of London’s Olympic regeneration project, has announced a major investment in brass studies, designed not only to bring education closer to the community, but also offering opportunities for students to work with some of the leading figures in brass music.

The inaugural lecture recital will be screened live on the BB website on Friday 29 May.

With the help of Ulf Rosenberg, the President of the European Brass Band Association, Kenneth Crookston looks
back on the recent European Brass Band Championships in Belgium and examines some of the issues arising from
international banding's biggest occasion.

Kenneth Crookston reports from the Senior Cup and Senior Trophy sections of the Spring Festival, held in Blackpool's Winter Gardens

Christopher Thomas reports from the Grand Shield Contest in Blackpool's Winter Gardens

Victories for Rothwell Temperance, Marsden and United Co-op Milnrow at the Spring Festival in Blackpool

Hermann Pallhuber to write test piece for British Open Championships in September

Repeating last year's victory, Cory Band takes the European Championship title in Ostend

A new work by Peter Graham has been chosen as the test-piece for the Final of the National Brass Band Championships in the Royal Albert Hall.

Bertrand Moren of Switzerland wins the European Composers' Competition in Ostend.

Euphonium virtuoso, Steven Mead, who is on a visit to the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in the USA and Mississauga in Canada, will be appearing live on the Internet on Tuesday evening (21st).

Top titles at the 2009 National Youth Brass Band Championships go to Camborne, Sellers, Gloucestershire, Gwynedd Mon and Smithy Bridge.

Brass in Concert organisers, Paul and Jackie Beere, have announced a massive boost for the 2009 Brass in Concert Festival. As plans come together for the event, the organisers have secured the services of Black Dyke Band to top the bill of the World of Brass in Concert gala opener.

by Kenneth Crookston

The traditional Scottish home of jute, jam and journalism - Desperate Dan and cow pie et al - Dundee is renowned for many things, none of which inclide the unseasonably fine weather that greeted the competitors in the Scottish Brass Band Championships, which took place at the city's Caird Hall last weekend under the finely-tuned auspices of the Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA). For the two days of the event, the sun shone brightly on the east coast city, and that may be one of the reasons why the cavernous venue remained only a fraction full for the vast majority of the time.

by Steve Jack

A few weeks ago, on Test Match Special, Jonathan Agnew asked Geoff Boycott what sports or hobbies used statistics, numbers and historical facts as much as cricket. Boycott couldn't come up with an answer, which, for a Yorkshireman who should be steeped in the traditions of bands, is as sacrilegious as one waving a flag with a red rose on it!
Well, here are a few statistics from Darlington to get us going - the home guard changed here for the first time since 2001 as East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS), under the direction of Robert Childs, beat perennial favourite, Reg Vardy (the band's first win since 1998). In doing so, Dr. Childs took his second ‘Area' title of the campaign and left brother, Nicholas, stuck on 19 wins.

by Christopher Thomas
With Redbridge having held the title of London and Southern Counties Champions for no less than six out of the last seven years, it is no surprise that it was the hot tip for victory once again in 2009. In previous years, though, the band has never held the title of Butlins Champion to carry with it to Stevenage, let alone a little matter of £6,000 in the bank as a result - a confidence booster if ever there was one.

EYMS regains the title in a Childs bothers one-two at the North of England Regional Championships

Redbridge's dominance continues at the London and Southern Counties Regional Championships