Flowers regains the title in Torquay

Joanne Sykes reports from the West of England Championships in Torquay

Bandfolk of the South-west descended on Torquay’s Riviera Centre for the 2010 West of England Championships, which was, as in 2009, bathed in early spring sunshine - quite idyllic, in fact. However, this date in the contesting calendar is renowned as being one of the most highly competitive and intense of the qualifying series, with bands battling for bragging rights in no less than seven counties – not to mention qualification for the National Finals. The five chosen test-pieces featured music old and new, which this year not only challenged the ensembles as a whole, but also the artistry (not to mention the nerve) of end chair soloists, allowing adjudicators and spectators a ringside seat for all the thrills and spills – the main hall being considered as having one of the cruellest and driest acoustics of the regional venues. This made for a fascinating and captivating weekend.

Flowers Band snatched the West of England title away from the grasp of Camborne Town as, once again, it became the Regional Champion. As in previous years, it was a fiercely fought contest, with ten bands competing in the Championship Section. However, it must be said that not all bands had the ability to deal with both the technical and musical requirements that George Lloyd’s English Heritage demanded. A talking point in and around the contest hall was the extent to which some conductors had altered the scoring of the test-piece, especially as several soprano cornet players were observed giving assistance at the apex of the cornet solo, and it has to be said that some were slightly more successful than others. The adjudicators, Stan Lippeatt and David Horsfield, spoke of how they had both enjoyed listening to all performances and how four in particular had stood out for them, with the top two making themselves clearly the winner and the runnerup.