Cream rises to the top at Bedworth

Mike Kilroy reports from the Midlands Regional Championships in Bedworth

The Midlands Regional Championships provided the possibility of a weekend of great musicmaking in Bedworth, with excellent test-pieces, good venues (Bedworth Civic Hall and Nicholas Chamberlain Technology College) which catered for all, and a panel of adjudicators of the highest quality. George Lloyd’s English Heritage is a truly superb work that demands the utmost attention from conductors and players alike. As with all the other test-pieces in this year’s area contests, musicianship of the highest level is required. The detail contained within the music gives musical directors scope to create and present many differing interpretations, but it is rare indeed that extreme technical difficulty and music that can reach into your soul are such close bedfellows. The challenge is obvious; how do you overcome the complexity whilst creating the enthralling? Very difficult indeed, so how did the bands in the Midlands get on? The first band on show was Jaguar (Coventry), which got the contest off to a solid enough start, but there was some scrappy playing and it wasn’t always secure in delivery.

Desford Colliery, with Stephen Roberts at the helm, took to the stage next, getting off to a superb start with really classy sounds on show. The cornet ensemble in the unison passages of technical difficulty was quite startling at times, and Gary Wyatt on principal cornet was flawless in the florid solo, playing the top Eb with consummate ease. However, there were moments of unease too, with a few clips here and there and ensemble that wasn’t always together in key passages. This was a top band not absolutely on top form and the door had been left ajar. Virtuosi GUS was next and John Berryman produced a very different reading of the piece, featuring a fast-paced, bright-sounding performance that made the most of the opportunities to excite and thrill. The playing of young principal cornet, James Fountain, in the technical passages was quite superb, and he played with real style in the slow passages, although he was actually outshone by his father, Gary, on soprano, who was flawless. On the down side, this performance was not always consistent in delivery or style, but these two on-form bands had thrown down the gauntlet, leaving one to wonder if any other band could rise to the challenge. Ratby followed and found the piece a little hard going, although Michael Fowles did find some very nice details within the music. Drawn number five, Glossop Old created some moments of real musical quality, which compensated for odd lapses in technical ability. Some fine contributions from soprano, E- flat tuba and tenor horn helped the cause, though.