Camborne Town Band competed at the annual South West contest season opener at Yeovil on Saturday, a field of 8 bands competed at the Octagon Theatre on a cold Saturday afternoon to a capacity audience who was very receptive to our programme.The band started its programme with Blackbird Special by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, with all members playing from the wings before they walked on stage. This set the mood for a good concert programme put together by Professional Conductor, Steve Sykes. The band fired straight into Wedding Dance, arranged by Reid Gilje, which is a rousing fast and furious romp. Les Kneebone, the band’s Soprano Cornet player, then gave a rendition of the Paul McCartney classic, Live and Let Die.
The band then slowed things down with the traditional Scottish air, Bonnie Briar Bush, arranged by Elgar Howarth. This piece spotlighted the horn section to the full, with warm textures, sounds and ambient lighting making this a real audience pleaser.
The band followed this with the xylophone solo, Helter Skelter, played by Charlie Hodge, who is the youngest member of the band. Charlie really pulled a top draw performance out of the bag to claim the ‘Best Soloist’ award. The Camborne Band brought the programme to a close with Jim Webb’s classic MacArthur Park.
The band would like to take the opportunity to thank Steve Sykes for all his hard work in the contest preparation and are very much looking forward to the West of England Championships in early March.
Full Results courtesy of 4BarsRest:
Adjudicator: Chris Davis
1. Flowers (Paul Holland) - 197
2. Friary Guildford (Chris King) - 194
3. Mount Charles (Richard Evans) - 193
4. Jackfield Elcock Reisen (Simon Platford) - 191
5. Woodfalls (Phil Randell) - 190
6. Bournemouth Concert (Dave Barringer) - 189
7. Camborne (Steve Sykes) - 187
8. Brunel Brass (John Winterflood) - 186
Best Soloist: Charlie Hodge, Xylophone (Camborne)
Best Soprano: Paul Richards (Brunel Brass)
Best Section: Percussion (Flowers)