On Saturday 17th September 2022, the band competed in The National Brass Band Championships (First Section) at Cheltenham Racecourse. We were over the moon to be placed third out of the sixteen bands that took part!

The band assembled at midday in Woodmancote, a beautiful village outside of Cheltenham for our contest day rehearsal and eagerly awaited the draw! News came that we had been drawn fourteenth out of sixteen bands, which meant a good eight hours wait before our performance – plenty of time to enjoy the sunshine and pose for a group photo in the picturesque surroundings!

The band took to the stage around 8:30pm and performed the set test piece, Trittco for brass Band by James Curnow. Originally commissioned in 1988 by the Swiss Brass Band Association, James Curnow’s Trittico for Brass Band was first performed at the Swiss National Championships of the same year. The piece is packed full of exciting twists and turns, there are three distinct variations that feature the original hymn, Consolation, with each variation presenting the hymn in a different light.

The adjudicators on the day, Roger Webster, Ian Porthouse and Gary Davies awarded the band third place, meaning that we won a prize, but unfortunately didn’t qualify for promotion to The Championship Section – we are looking forward to hopefully qualifying next year and giving it another shot!

“The band worked incredibly hard in the lead up to the contest and stayed focused on the day to produce a fantastic performance. I couldn’t have asked for anymore and I’m extremely proud of them all!”

Craig Williams – Musical Director