National Open B Grade Champions 2006

"Gosford City Band, conducted by Anthony Timmins, were placed equal 7th/8th due to scoring of the TEST piece, in B Grade for 2006. They achieved an aggregate score of 455.

Gosford played Bromley (Phillip Rutherford, our beloved MD) as their Hymn selection. This performance had very good balance, soloists handled this well and the band had full sound throughout.

In the Test, the opening was secure, lovely cornet and the quavers from B were very good. Timpani were great, although sometimes a little loud as the semiquaver work was lost. The muted finish to the first movement was effective. Euphonium and soprano playing in the elegy were very well done and the muted accompaniment was sensitive. The subito mp at M was excellent. The piece built well and was great leading into N. Very nice work from flugel, soprano and euphoniums. The vibraphone and quaver accompaniment were effective, but the sextuplets didn't quite happen. The opening to the third movement was not really ff, but xylophone was great. The band was very effective into U, with nice contrasts from U through to Y. AA was well handled, with good sustained sound at CC leading to a terrific finish.

For the band's Own Choice selection the band opted for Plantagenets (Gregson). The band settled quickly after a shaky start. In relation to the rest of the band, the cornets were a little light in volume. There was very nice trombone and tenor horn playing. The band clearly enjoys this piece (as do I), as there was loads of foot-tapping. The call and response section between tenor horn and muted cornet was well handled. Soaring euphonium solo was excellent – well done Phillip! There was also a lovely tenor horn solo and the back row cornets and trombones were excellent. The duet between solo cornet and euphonium was very good and supported by sensitive accompaniment. The recap was more confident. The fugue section is very well executed, with tubas particularly good. There were some terrific Gregson sounds achieved in this piece. A lovely flugel solo led through to an exciting finish. Bravo band!

The band chose one of my absolute favourite marches in Roll Away Bet (Ord Hume). This started with excellent style. Bad luck solo cornet but this recovered well. Excellent work from soprano, and the bass solo was terrific. The march continued with good attention to dynamics and articulation. Bravo trombones!

The band demonstrated a rich tone, very good dynamic contrast and the percussion was exciting. There was some wooliness at times. Cornets were overpowered sometimes. Tuning and intonation were mostly accurate, and there was some lovely solo playing.

The B Grade section was a treat to listen to, and the standard in the upper bands was very high indeed. Thank you to all bands.

Chris Bowman"