Newstead Brass are looking forward to Christmas after the
early present of a clean sweep of all the available awards at the prestigious
‘Leicestershire Open’ Brass Band Contest.
They took first prize in the championship section, the award for ‘best
trombone’ section and principal euphonium Lynden Cooper collected the trophy
for ‘best instrumentalist’.
The popular contest, held in Loughborough on 24th November,
attracted over 70 entries from across the Midlands, East Anglia, London and the
South East as well as the Tertnes band from Norway. Eleven bands competed in
the highest graded Championship section.
Adjudicator Peter Bassano commented that there were 6 ‘very good’
performances, but his final result gave Newstead Brass and their musical
director Duncan Beckley first place with 192 points from 200, 2 ahead of
runners up the Ratby Band from Leicestershire with the final ‘podium’ place
going to Derwent Brass from Derbyshire.
Newstead’s chosen piece ‘Variations on an Enigma’ by Philip
Sparke provided a stern technical challenge for the band, but also gave the
soloists a chance to shine with the contributions of Lynden Cooper (principal
euphonium) and the trombone section (Tim Mossad, Kevin Stewart and Dave Oswin)
being recognised with their special awards
Newstead brass Christmas Concerts begin with ‘A Christmas Festival’ in Hucknall Central Methodist Church at 7.30 pm on Saturday December 7th with their guests the Eastwood Collieries Male Voice Choir. Tickets are £5 and can be reserved via the band website, from the church on Saturday mornings or during Carnival Night (December 4th) or by calling call 0115 952 7439. Tickets will also be available at the door.
The band also have Christmas appearances in Arnold, Kirkby, Nottingham and Shirebrook, see the band events calendar for details.
