21 bands from the midlands and south of England took part in
the competition, with Newstead one of the 5 bands in the highest ‘Championship’
section, all of whom chose to play Peter Graham’s ‘Torchbearer’, the set piece
for the forthcoming regional qualifying rounds of the National Brass Band
Championships of Great Britain.
Adjudicator Frank Renton, well known as the voice of Radio
2’s ‘Listen to the Band’ said that he gave the prize to the band with the most
musically coherent performance of the piece.
Newstead Brass were presented with the Frank Grey Shield,
donated by Oxford’s then MP for the first contest in 1923, for their winning
performance. Principal cornet Mathew
Hampton, in his first contest for the band, received the Hampden shield as
the best instrumentalist and the band also collected the Webster Cup for the
best bass (tuba) section of the day.
A Newstead band spokesman said, “The trophies are a great
reward for the hard work put in by the band and our musical director Duncan
Beckley. Performing in contests is an
excellent way of maintaining our musical standards which are seen not just in
contests but in our concerts throughout the year.”
Newstead will now be looking to put just a little more
polish on their brass in final preparation for the midland championships in
Bedworth next Sunday (March 8th) before preparing for their spring and summer
concerts. The band are also looking for
further contest success in May at the British Open Brass Band Championships and
All English Masters International Contest.
