Diary of a European Champion
Cory Band at the European Brass Band Championships
2010 - by Nicholas Brill, Cornet
The European Brass Band Championships
is the brass band equivalent of football’s Champions League, with
the best brass bands from all over Europe competing for the title
of ‘European Champion’. This year’s competition was held in Linz,
Austria at the Brucknerhaus Concert Hall and saw the likes of
The Black Dyke Band from England, Eikanger-Bjorsvik Band from
Norway and the reigning champions The Cory Band from Wales
competing for the title.
Since its inception in 1978, the contest has
grown from a side event tagged on to the National Championships of
Great Britain into a weeklong festival with competitions for
composers, soloists and conductors. One of its aims is to promote
brass bands in countries where there are few or no brass bands. The
introduction of a ‘B-Section' competition encourages developing
bands and influenced the formation of the European Youth Brass Band
which brings together young players from all over Europe. The
‘A-Section’ bands are considered the best in Europe, having
qualified by winning their own national
title.
Cory Band and
RWCMD
As a student at the RWCMD, I have been fortunate to take
advantage of the partnership between the college and the Cory Band and become a member of
the band. For a brass band instrumentalist, joining a band of this
stature is like playing in a fine professional orchestra. Having
experienced the European Championship last year and being lucky
enough to win it at my first attempt, I looked forward to the
challenges that the conductor Dr. Robert Childs would set for the
band this time.
We were on the brink of something very unique, a
hat-trick of titles, having already won the competition in 2008 and
2009.
Rehearsals, Rehearsals and More Rehearsals!
Unlike most brass band contests, the European
is split into two days. The Friday night contest has all competing
bands playing the same piece of music. This year it was
Spiriti by Thomas Doss. From the first rehearsal, we
realised that this would be a real test with its many technical
difficulties.
The Saturday contest sees the bands playing
their own choice of piece, hoping to show off the band strengths.
This year the Cory Band decided to commission a new work by Philip
Sparke called A Tale as Yet Untold.
With the pieces chosen, it was time to begin
an intensive rehearsal schedule. This included a weekend of
sectional rehearsal as well as our usual two-hour band rehearsal.
Then for every night up until we travelled there was a rehearsal
for the full band.
After flying to Munich and travelling down by
coach to Linz, the band was given time to settle in before the
final rehearsal. We added the finishing touches to our performance
and the conductor gave us a little team talk, reminding us how good
the band are and trying to calm our nerves.
The Competition - Round One
On arriving at the Brucknerhaus, we were
directed to the dressing room and began our individual warm up
routines. Every band dreads having to play first. We were to play
sixth out of ten – we were happy with that! When it was our turn we
walked on stage and waited to begin. Once the adjudicators had
given the signal that they were ready, Dr. Robert Childs brought
the baton down. Through the mysterious opening, the band began to
move through the gears and we played to the best of our ability. As
the piece came to a close, the band received a standing ovation and
an extended round of applause.
Knowing that we had put in a good performance,
our attention turned to our chosen piece. Even the most experienced
band member knew that only half the job was done - so we left that
night to have another rehearsal.
The Competition - Round Two
On Saturday morning we were told that we would
be fifth to play. Knowing that we were not going to play until the
afternoon, we had another rehearsal before making our way to the
Brucknerhaus. As this was the premiere performance of A Tale as
yet Untold, we really wanted to make this a performance to
remember.
From the time that the piece began I felt I was
part of something special. We played with excitement, musicality
and sheer passion. Again the audience was brought to its feet. I
had such a feeling of pride – it was incredible to be representing
my country in such a high profile event.
The Worst Part of the Weekend...
Now came the worst part of the weekend for me,
waiting for the results. First we were to play in the Gala Concert.
This enabled us to let our hair down. After waiting for what seemed
like hours for the concert to finish, it was time for the
results.
We knew that our main rivals for the title
would be Black Dyke and Eikanger -so on the announcement
that fourth place had been awarded to Black
Dyke, we felt that our chances had now improved.
Third were the
Oberosterreich Band from Austria. And so it was into the top to
places.
The band in second place
with 194 points is… Eikanger Bjorsvik from Norway!
Surely we had done it.
The 2010 European Brass Band Champion with 196 points
is… Cory Band from Wales! Scenes of jubilation broke
out as we celebrated! Cory Band had achieved a hat-trick of titles
- a very rare achievement. It was now left to enter the stage once
more for the celebrations while the Welsh National Anthem rung out
on the organ. We partied long into the night.
We could not have made this achievement without
the hard work of every band member and certainly not without the
work of Dr. Robert Childs. He always seems to find the extra 20%
that other bands can’t. That is what makes the difference. In my
opinion, Cory Band’s standard of musicianship is outstandingly high
and the drive to be successful is constant.
Will we make it four wins in Montreux in 2011?
Only time will tell.
