West of England Area

The National Brass Band Championships
West of England Area

    The Band has been rehearsing solidly since the start of the year on one testpiece: Edward Gregson's The Plantagenets.  This was the piece chosen as the Second Section Area testpiece to be performed across the country to decide who would represent their respective Area in the National Finals later in the year.

    With all the extra rehearsals done and the Band settled into the Torquay hotel on the Friday night, it was an early night for some (not so for others!).  Breakfast on the Saturday morning was early: 7am, in time for a warm-up and final run-through of the piece.  The draw gave us the number 12 slot (of 16 bands) and everything looked very promising.  Knowing how much time we had before our performance, another practice time was booked for a quick final final play before we wandered over to the Riviera Centre for a coffee and bite to eat, a nosy through the trade stands or to mingle with the crowds and catch up with old friends.

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