Training Band Holds Solo and Ensemble Contest

The Jubilee Hall at Timsbury was the venue for the first ever Michelmersh Training Band Solo and Ensemble Contest on Saturday of last week. The brainchild of Jan Boler, Musical Director of the Training Band and principal cornet player with the parent Michelmersh Silver Band, the event offered band members an opportunity to compete regardless of age or ability. Membership of the Training band now stands at 32 (including 2 adult learners), and 17 members took part in the contest.

The solo competition, with 16 entries, was divided into three sections based on music gradings and the results were as follows:

Grades 1 - 3
First: Joseph Rickard (cornet) Runner up: Rachel Armitage (cornet)

Grades 4 – 5
First: Kate MacDonald (cornet) Runner up: Lizzie Ayres (trumpet)

Grades 6 - 8
First: Meg Boler (tenor horn) Runner up: Jonathan Daniels (euphonium)

Ensemble Competition (7 group entries)
Winners: Claire Wells, Harry Austin, Connie Boler and Kate MacDonald (cornet quartet)
Runners up: Meg Boler and Elinor Jones (tenor horn duet)

All participants received certificates with winners and runners up being awarded medals and the winning cornet quartet receiving the Ensemble Trophy.

The Adjudicator for the day was Justyn Waterman B.Mus (Hons), former principal trombone with Michelmersh Silver Band and the Hampshire Youth Orchestra. In his comments, Justyn praised the young players on their performances and noted that the future of the Michelmersh Silver Band was looking very secure with the wealth of talent coming up through its Training Band. In making the final award of a very successful day the adjudicator awarded the Test Valley Mayor’s Trophy for the Best Performance of the Day to Meg Boler for her ‘confident and musical’ tenor horn rendition of the Ifor James composition The Albert Hall Galop.