Triple victory for the Harborough Band
On Saturday 22nd February, the Harborough Band made history, by securing their first victory at a contest since 2000.
After performing at the Oxfordshire and District Brass Band Association (ODBBA) contest, hosted at Cokethorpe School, Witney, the band were awarded first place in the second section contest, judged against a field of ten bands. As if that achievement wasn’t enough, the adjudicator for the day, Steven Mead, also presented the band’s flugelhorn player, Catherine Shillito-Fox, with the award for best instrumentalist in the section, and highlighted the impressive contribution of the band’s bass section, awarding them with ‘Best Basses of the day’. This last victory is particularly impressive when considering that this was judged against bands who are in higher sections in the brass banding league.
The successes of the day were particularly special for the band’s musical director Ben Smith, for whom this was his first contest victory as a musical director. Ben took on this particular role in 2023, but has had a long term association with the band, having first joined when he was 10 years old. Reflecting on the day, Ben said ‘I’m really pleased the band have been rewarded for their hard work, I’ve been lucky enough to witness their development over the last 18 months, but it’s nice to get some formal recognition for that too.’
Following their celebrations, the band have little time to rest, and were back in the bandroom on the 25th February, working hard towards their next performance. The focus for rehearsals going forwards is to add further polish to their contest piece, ‘Friendly Takeover’ by Oliver Waespi, in advance of the Midlands Area Brass Band Championships on 15th March.