A BOROUGH music group recently proved that practice really does make perfect.
St Sebastian Wokingham Brass Band had plenty to celebrate following their results at the The Oxford & District Brass Band Association (ODBBA).
The musicians were overall winners of the second section, also gaining awards for best percussion, and best soprano.
Best Percussion Section went to Matt Bray, Helen Smalley and Chris Buck.
Best Soprano Cornet went to Llewellyn Wells.
The group say they are over the moon.
Musical director John Watts said: “The band are all really elated.
“We haven’t entered this particular contest before, and two of our players were competing for the first time, including our teenage percussionist winner Matt Bray..”
The band was required to play five pieces in 20 minutes for the Entertainment Section.
“We performed pieces that told the story of cruise liner, The Empress of Ireland,” explained Mr Watts.
The British-built ocean liner sank near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, after thick fog caused it to collide with another ship in the early hours of May 29, 1914.
“We started with a piece called Smash, which described the ship’s creation in a Govan dockyard in Glasgow,” Mr Watts continued.
“Next was Second Waltz by Shostakovich, which referred to the magnificence of the liner, with its ballroom and finery.
“Then we had a beautiful cornet solo from Michael Bird, called First Light, that recalls sunrise over the ocean, followed by The Storm, by Jim Steinman.
“The Storm is technically difficult, and it took us quite some time to get it right.”
The group’s final piece, remembering all those who died in the disaster, was a quiet rendition of Abide With Me.
“St Sebastian’s is a fantastic group of people, and everyone gets on really well,” said Mr Watts.
“The competition in Witney, Oxfordshire, was a lovely day out all together, and we all had a great day.
“Winning the awards was the cherry on top.”
St Sebastian Wokingham Band will perform at a number of Wokingham events over the next couple of months, including the torchlit procession, Remembrance Day, and Wokingham’s Winter Carnival.
For information about the group, visit: www.wokinghambrassband.org or search for their Facebook page.
