Contesting
Not all bands enter competitions and there are some which shun the contest stage, preferring to concentrate their efforts in providing music for local events. For most players, though, contesting has always been an important part of brass banding, the reason that they spend so many hours trying to perfect their art. It provides them with the opportunity to test their musical skills against others and, of course, to bring home that silverware.
This section includes brass band contests which have taken place in Cornwall. I doubt that all are here, and there are certainly some results missing, but, over time, it is hoped that it will become a comprehensive record of all Cornish Contests.
1919
1st Redruth Band Contest and Male Voice Choir Competition
(Redruth Town Band)
30th August 1919
Adjudicator: R G Evans (Plymouth Royal Artillery)
First Section
Test piece: The Gondoliers (Sullivan)
Placed | Conductor | Points | |
1 | St Dennis Temperance | J E Fidler | |
2 | Camborne Town | Edwin J Williams | |
Second Section
Test Piece: The Bohemians (E Le Duc)
Placed | Conductor | Points | |
1 | Bugle | E J Williams | |
2 | St Ives Town | John Tanner | |
3 | Four Lanes | William Floyd | |
4 | Carharrack Temperance | J F Bray | |
W | Wadebridge Town | ||
Euphonium: Bugle
March Contest (open to all bands)
Placed | Points | |
1 | Camborne Town | |
2 | St Dennis Temperance | |
3 | Four Lanes | |
4 | St Ives Town | |
5 | Bugle Band | |
6 | Carharrack Temperance | |
Wadebridge |
Cornet: William F Juleff (St Dennis)
Trombone: George Roseveare (Camborne)
Euphonium: W Kinnear (Bugle)
Bands met at the Railway Station and marched to the Recreation Ground, Redruth. (Cornish Guardian 5th September 1919)
1920
2nd Redruth Band Contest and Male Voice Choir Competition
(Redruth Town Band)
Recreation Ground, Redruth
21st August 1920
Adjudicator: Walter Halstead, Yorkshire
Second Section
Test piece: Recollections of England or Norma
Placed | Conductor | Points | |
1 | Foxhole | J Morcom | |
2 | Indian Queens | Ford Knight | |
3 | Stenalees Silver | E J Williams | |
Falmouth Town | Rev C Daly Atkinson | ||
St Ives Town | John Tanner | ||
W | Newlyn East | ||
Third Section
Test piece: Main of Orleans
Placed | Conductor | Points | |
1 | Truro Town | F Bennett | |
2 | Fraddon Temperance | W Julliff | |
3 | Carharrack Temperance | J F Bray | |
Four Lanes | W Floyd | ||
Special:
March Contest (open to all bands)
Placed | Points | |
1 | Stenalees Silver | |
2 | Truro Town | |
3 | Foxhole | |
Carharrack Temperance | ||
Falmouth Town | ||
Four Lanes | ||
Fraddon Temperance | ||
Indian Queens | ||
St Ives Town | ||
(Cornish Guardian 5th September 1919 / Still Blowin’)
BAND CONTEST AT REDRUTH. The sum of £100 was offered in prizes at the Redruth band contest and male voice choir competition on Saturday. Held at the Recreation Ground in aid of the funds of Redruth Town Band, the event attracted large attendance of the public. Mr. Walter Halstead (Yorkshire) adjudicated the bands, and the Rev. W. W. Bickford (Vicar St. Day) on the choirs. … Alluding to the bands, Mr. Halstead told the competitors that he had been agreeably surprised all the way round. After visiting Cornwall many times, the playing was far better than any he had heard in the county before. However, they need not be under the impression that it was equal to Black Dyke or Wingates; there was still room for improvement. He should call the Cornish performance on a level with the third section playing in Yorkshire and Lancashire. He had judged about 100 contests, and this one was the most difficult, because the bands varied so much, some excelling in one thing and lacking in others. (1 September 1920 – Cornishman)
1921
3rd Redruth Band Contest and Male Voice Choir Competition
(Redruth Town Band)
Recreation Ground, Redruth
August 1921
Adjudicator:
The band contest which was to have been held at Redruth on Saturday, was cancelled owing to failure of sufficient enteries. (25 August 1921 – Cornubian and Redruth Times)
Compiled by Tony Mansell (Bardh Kernow)