Norfolk Brass

On 22 March, Norfolk Brass became the London & Southern Counties First Section Champions, winning a place in the First Section finals at Harrogate in September 2009 and securing promotion to the Championship Section for 2010.

The test piece for the Area - Pentacle, by Graham Cole, proved to be a challenging one for all the bands that played it.

Some quotes from the media following the results were extremely complementary towards the band:

".... of the winner though there was absolutely no doubt."

"A confident and inspired Norfolk Brass under the experienced direction of David Stowell, took to the stage as the penultimate band of the day and immediately swept into an unassailable position with a performance that was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. "

"On this evidence, Norfolk Brass is a band refreshed and rejuvenated….and there wasn’t a turkey in sight."

"... David Stowell stormed to victory leaving an almighty scrap for second place in its wake."

"As with other Regional First Sections around the country, Graham Cole’s taxing yet exciting Pentacle pushed many bands to the limits. A handful of bands that couldn’t quite match the consistency of Norfolk did however turn in convincing challenges, with Sandhurst Silver coming through to join Norfolk Brass in Harrogate."

"The quality of the band sound was immediately obvious, although it was the detail and assuredness of the playing that impressed the most, allied with confident accompaniment in the slow movements, an area where many bands had struggled earlier in the day.""Dave Stowell will also have been delighted with his soloists, all of whom performed with a confidence that matched the ensemble sound. If Norfolk Brass can recreate the kind of form it found in Stevenage come Harrogate, they will be a very convincing representative for London and the Southern Counties indeed."

Norfolk Brass are now looking forward to meeting Sandhurst at the Harrogate finals in September and to competing in the Championship Section next year.