Watford Band

Watford Band gave the performance of its life last Sunday at an entertainments contest organised by the Oxfordshire Brass Band Association. After its 20 minute programme the audience were calling for more and more.

In a varied programme beginning with a piece depicting Circus life - "The Big Top" - a lot of fun with claxonhorns, whistles, and all percussion toys being demonstrated to the full. The audience simply loved it except one of the adjudicators felt the airhorn was too loud!! Following this was an arrangement of "The Old Grumpie Cat from Andrew Lloyd Webbers "Cats", and then one of the band's star trombonists played his own arrangement of Johnny Mandel's Shadow of Your Smile.

The penultimate piece was "Teddy Bears Picnic" and the audience joined in singing the words.
Our finale was introduced as a bonanza for trombones, and what a finale it was. Mike Innes was joined by his partner in crime Robert Hunt and between them they gave a fabulous performance of Basin Street Blues which was followed by rapturous applause and cries for more from the audience.

There were 2 adjudicators, one judging the entertainment value, deportment and programme content of all the bands performances and the other simply judging the standard of playing of the bands.

In his summation the entertainment judge said there was one band who had the wow factor and he did not want the performance to end. The other adjudicator said he was looking for tunefullness of playing and musicality and performance of the music.

The results were then read out to the eager audience and Watford Band were announced as BEST ENTERTAINERS and BEST BAND.

This is the bands first contest were they have come out on top and follows success last November at Leicester and promotion from the Fourth to the Third tier of UK banding. Thanks go to the Musical Director, Richard Graves, who has only been with the band for 2 years, and also to the playing members who have generally worked hard during Richard's tenure as MD.

Next Contest is Leicester followed by a busy Christmas programme to raise funds for operating costs and local charities, and then Butlins Contest in January (Skegness) and the area contest in March at Stevenage.