As a result of our performance in the Third Section at the Yorkshire Area Brass Band Contest at Huddersfield Town Hall on Sunday March 8th 2020, Lofthouse Brass Band were not only awarded Second Place in the contest, a silver trophy and prize money too but we have now qualified for the 2020 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain Finals!

With brass band sections being very much like league tables in sport, with annual promotion and relegation, only three years ago Lofthouse Brass Band had been in the Fourth Section. Now, after a string of excellent contest performances we find ourselves at the top of the Third Section table from next year!

This is the third time Lofthouse Brass Band have represented Yorkshire in the National Brass Band Championships in it’s short history.

Spine tingling open, good use of Tam-Tam to create the effect. This could do well today – well done MD on a well planned performance and delivered by the band.
British Bandsman

The piece, performed at Huddersfield Town Hall, was a new composition by Andrew Baker called Endurance, based on the story of Ernest Shackleton.

Taken from Morthanveld Publishing:

“Endurance is a set of ‘narrative variations’ for brass band inspired by the story of Ernest Shackleton’s epic journey across the Southern Ocean in 1914-16 and takes its title from his doomed ship, which was trapped and crushed by the Antarctic ice early in the expedition. Shackleton’s crew ensured unimaginable hardship in their attempts to survive and get home, culminating in Shackleton and a small group undertaking one of the most remarkable, dangerous and heroic open boat journeys in history, covering 800 miles of the Southern Ocean to seek help.”

Some pretty good efforts though — with Lofthouse 2000 giving a marker of note with their big, broad sounds, neatly delivered solo lines and sense of bold adventure. Not everything came off but it had a real stamp of authority.
4barsrest

Here is our performance from Sunday’s Yorkshire Regional Championships. We’re proud to have been awarded 2nd place and to qualify once again for the National Finals .
Big thanks to Andrew Baker for giving us such a challenging and musical piece to work with. We’ve really enjoyed performing it.