Areas 2014

Posted by Pete Hylton and Steph Morris on 10 March 2014 | Comments

Tags: , ,

The Band competed at the Areas and came a respectable (if slightly disappointing!) 7th place. This was an emotional day for the Band – a few weeks before this contest, with a few seats to fill and a new MD in the Band, we could have been forgiven for giving the contest ‘a miss’. However, we went and we played a performance that we were proud of. Friends and supporters had the Band in a podium finishing place. Tweets from the British Bandsman and 4BarsRest echoed the positive views of our performance:

“5. Amington (Kevin Steward) A bravura opening in true Intrada style and the contrast with the ensuing Fantasia is good. The MD accentuates the contrasts between the sections but then it loses its way a little as we approach the Intermezzo. There is humour and spirit about this though and the Carol is nicely sustained leading to a bright and breezy conclusion. An enjoyable performance and a definite contender so far.” (4BarsRest)

“A fine reading by Amington, could well be in the prizes today” (British Bandsman)

“It’s a close contest here but it’s Amington leading the way for us with a mighty close battle for 2nd place between Brackley and Daventry.” (4BarsRest)

“A finely judged performance from Amington that took risks but captured the changing moods well” (4BarsRest)

However, the final word must go to our very own Steph Morris (solo horn) who summed it rather nicely with this account:

“It’s been a tough old couple of months for us here at Amington Band. We’ve seen the departure of one Musical Director and the arrival of another. Players have come and players have gone…and more players have come again! But most importantly, we’ve made like a phoenix – rising from the ashes, and yesterday (9th March 2014) we made it to the Regional Championships of Great Britain (or the Area as we like to call it.)
After an early Sunday morning rehearsal, we took to the stage at Bedworth Civic hall to play Chaucer’s Tunes by Michael Ball, competing against the twelve other bands in the second section. We gave it our everything, leaving the stage with grins from ear to ear, and retired to the pub.
An hour, several pints and much merriment later, #TeamAmington returned to the Civic Hall for the results.
Although 7th place wasn’t quite what we were hoping for, it was still a good enough result to keep Amington Band in the Second section. We all played the best that we could have done and we gave a stonking performance that we should all be proud of.
A big thank you must be given to our new Musical Director – Kevin (Sid) Steward, for all of his hard work and determination in helping the band get to the Area. And of course to all of our new players and friends who gave the band a fighting chance.”