2023 State Band Championships
CLICK HERE FOR RESULTS (updated live throughout the weekend)
WHEN: August 19th and 20th , 2023
WHERE: Loreto College, 1600 Sturt Street, Ballarat Central
The VBL, in conjunction with the Royal South Street Society, is pleased to announce that the 2023 State Band Championships shall be held in Ballarat on the weekend of the 19th and 20th of August.
The adjudicator for the event will be Maureen Cameron. Maureen pursued her music education at Salford College, under the tutelage of distinguished professors such as David King, Roy Newsome, and Elgar Howarth and was one of the last students to work with the legendary Harry Mortimer OBE before completing her studies. She was a long-standing member of the world-famous Foden’s Band (England) and maintains active ties with the band. She has won most major Brass Band titles in Europe and Australia as either a player or conductor and her school ensembles have achieved considerable success in UK and Australia including performances at BBC Proms. She is currently Musical Director of ‘Women in Brass’ and is a playing member with the 2023, Champion Brass Band of Australia, Sydney City Brass. You can read more about her here.
The schedule for the weekend is below:
| Timetable 2023 State Band Championships | ||
| Saturday 19 August | ||
| Section | Start Time | No of Bands |
| Open C Grade Concert | 8:45 AM | 2 |
| Junior C Grade Concert | 10:15 AM | 1 |
| Open B Grade Concert | 10:45 AM | 1 |
| Open D Grade Brass | 1:00 PM | 5 |
| Open B Grade Brass | 6:15 PM | 5 |
| Sunday 20 August | ||
| Section | Start Time | No of Bands |
| Open C Grade Brass | 8:15 AM | 7 |
| Junior C Grade Brass | 2:45 PM | 2 |
| Junior B Grade Brass | 3:45 PM | 1 |
| Open A Grade Brass | 5:00 PM | 3 |
The set work for each of the following grades will be:
Junior Brass & Concert Bands – Own Choice
Open Concert Bands – Own Choice BUT one of the pieces in the program must be by an Australian composer
Open A Grade Brass – Mind Dances by Fendall Hill
Open B Grade Brass – Lions of Legend by Thierry Deleruyelle
Open C Grade Brass – Lucid Perspectives by Lucy Pankhurst, Andrew Baker and Paul McGhee (LISTEN TO THE WORK HERE)
For Open D Grade Brass the set work will be a march – MB100 by Barrie Gott. This means Open D Grade Brass Bands will all play the same March but will pick their own Hymn, Major Work and Concert Item.
Band Program:
| Saturday August 19th | ||||
| Open C Grade Concert | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Ballarat Memorial Concert Band | Australian Up-Country Tune by Composer: Percy Aldridge Grainger Arranged for Concert Band By Glenn Cliffe Bainum | The Four Noble Truths by Philip Sparke | Mekong by Robert W. Smith | Mercury by Jan Van der Roost |
| Shepparton Brass and Wind | Espana Cani by Pascual Marquina arr. Robert Longfield | Benediction by John Stevens | The Hornet’s Nest by Ralph Hultgren | Drums A-Plenty by James Christensen |
| Junior C Grade Concert | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Genazzano FCJ College Symphonic Band | Evergreen Escapades by Adrian B. Sims | Migaloo (White Whale) by Claire Petherick | Los Banditos by Quincy Hilliard | N/A by N/A |
| Open B Grade Concert | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Southern Area Concert Band | Radetzky March by Johann Strauss Sr. arr. Alfred Reed | Salvation is Created by Pavel Tschesnokoff arr. Bruce Houseknecht | Procession: To a New Age by Brian Hogg | October by Eric Whitacre |
| Open D Grade Brass | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Boroondara Harmony Brass | All Through the Night by Traditional arr. Gordon Langford | Anglian Dances by Alan Fernie | MB 100 by Barrie Gott | Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder Arr. Goff Richards |
| Mornington Youth and Citizens Brass Band | MB 100 by Barrie Gott | Music For Greenwich by Edward Gregson | Friarmere Vicarage by Simon Beckley arr. Noel Tredinnick (four-part harmony) arr. John Beckley (brass band) | The Beatles Go Brass by John Lennon and Paul McCartney arr. Alan Fernie |
| Ararat City Band | Guardian of my soul by Darren Shaw | MB 100 by Barrie Gott | Broken Sword by Kevin Houben | Essence of Brass by Gavin Somerset |
| WITHDRAWN | N/A by N/A | N/A by N/A | N/A by N/A | N/A by N/A |
| Hyde Street Youth Band | Sainte-Chapelle by Eric Whitacre arr. Daniel Dinh | MB 100 by Barrie Gott | St Louis Blues March by WC Handy arr. James Swinton | Variations on ‘Laudate Dominum’ by Edward Gregson |
| City of Ballarat municipal youth brass band | Mamma mia by Bjorn ulvaeus and benny anderson. Arranger is frank bernaerts | A little prayer by Evelyn glennie. Arranged by robert childs | An Australian fantasy by Gordon langford | MB 100 by Barrie Gott |
| Open B Grade Brass | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Darebin City Brass – Northern Brass | The Cossack by William Rimmer | Lions of Legends by Thierry Deleruyelle | Lloyd by Alan Fernie | Saint-Saens Variations by Philip Sparke |
| City of Greater Dandenong Band | Horizons by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | Dear Lord and Father by Charles Parry arr. Peter Graham | Punchinello by William Rimmer | Lions of Legends by Thierry Deleruyelle |
| Boroondara Brass | In Christ Alone by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty arr Martin Cordner | Hook by John Williams | Lions of Legends by Thierry Deleruyelle | Mephistopheles by Shipley Douglas |
| Geelong West Brass Band | Prelude on Lavenham by Geoffrey Nobes | Lions of Legends by Theirry Deleruyelle | The Children of Sanchez by Chuck Mangione Arranged by Reid, Gilje | O.R.B by Charles Anderson |
| Box Hill City Band | Eternal Father Strong to Save by William Whiting/John Dykes arr. Jacob de Haan | Fandango by Joseph Turrin | Lions of Legends by Thierry Deleruyelle | Centaur (Contest March) by Derek M. Broadbent |
| Sunday August 20th | ||||
| Open C Grade Brass | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Creswick Brass Band | Nearer, My God, to Thee by arr. Jared McCunnie | Lucid Perspectives by Lucy Pankhurst, Andrew Baker, Paul McGhee | March of the Cobblers by Bob Barratt and Edrich Siebert | Boney M. – The Greatest Hits by arr. Alan Fernie |
| Western Brass | On the Quarterdeck by Kenneth J Alford | All in the April Evening by Sir Hugh S Roberton (arr. Eric Ball) | Lucid Perspectives by Lucy Pankhurst, Andrew Baker and Paul McGhee | Bella Ciao by Italian Traditional (arr. Jared McCunnie) |
| Moonee Valley Brass | I’d rather have Jesus by By George Beverly Shea and Arranged by William Himes | Lucid Perspectives by Andrew Baker, Lucy Pankhurst, Paul McGhee | Kingdom Triumphant by Eric Ball | Victorian Rifles by “Wilton Roche” (a.k.a. William Rimmer) |
| Sunshine Community Brass | Lord of All Being, Throned Afar by Hymn Tune “Arizona’ by Henry Earnshaw. Arranged by Jared McCunnie | Lucid Perspectives by Andrew Baker, Lucy Pankhurst, Paul McGhee | Sweet Georgia Brown by Pinkard, Casey & Bernie. Arranged by Goff Richards | The Septuagenarian by Graham Llyod |
| Whitehorse Brass | Et Misericordia by Kim André Arnesen (arr. Mark Ford) | Lucid Perspectives by Lucy Pankhurst, Andrew Baker & Paul McGhee | Horizons by Paul Lovatt-Cooper | Castell Coch by T. J. Powell |
| Wodonga Brass | Prismatic Light by Alan Fernie | Lucid Perspectives by Lucy Pankurst, Andrew Baker & Paul McGhee | Lloyd by Traditional arr. Paul Lovatt-Cooper | Castell Coch by T.J. Powell |
| Wonthaggi Cirizens’ Band | Dear Lord and Father of Mankind by C.H.Parry arranged by Cecil Bolton and Eric Banks | Lucid Perspectives by Lucy Pankhurst, Andrew Baker, Paul McGhee | Knight Templar by George Allen | Starburst by Dan Price |
| Junior C Grade Brass | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Wonthaggi Youth Brass | Music for Greenwich by Edward Gregson | Alla Marcia by Ray Woodfield | Camille by Andre Waignein | N/A by N/A |
| Richmond Youth Brass Band | Meditation on ‘Beechwood’ by Kenneth Downie | The Journal of Phileas Fogg by Peter Graham | Florentiner Marsch by Julius Fucik arr. Rob Hume | N/A by N/A |
| Junior B Grade Brass | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Hyde Street Youth Band | Holy, Holy, Holy (Nicaea) by John Bacchus Dykes arr. James Curnow | Haunted by Adrian Hallam | Oregon by Jacob de Haan | N/A by N/A |
| Open A Grade Brass | ||||
| Name of Band | Work 1 | Work 2 | Work 3 | Work 4 |
| Darebin City Brass – Preston Band | The Elephant by James Ord Hume) | Abide with Me by William Henry Monk, arrarnged for choir by Greg Jasperse, transcribed for band by Espen Haukas) | Mind Dances by Fendall Hill | Fanfare and Funk by Oliver Waespi |
| Footscray Yarraville City Band | I Know Thou Art Mine by Leonard Ballantine | Mind Dances by Fendall Hill | Kingdom Triumphant by Eric Ball | Knight Templar by George Allan |
| Glenferrie Brass | Crimond by Arr: Peter Graham | Mind Dances by Fendall Hill | Mallets Show by Bertrand Moren | The Contestor by TJ Powell |