Clean sweep for XLCR and Windsor!

Last weekend saw both Brisbane Excelsior and Windsor Brass compete at the annual Queensland Brass Band Championships. This year they were held at Somerville House, Brisbane on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September.

After preparing for months, it was an extremely successful weekend of music making from both bands in our organization.

Under the baton of Dale Hosking, Brisbane Excelsior took to the stage with a renewed sense of drive after being pipped at the post earlier this year at the Nationals in Newcastle. Saturday saw the band take to the stage for the Set Test (Horowitz’s Ballet for Band) and our Sacred Item –Faithful Mercies,, which was made even more special as it had been composed especially for the band by our Solo Horn Benjamin Tubb-Hearne. Sunday morning saw us bright and early at New Farm park for the Parade of Bands followed by our own choice test piece Music of the Spheres and our Stage March Keighly Moor back at Somerville House. We were ecstatic to discover that adjudicator Peter Luff had awarded us first place in every single discipline, crowning XLCR the A Grade Queensland Champion for the 3rd year in a row!

Windsor Brass, conducted by Edward Kennedy were thoroughly excited to be back at the Queensland States. Saturday saw them tackle Nancy Galbraith’s Luminosity and their sacred item Be Still and Know by Philip Rayment. Sunday saw the band head back to Somerville House to play their own choice selections: Goff Richards’ Cross Patonce and their march Cairo Red Shield. Not even their conductor’s flying baton could stop them from performing out of their skin. Adjudicator Peter Luff commended the band extremely highly and the band won three of the four major disciplines, being pipped at the post in the hymn. Windsor Brass was proudly crowned the B Grade State Champions for 2023 and the entire organization could not have been more proud.

A huge thank you to the Queensland Banding Association and all of its volunteers for putting together a very well run contest (not many contests run early!) and a huge well done to all of the other bands across Queensland who came and supported the contest either by playing, watching live or tuning in through BrassBanned.com.