Sunday 25th September saw us travel to The Hawth in Crawley to take part in the annual SCABA Autumn Contest.  We were competing in the first section against a number of bands from the South of England.  We had chosen to play “The Saga of Haakon the Good” by Philip Sparke and rehearsals leading up to the performance had been enthusiastically attended.

Confidence was high and this was reflected in an immense performance on stage which 4 Bars Rest described as “a wonderful blood curdling rendition”.

The audience gave us a resounding reception, although at the time we were uncertain whether this was in appreciation of our performance or the fact that Melvin, our MD, had chosen to don a Viking helmet complete with horns at the conclusion of the piece.

Fortunately, the adjudicator, Denis Wilby, shared the views of the audience and awarded us 1st place, beating off stiff competition from Horsham Band.

Melvin White, our MD, was awarded the prize for Best Conductor and Graham Jones, our principal euphonium player, won the prize for the Best Euphonium.

By all accounts, a successful day plundering prizes in Sussex – Haakon would have approved!

For full results please click here.

Article by Ian Austin