1 April 2013

The City of Greater Dandenong Band would like to thank and congratulate the Western Australian Band Association and the local organising committee for a stunning 2013 Yamaha National Band Championships. A fantastic Easter weekend of performances by the City of Greater Dandenong Band saw the band place first in the Hymn Piece, second in the Test Piece, and third overall in the Open B Grade Section.

The City of Greater Dandenong Band won the Parade of Bands for the Open B Grade Brass Section, and for the second year running the band’s Musical Director and Drum Major - Michael Mathers, was awarded Champion Drum Major for B Grade!

A special mention also to the band’s Percussion Section Leader – Steph Gilfedder, who placed second with a stunning 94 points in the Open Timpani section!

Overall everyone enjoyed a brilliant weekend in magnificent Perth with fantastic company, great music and glorious weather. The band would like to thank all of the players that helped us out this year, as well as all of our supporters – especially those who were able to make the trip to Perth with us. A special thanks also to the Dandenong Band Committee and specifically to our Secretary – Catherine Hillman, for all her tireless work and our Musical Director –Michael Mathers, whose passion and dedication inspire us all. 

Congratulations and thanks to all the bands who competed over the weekend especially the winning bands: Brisbane Excelsior Band (A Grade Brass), Canning City Brass Band (B Grade Brass), Marion City Band (C Grade Brass), and Goldfields Brass Band (D Grade Brass).

We also thank Tim Kelly and his team from Brassbanned who enabled all of our friends and family back home in Melbourne to watch the band’s performances live on the net. 

You can watch the band’s winning street march and top scoring change of direction on YouTube here! 

Full results from the weekend can be found at: 4barsrest

A quick run down of the weekend for those not there:

The City of Greater Dandenong Band was first on stage early Friday morning performing their chosen hymn – ‘I Know Thou Art Mine’. It was a beautiful experience for the band to perform such an emotional hymn in the stunning cathedral-like Winthrop Hall, bathed in the perfect morning sunlight pouring through the stained-glass windows above. Simon Dobson’s test piece – ‘Lyonesse’, that followed could not have been more fitting as it begins and centres around the cacophony of church bells ringing across the majestic lands and waters of Lyonesse. In such a magnificent hall, one could not help but be drawn in by the haunting sounds. 

Perth woke on Saturday morning to the sound of instruments and drums as all the bands took to the streets in the Marching Championships. Dandenong presented a very tidy drill inspection (scoring the highest of any band in any grade) followed by a solid performance of ‘Victorian Rifles’ on the street march. With entertainment points up for grabs at the change of direction, the band again this year undertook a somewhat ‘unorthodox’ turn lining up and posing for a classic 1970’s style Primary School photo complete with cheesy grin! Needless to say this brought about much laughter and cheers from the surrounding crowd and was equally rewarded by the judges with a winning score! 

The band took to the stage again on Sunday morning to perform their own choice – ‘Journey Into Freedom’ by Eric Ball. A bold and challenging choice of music that kept the audience, and band, on the edge of their seats with a very exciting and energetic performance. This was a huge achievement for the band to present such a demanding work (it was the A Grade test for NSW in 2012) and all the players should be commended for their efforts. The band wrapped up their National’s performances with a rock solid demonstration of the classic march – ‘Brilliant’.

The band is now enjoying a few relaxing weeks off to reacquaint with friends and family before returning to undertake the local community ANZAC Day Services. This will be followed by an intense rehearsal schedule in preparation for the band’s upcoming "The Sound of Musicals" cabaret (Saturday July 27th) at the Springvale Town Hall.