My Experience - British Open Brass Band Championships 2026 and Brassed Off Live, Symphony Hall
This year's British Open was a special one because not only was it my fourth British Open with Grimethorpe Colliery Band but we also performed Brassed Off Live the day after the contest in the Symphony Hall.
That is usually a concert performed by other leading brass bands but from what I could tell, the tickets haven't sold well in the past, so as it is the 30th anniversary of the movie, we were kindly invited.
It was such a strange feeling going back to the hall the day after the contest, something about the stage and backstage felt completely different. It is absolutely the best concert hall I've ever played in and I loved every second but it was a funny weekend. One day I walked off the Symphony Hall stage feeling like something was missing. The next day I walked off exactly the same stage to a standing ovation.
Preparations
We had already performed Brassed Off Live recently in Halifax so preparation for that was not needed. The lead up to the weekend was fully focussed on the test piece, Music of the Spheres by Philip Sparke. It is a piece which certainly helped draw the audience back to the British Open Championships.
I've said before that I'm not a huge fan of Philip Sparke's test pieces even though this one is really exciting to play. I just enjoy playing brand new, contemporary music more. I remember first hearing Music of the Spheres on the old Europeans contest DVD, the famous winning performance by YBS Band in 2004. At the time I'd never have dreamt that I'd be able to play a test piece like that.
Maybe I'm looking back at myself as a younger player and seeing inexperience but after having the music for a few days I realised that actually, the first euphonium part, while challenging, didn't play a huge role in the piece. Solos were more in support of other soloists and the part mainly required good ensemble skills and stamina.
The start of the test piece featured some percussion and then a tenor horn solo which stated the main theme of the piece. For euphoniums this has to be one of the most relaxed openings to a test piece, we could just sit and chill. It was great for the tenor horn players to have their big moment in the spotlight.
Grimethorpe had recently had a brand new solo horn player, Andrew McMillan who had the daunting task (and absolutely nailed it) but I remember the feeling from the Open in 2023 where my first test piece with the band (Sand and Stars) had a huge euphonium solo and cadenza in it.
My preparation for test pieces is always the same. I listen to it if a recording is available and follow my part a few times. Then I have a few goes at running it through at correct speeds. This inevitably tells you how it feels from a stamina point of view but it also tells you which bits are the hardest.
Next I spend time working at half tempo on all the hard bits. I usually give myself a week of daily practice doing this and do not increase the tempo. This builds good fundamentals.
I usually work on any solo bits separately and just start trying to perfect them through repetition and aiming for consistency. All of this work was done over the summer holidays, many weeks ahead of the contest.
I also like to do a test piece run through usually in the evening as my last practice session where I use a practice mute and play along to a recording. Visualising being on the stage and playing as loud as I possibly can.
I enjoyed practicing the piece but my family hated it. It was loud and featured some exciting high glisses, so I am sure they are glad that they won't have to hear that any more.
The Week Before
In the week leading up to the contest we welcomed our conductor over from Norway and we rehearsed almost every night, including a live rehearsal in front of an audience. That night was the first time things started to click. I always feel like the bands preparation is a week behind where it should be and this year was no different but the improvement comes very fast that week and it can be really intense.
The night before the contest, we rehearsed in the hotel where we were staying in Birmingham and the run through was electric. The band were in good form and very confident ahead of the big day.
The Dreaded Draw
After a good breakfast on contest morning, we had a rehearsal and then waited for the draw. It is insane to me that a contest at this level, which demands such precision, the highest level of music making, hours of time and high financial expense is somewhat dependent on the luck of the draw, which is done at the very last minute, literally an hour before the contest starts.
Every band has to draw a number out of a bag to decide the running order. We drew number two. Probably the worst number. I'm not even sure if a band has ever won the contest from that draw. I felt deflated, frustrated and it was clear that I wasn't the only person. I knew this was the wrong attitude because all we had to do was go out there and give our best regardless of the draw but too many times you see the draw having a massive impact on the final result.
Last year we drew to play last, and despite a good performance, that didn't help us either. It is very easy to moan about the draw but however you look at it, it simply isn't fair. A simple solution could be that bands are given a first half draw every other year, or a band drawing number one is exempt from number one the following year. At least if a band gives a brilliant performance from the number one draw and has a poor result, they know the following year they can't draw number one again.
I appreciate that this could then give adjudicators a bit more info than contest organisers want them to have but why not just try something different. Yes, I know that if my band had a 'good' draw or had achieved a good result I might not be talking about it.
Adjudicators Have A Tough Job
The other question and topic of conversation among banders and audience members was around adjudication. How can it be made fairer, how can the judging process be made easier for the judges in order to guard against a brilliant performance not getting recognised? I know one person's opinion on what is brilliant might not be the same as another's but why not at least try and few new ideas.
Maybe adjudicators can be given the chance to listen back to some performances, I think I would happily wait a little longer if I thought it meant a more accurate result.
What if one adjudicator is in the hall to monitor any 'cheating'. By cheating I mean, swapping parts or using mutes where none are asked for by the composer. I know these sorts of things always get discussed at big contests and perhaps if I was conducting my own band, I might be tempted to do anything to get the music across how I see fit. I am in no way moaning here, it is a contest and there can only be one winner but open, honest discussion always makes for good content.
Our Performance
So how did the contest go? I felt completely at ease on stage, the most relaxed I think I've ever felt at a contest. The band took to the stage with '100% our band', no deps from overseas and no players paid to help us out. In recent years this has not been the case.
The band played very well but something was missing, I didn't feel any emotion. Our performance was highly accurate, a few small clips but nothing serious. Tempos were accurate, nothing too fast and I think we did exactly what was written on the score. I was happy with how I played and certain that I delivered my part with confidence and did what the conductor expected of me.
Something was missing though, the x-factor or pizzazz, whatever you want to call it. After the Yorkshire Area earlier in the year, I had tears in my eyes before the last note had even been played. For me, playing without emotion doesn't mean the music is emotionless. If I have perfected my part and can play it consistently every single day then often the nerves are low and it just happens on auto pilot. This performance wasn't like that either and despite it being a good performance, with a good reaction from the audience, I felt a bit fed up for the whole day after. I just knew that the result would not be good, because of the very early draw.
A Break From Brass
There were two highlights from the whole weekend, and ironically the first had nothing to do with brass bands. The early draw meant I got to go and have a nice meal with my wife in Birmingham. We opted for Thai food and couldn't help remember all the times we visited Thailand when we lived in Singapore.
After the meal, I headed to the hall and the trade stands to catch up with the team from Sterling Musical Instruments. It was great to meet people and chat about the instruments, sharing ideas for projects and how the already brilliant Sterling euphonium, which I had just performed on in the contest might be improved even more.
The Results
After that it was time for some socialising and a few drinks. When you play so early in this competition you forget just how long there is to wait until the results. When the results eventually arrived, I wished that they hadn't! We came 17th out of 19 bands and I felt utterly embarrassed but sadly not completely surprised.
No way did our performance deserve that result but it certainly wasn't going to win either. I was very happy for my friends at Fodens Band for winning again and spending a bit of time in their hotel bar with them at least gave me a taste of what it must feel like to win.
I didn't listen to any bands on the day and haven't listened to any recordings apart from our own. The £30 livestream sound was poor and it didn't represent the performances properly. The sound quality on my old Euros DVD from 2004 is probably better. Not enough care had been taken to balance the livestream recording, it didn't do all the fantastic players in every band justice.
Bar Chitchat
In the bar during the contest, the main topic of conversation, as always is focussed on which poor soloists had a bad day. Who split what and what was wrong with every performance. This is a shame, especially when most of those comments come from players who have never set foot on the Symphony Hall stage. Some of my regular readers might remember my past blog post which attempted to find out whether split notes actually matter in a contest performance. Read it here.
On this occasion I don't think that they did at all. Which is great for us performers who spend every waking moment in the lead up to a big contest worrying about splitting notes. But surely, drastic splits or mistakes, should be punished more than they were at this level because regardless of musicianship, those issues do distract from the music being performed.
Our hand written adjudicators comments where very positive, some wow moments clearly but again, something kept us rooted to the bottom of the results.
Brassed Off Live!
The next day started with another lovely hotel breakfast before heading over to the Symphony Hall for our Brassed Off Live rehearsal. Despite feeling tired and still really grumpy about the result, I was extremely excited and honoured to get back on that stage.
We had a professional conductor from the orchestral world leading us for the day, so we spent a few hours going through everything. After lunch and some relaxation, it was time for the show.
First Half Concert
At other Brassed Off Live concerts there is usually a Q&A with the producer of the movie and maybe even some of the original cast members. On this occasion this didn't happen so instead we gave a twenty minute first half mini concert. This was great fun and featured a stunning solo from Hannah Plumridge on principal cornet. Something everyone in the audience went away talking about just as much as the movie. We also performed the iconic MacArthur Park.
The Main Event
After the interval it was time for the live showing of the movie. Starting with the brilliant march, Death or Glory and ending with William Tell and Pomp and Circumstance. There was not a dry eye in the house during Danny Boy and Kirsty Abbots performance of Orange Juice on flugel was out of this world.
The film is both furiously political and deeply sentimental. The meaning and the story it tells is just as poignant and relatable today and celebrates the will of ordinary community people in their struggle against power.
For me as a player on this show, concentration needs to be 100%. While the music might not be difficult, playing perfectly with the on screen action takes some doing. Any film score has been recorded in a studio, it can be deleted and re-recorded, but this is live, it has to be perfect. And it was.
Standing Ovation
A standing ovation is something that anyone who has had the pleasure to play for Grimethorpe will have experienced because it happens at almost every concert. This one really hits hard though and the emotion I lacked at the contest all came rushing out during this concert. I had forgotten about the contest result and felt like a professional musician who might play for a symphony orchestra or Broadway show and gets to play on such a stage almost every night.
After an encore, the audience went crazy and the band left the stage feeling proud of a job well done but probably also ready for a good night's sleep!
Highlight Number 2
The second highlight of the weekend came in the most unexpected way. Following the show, I had to walk through Birmingham to catch the train and on my way there a few audience members noticed me, probably because of carrying my euphonium and my Grimethorpe band coat. They came for a chat and were absolutely filled with joy from the concert.
As I boarded the train another gentleman approached me and seemed amazed that I was boarding the same train as him. Afterall, the train was going completely the opposite direction to Grimethorpe, which is near Barnsley in Yorkshire. After explaining to him where I lived, we got chatting and spent the whole train journey back in conversation. A few other people on the train kept looking over curiously and were secretly listening in on me telling stories about my musical experiences.
It was one of those completely unexpected moments that reminded me just how powerful Grimethorpe and Brassed Off still are.
What's Next For Me?
In a few weeks the fun begins again as the band perform another Philip Sparke test piece at The National Finals in London, with an already sold out performance of Brassed Off Live taking place in the Albert Hall the night before. It is simple, this is going to be one of the biggest performances of my life. My family are coming along and I genuinely cannot wait.
After that, I am adjudicating the WMBBA solo and quartet contest with support from Sterling Musical Instruments and this will give me the chance to support brass banding in the area where I grew up. Anyone entering should check out my blog about what I will be listening for - HERE.
Then it will soon be Christmas and Grimethorpe have loads of concerts. If you come to watch, please come and say hi to me after the show.
Finally, hopefully soon I can announce a special trip I will be taking in Feb 2027 to perform again in Washington DC, USA!
Thanks for reading! ❤
Mark Glover
16/9/26
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Wonderful read, Mark. Amazing weekend of lows and highs. Forget the lows, relish the highs.