Woodfalls Band crowned West of England Champions

Woodfalls Band have been crowned the champion brass band of the West after winning the prestigious West of England Regional Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

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Date published: 13th Apr 2017

Woodfalls Band have been crowned the champion brass band of the West after winning the prestigious West of England Regional Finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

Woodfalls Band, based in the Wiltshire village near the New Forest, was judged top of the pile out of 81 bands attending after giving a commanding performance of Herbert Howell?s music ?Pageantry? in front of packed crowds at Torquay?s Riveria Centre. The band has now earned the right to represent the West of England at the National Brass Band Championships held at the Royal Albert Hall in October.

And on the back of the band?s success Woodfalls have also announced that eminent conductor Dr Robert Childs, who steered the band to victory at Torquay, has agreed a three-year tenure as Musical Director of the Wiltshire based band.

The agreement will see Dr Robert Childs conduct the band at contests and concerts across the UK as well as develop recording opportunities, further concerts, educational projects and tours abroad. Dr Childs has conducted Woodfalls since 2012, a period that has seen the band?s profile grow from strength to strength and the new deal formalises the working relationship between band and conductor in a bid to continue to push up standards.

Woodfalls Chairman Paul Street said: ?We are delighted that Dr Childs has cemented his role with Woodfalls Band working alongside Phil Randall our highly experienced resident conductor. Robert is clearly one of the very best brass band conductors in the business and under his leadership we have enjoyed a very rewarding period, arguably the band?s best since our formation in 1874. We are very keen to continue our work with Robert to develop our band further, especially to utilise the local brass and percussion playing talent around us and to increase our educational and concert work in our region and there are many exciting projects in the pipeline.

?It is fantastic that the very first effort of our new partnership has seen the band win the West of England Championship at Torquay and we are now making a determined effort to get back into the British Open at the Grand Shield in Blackpool?s Winter Gardens in May.?

Dr Robert Childs said, "I'm delighted to formalise my role at Woodfalls Band and look forward to continue developing the camaraderie and friendship we have and raise the musical standards to even higher levels."

The band is keen to hear from potential partners as they seek to broaden out their work in the South. In particular the band is actively seeking opportunities to deliver educational workshops and performance opportunities across the region and welcome any enquiry from interested parties. To contact the band please email secretary@woodfallsband.com Anyone also wishing to play for the band should again contact the band?s secretary.

You can next hear the band on June 16th in Romsey Abbey as the band raise much needed funds for the local cancer charity Jane Scarth House.

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