Brass band shines at nationals

The Illawarra Flame reports

The City of Wollongong Brass Band has shone on the national stage.

At the 2023 Australian National Band Championships, held from 7 to 10 April in Newcastle, both its Junior Brass Band and its Wind Band took out first place in their sections, while 16-year-old euphonium player Julian Eckermann, from Edmund Rice College, excelled in a “brilliant and dynamic” solo performance of Freefall by Australian composer Jared McCunnie.

“Our junior band’s principal euphonium came second in the junior solo euphonium contest,” said City of Wollongong Brass Band president Alan Wilkie. “So we currently have the second-best junior euphonium player in Australia, which is fantastic.”

Alan – a Bulli local who plays the trombone and took on the role of band president two years ago –said it was “a real thrill” to be at the first national championships to be held since the pandemic.

“Our Wind Band won their section, which was the Open C Grade Concert section. They award places in each of four categories. So, they have to play a hymn, they have to play a test piece, prescribed by the contest organisers, and then you have an ‘own choice’ and a stage march.

“Our concert band came first in each of those four sections, so we also came first overall.

“It was pretty exciting. We pushed ourselves pretty hard. I think overall we played really well, both as individuals and collectively.

“Being in the wind band and winning that section was a real highlight.

“And our Junior Brass Band achieved the same result in their section. They won the Junior C Grade Brass in each of the categories as well as the overall championship.

“I’m super proud of our junior band.”

The junior brass band has about 34 members ranging in age from nine to 18. They placed first in the Hymn (In Perfect Peace), Test piece (Fanfare, Theme & Finale for the HPs!), Own Choice (Neverland) and Stage March (Slaidburn).

“They played really, really well,” Alan said. “The audience loved it, and obviously the adjudicator liked it as well.”

The City of Wollongong Brass Band is a not-for-profit organisation that welcomes new players, be they beginners or musicians with years of experience. Carrying on the tradition of British-style brass bands, the band was founded before World War II by steelworkers who rehearsed in a tin shed on Ellen Street in Wollongong and chipped in with kerosene to light the lamps so they could read music at night.

“The City of Wollongong Brass Band has been in operation since 1937,” Alan said. “It started out as the steelworks band and it’s now branched out –we have a brass band, a junior brass band and a concert band, or a wind band, as they’re sometimes called. Each band has about 30 people. The concert band has a few more, about 40 people.

“It’s all community bands, so we’re not professional musicians. We’re just ordinary people, who enjoy getting together and playing music.”

New players welcome. Call 4288 6328, visit www.wollongongcityband.org.au