This year’s Spring Festival took place on Saturday 26 April at the newly refurbished Winter Gardens complex in Blackpool. Sixty bands in total competed throughout the festival and this year Skelmanthorpe Band competed in the Senior Cup.
The band rendered its performance of this year’s test piece, George Lloyd’s English Heritage which to the adjudicators on the day, Ian Brownbill and John Doyle, may have had “issues with tuning and dynamics” but also commanded ‘some good moments’. 4barsrest.com had this to say: “A good opening that bodes well with a nice style. Not without the odd blemish but there is a well thought out approach from the middle. Ensemble and solo work isn’t bad and is nicely controlled. The dynamics
are controlled but occasionally go a touch above what is required in the hall. Nice close. Overall: An account that certainly had plenty to admire”.
Placed 11th out of 20 in the final results, the band next year will once again compete in the Senior Cup. But for now, thanks from the band go to Ben Scholes and Graham Bates on percussion, Owen Watson on baritone and Graham Williams on Bb Bass for their contributions during rehearsals and on the day for this year’s competition.
