Test Piece Choices Revealed for 2026 Brass Band Championships

The five test pieces set to challenge bands across the UK in the 2026 Regional Championships have been revealed.

The Music Panel of the National Brass Band Championships comprising of Dr Robert Childs, Duncan Beckley, Andrea Price, Sandy Smith, John Maines, Philip Morris (Chairman) and Tim Jones (Administrator) have selected works from Martin Ellerby, Andrew Wainwright, Philip Harper, Gordon Langford and Eric Ball.

Championship Section: Elgar Variations by Martin Ellerby

As a member of a band that is competing in the Championship section, this was one rumour that I was really hoping was true, as I LOVE this piece!

The work has been utilised three times as a set work - with two of those outings being for the Senior Cup at the Spring Festival,  with its last outing being in 2012.

‘Elgar Variations’ was commissioned by the British Federation of Brass Bands for the 2007 European Brass Band Contest that coincided with Elgar’s 150th birthday. In contrast to typical works that utilise variations, Ellerby’s work doesn’t use any of Elgar’s actual themes. Instead, the composer has written the piece based on the ‘essence and character of his [Elgar’s] musical style’.

The piece is made up of a sequence of contrasting sections, played attacca, and has been written to not simply test the technical ability of the band, but their musical ability too.  It was the composer’s intention for the work to be appealing to the audience, as well as the musicians performing it. 

The work will certainly make adjudication interesting, as the composer has deliberately kept stylistic dictations to a minimum in order to encourage conductors to ‘find the style and interpret that aspect over the whole structure’. So, it won’t simply be a band’s technical dexterity that will earn them a place at the Royal Albert Hall next year - interpretation will be everything!

First Section: Variations on Was Labet by Andrew Wainwright

Another set of variations to feature in this contest is the work chosen to test the first section, Variations on Was Labet by Andrew Wainwright.

This is the first time the work has been used on the UK contest circuit, however it has been used on the continent as the set work for the Second Division in both the 2022 Swiss National Championships and the 2024 Dutch Nationals.

The work is based on the German chorale of the same name, the first line of which translates to ‘O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness’. The piece opens with a triumphant fanfare introduction before moving through 5 contrasting variations that present fragments of the main melody before it is revealed in all of its glory in the final movement.

Second Section: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Philip Harper

The second section will be donning their snorkels, as they take on Philip Harper’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

Written in 2024, this is the first time the piece has been chosen for UK competitions. It was used as the set work for the third division at the French National Brass Band Championships in February 2025 and is set to be the set work for the Third Section in the North American Championships 2026. 

The piece is based on the novel of the same name, by French science fiction writer, Jules Verne - the third of his works to inspire a test piece after Journey to the Centre of the Earth and Around the World in 80 Days. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is written in 5 movements bookended by an introduction and a finale: 

I: The Nautilus

II: The Coral Kingdom

III: Squid Attack

IV: Captain Nemo

V: Maelstrom

Third Section: Three Haworth Impressions by Gordon Langford

A stroll through the countryside of Northern England is in store for the Third Section as they embark on Gordon Langford’s Three Haworth Impressions. 

Written in 1979, the piece has been used a few times in UK contests in the 80s, 90s and early noughties, with its last appearance being at the 2001 West of England Bandmen’s Festival. 

As you can guess from the title, the work is written in three movements, each designed to musically illustrate the landscapes of Haworth and the lives of the Brontë sisters who called them home and sought inspiration for their works:

• I: Top Withens - A General evocation of the atmosphere of Wuthering Heights

• II: The Three Bells - A reference to the three pseudonyms used by the the Brontë sisters

• III: The Worth Valley Railway - A celebration of the people of Haworth who fought to save their railway

Fourth Section: Indian Summer by Eric Ball

The Fourth Section have been tasked with a brass band classic that is no stranger to UK contests, Eric Ball’s Indian Summer.

Written in 1950, Indian Summer, has been the chosen work of many contests in the UK with its last outing being the 1999 Regionals. 

The piece is made up of four movements reflecting on the composer’s musical impression of Native American tales.

• The Great Chief Speaks 

• By the Cool Waters

• Totem Dance

• Hymn to the Great Spirit

2026 National Finals Dates

The dates for the 2026 Section 1-4 contest have been announced as the 25th - 26th September at Cheltenham, but are still provisional and haven’t been finalised. Similarly, the date for the Championship section final at the Royal Albert Hall is yet to be confirmed.