Contest Preview: Section 1-4 National Finals at Cheltenham Racecourse

The stage is set for the 2025 Section 1–4 National Finals at Cheltenham Racecourse this weekend, with 74 bands confirmed to compete across the weekend of 13th–14th September 2025.

Let’s take a closer look at the bands in each section and the test pieces they’ll be tackling as they battle it out for glory.

Section 1-4 National Brass Band Championship Finals Details

Location: Cheltenham Racecource

Start time: 9:00am

Saturday 13th September: Second Section followed by First Section

Sunday 14th September: Fourth Section followed by Third Section

The test pieces this year pay homage to Sir Arthur Bliss as this year marks the 50th anniversary of his death and Edward Gregson, who celebrated his 80th birthday in 2025. 

First Section

Adjudicators: Nicholas Garman, David Thornton & Mark Wilkinson

Competing Bands:

• Audley (Tom Hancock)

• Cockerton Prize Silver (Andrew Hunter)

• Diggle (Sean Conway)

• Freckleton (Adam Taylor)

• Glastonbury (Liam Grunsell)

• Granite City (Bruce Wallace)

• Kidlington Concert (Jonathan Pippen)

• Michelmersh Silver (Kevin Smith)

• Newtongrange Silver (Anne Crookston)

• Old Silkstone (Norman Law)

• Parc & Dare (Dewi Griffiths)

• Raunds Temperance (John Hudson)

• Ripon City (Garry Hallas)

• Roche (Matt Green)

• Thundersley (Melvin White)

• Tyldesley (Neil Samuel)

• Tylorstown (Nigel Seaman)

• Unite the Union (Jonathan Beatty)

Test Piece: Checkmate by Arthur Bliss, Arr. by Eric Ball

The piece set to test the bands in the first section is Eric Ball’s arrangement of ‘Checkmate’ by Arthur Bliss. This arrangement was commissioned for the 1978 National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall, which was won by the Yorkshire Imps Metal band under the baton of Denis Carr. 

The original arrangement was written in four movements, but due to the time restrictions of original contest, only three movements are used:

• Dance of the Four Knights: A poised, militarian movement with swift, technical moments and a defiant, punchy ending. 

• Ceremony of the Red Bishops: A beautiful, slow, hymnal section with rich chordal movements - a test of dynamic control, intonation and moving together.

• Checkmate: A dramatic battle of a finale with plenty of stamina-zapping loud dynamics before a rousing finish

Now we live in a modern age where test pieces can be upwards of 15 minutes, but from what I’ve seen - the Red Knight’s Mazurka is still omitted from the score for this contest (if anybody knows differently - let me know!).

I’m biassed, because I’m a massive Eric Ball fan, but it is a brilliant gem of a work that, sadly, hasn’t seen a lot of use on the UK contest circuit, with its last use as a set work in a national contest being the 2002 Grand Shield. There’s plenty of technical tests, both rhythmic and musical, for the bands, whilst being a listenable piece for the audience. 

Second Section

Adjudicators: Stephanie Binns, Dr Brett Baker, Dr Robert Childs

Competing Bands:

• Abertillery Town (Stephen Sykes)

• Carlton Brass (Matt Ludford-King)

• Chinnor Silver (Oliver Hallstead-Brooks)

• City of Cambridge (Philip Fisher)

• Deiniolen (Lois Jones)

• Dunston Silver (Fraser Hodgson)

• Eagley (Christopher Wormald)

• Ferryhill Town (Marieka Gray)

• Jedforest Instrumental (Philip Rosier)

• Jersey Premier Brass (Jason Mildren)

• Liverpool (David McGlynn)

• Middleton (Jamie Cooper)

• Nailsworth Silver (Anri Adachi)

• Perthshire (Willie McMullan)

• Porthleven Town (Tom Bassett)

• Shirland Welfare (Lynden Cooper)

• South Yorkshire Police (Leigh Baker)

• Strata (David Holling)

• Verwood Town (Kevin Smith)

Test Piece: Suite from Adam Zero by Arthur Bliss, Arr. Dr Robert Childs

In a nutshell, Bliss’ original ballet ‘Adam Zero’ is an allegory on the cycle of the life of man - moving through birth, experience and death through the passing of the seasons. Robert Childs arranged the work for brass band in 2023 choosing three of the season-themed dances and book-ending them with a fanfare overture and coda. This is the piece’s debut as a set work for a contest.

• I: Fanfare Overture: A jubilant, royal affair with rolling timpani and layers of fanfares around the stand

• II: Dance of Spring: A characterful, colourful movement with melodies that leap and bound, playful percussive moments and a delicate twinkle of an ending

• III: Approach of Autumn: A pensive, subdued movement based on a three note motif, with warm chord progressions and melancholy solos

• IV Dance of Summer: Boisterous, excitable and joyous with large sweeping melodic phrases, full-bodied dynamics and a triumphant feel 

• V: Fanfare Coda: Recapitulation of the fanfares from the beginning of the piece that builds into one last flourish 

It’s a very descriptive work with lots of moments for soloists to shine. Again, I think it strikes the balance between a listenable piece for the audience whilst offering enough compositional elements to challenge the band. 

Third Section

Adjudicators: Andrea Price, Gary Davies & Martin Heartfield

Competing Bands

• Avonbank (Evesham) (Micah Parsons)

• Barnsley Metropolitan (Alex Francis)

• Betteshanger Colliery Welfare (Mike West)

• Bideford Town (Mark Durham)

• Bratton Silver (Kyle Blake)

• City of Wrexham (Scott Lloyd)

• Dobcross Silver (Jason Smith)

• Flookburgh Silver (John Iveson)

• Ibstock Brick (Jon Penton)

• Littleport (Ian Johnson)

• Mid Rhondda (Adrian Morton)

• Oughtibridge (John Hopkinson)

• Pilling Jubilee Silver (Joshua Hughes)

• Putney & Wimbledon (Dr. Sam Topp)

• Renfrew Burgh (Mark Good)

• Rivington & Adlington (Malcolm Wilson)

• St Ronan's Silver (Michael Marzella)

• Swindon (Steve Yorke)

• Thrapston Town (Nathan Waterman)

• Trimdon Concert (Andrew Hall)

  
  

Test Piece: Music From the Royal Palaces 

Bliss composed the material for this work for the television documentary, ‘The Royal Palaces of Great Britain, when he was the Master of the Queen’s Music and later turned it into a five movement suite. In 2023, Michael Halstenson arranged the work for brass band, retaining the five movement layout of the original suite:

• I: Queen Victoria’s Call to the Throne - a regal, processional with heraldic cornets and stately ensemble writing.

• II: The Ballroom in Buckingham Palace - A jovial dance that reminds me of the Mazurka from the ballet, Coppelia (yes, I know mazurkas and waltzes are different both rhythmically and in character - it just gave me flashbacks to the Angelina Ballerina CD that I nearly broke as a kid, because I was obsessed with said Mazurka and kept rewinding it) - it’s a really jolly moment in the piece

• III:Jousts of the Knights in Armour - An atmospheric, suspenseful movement with exposed solos at the start, leading into the turbulent driven joust with fanfares in upper band underpinned by stirring timpani and snare. 

• IV:The Murder of Rizzio in Holyrood House - A cold opening leads into a frantic, descriptive movement depicting the murder of the secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots

• V: Royal Palace Theme March - The piece ends with the regal main theme from the documentary

Similar to Adam Zero, this is the first time Music from the Royal Palaces has been chosen for a UK contest. Listening to this work in my preparation to write this article was my first introduction and I absolutely love this piece! Again, plenty of variety throughout the movements for the listener and its descriptive nature makes it a really enjoyable piece to listen to. 

Fourth Section

Adjudicators: Alan Bourne, David Hirst & Steve Pritchard-Jones

• Arbroath & Carnoustie (Neill McDonald)

• Brackley & District (Mark Probert)

• City of Oxford Silver (Douglas Brown)

• Cobham (Will Wilkins)

• Darwen (David W Ashworth)

• Friendly Band (Sowerby Bridge) (Mick Silson)

• Holywell (Steve Pugh-Jones)

• Illogan Sparnon Silver (Shaun Marsden)

• Ireland Colliery Chesterfield (Sarah Fellowes)

• Knaresborough Silver (Nicholas Garrett)

• Midsomer Norton & Radstock Silver (Harry Chambers)

• Queensbury Music Centre (Chris Lewis)

• Red Admiral (Stuart Barton)

• Stranraer (Angela Miller)

• Syston (Alex Bland)

• Tewit Community (Andrew Williams)

• Wantage Academy (Nikki Jones)

Test Piece: Partita by Edward Gregson

Edward Gregson’s Partita was commissioned in 1971 by the Redbridge Youth Brass Band. The last time it was used as a set work in the UK was in 2013 in the Fourth Section of the SWBBA Contest - however, it has seen quite a bit of use as an own choice test piece. It has also been picked for the D Grade and Fourth Division of the Queensland State Brass Band Championship and Dutch Nationals, respectively in 2025. 

The work uses the plainsong Dies Irae from the requiem mass, as a musical basis that runs through the whole piece - a musical sequence that has been used in music for centuries, usually to represent death or mortality. The work is formed of three movements:

• I: Intrada: A solemn, but emphatic opening movement

• II: Chorale and Variations: A beautiful plaintive chorale followed by five variations differentiated by a variety of texture, tempi and dynamics

• III: March: A lively, more optimistic-sounding movement that starts with a syncopated rendition of the dies irae, before it is developed over the course of the movement - it has bags of personality before a final recapitulation of the dies irae marks the end of the work

Again, big fan of Edward Gregson’s music, so I’m a little biased - but this is a great work, particularly the last movement. To take such a simple motif and turn it into a large-scale, varied work is testament to the creativity shown in Gregson’s writing. 

Best of luck to all bands that are performing over the course of this weekend!