UniBrass 2026: Meet the Adjudicators

UniBrass Team Announce 2026 Adjudication Panel

The organisers of the 2026 UniBrass Contest, which will be held at the ICC Wales on Saturday 14th February 2026, have announced the team of adjudicators who are set to judge the performances of the 23 competing bands.

UniBrass Shield Section Adjudicators

The adjudicator duo assigned to the Shield Section of the UniBrass Contest are Lauren Chinn and Chris Thomas.

Lauren Chinn

Lauren Chinn brings over a decade of experience as a brass performer and educator. She has been a member of the Flowers Band since 2015, a period which has included the band's National Championships victory in 2024. Now occupying the flugelhorn seat, Chinn has established a strong reputation as a soloist, featuring on the band's latest CD and winning Best Flugelhorn at the 2024 Brass in Concert Championships.

In addition to performing, Lauren is part of the band's creative team, contributing to the design and delivery of their Brass in Concert programmes. A former member of the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, she now serves on its pastoral team, supporting and nurturing the next generation of brass musicians.

Chris Thomas

Chris Thomas started playing at the age of eleven. Chris has held the Principal Trombone seat with some of the UK's top bands. The first of those bands was the Sun Life Band which he joined at the age of seventeen and travelled all over the world with, forging a reputation as one of the finest amateur performers of his generation. Throughout his career he has presented masterclasses and performed in concert halls in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Japan and Europe and has performed as a featured soloist at the National Brass Band Championships Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

In July 2000, Chris was appointed Principal Trombone of the Cory Band and with them he amassed a total of four National Championship wins, seven British Open wins and six European Championship wins.

In 2024, Chris joined the Flowers Band and is looking forward to his 30th appearance at the European Championships in April.

UniBrass Trophy Section Adjudicators

The bands performing in the Trophy section of the 2026 UniBrass Contest is trumpet soloist, Tracey Redfern and Musical Director for the Flowers Band, Paul Holland.

Tracey Redfern

Tracey Redfern is a revered trumpet soloist who has performed with the Manchester Camerata, the Northern Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Camerata Scotland. Tracey is the Principal Trumpet of the Northern Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and the Northern Ballet Sinfonia.

In the 1990s, Tracey played Soprano Cornet for the Foden's Band and contributed to many winning performances of which the National Championships was a particular highlight.

She has been a guest soloist and cornet tutor with the National Youth Brass Band of Switzerland and more recently a tutor with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain, of which she is a former member.

Paul Holland

Paul Holland is one of Europe's most respected and in-demand brass band conductors and adjudicators.

As a performer, Paul enjoyed significant success with the Black Dyke Band and was part of the historic 'Grand Slam' winning team that simultaneously held the European, British Open and National titles. During his music studies at Huddersfield University, Paul also performed with elite bands including, YBS, Brighouse & Rastrick, Grimethorpe and Foden's.

He is currently the full-time Musical Director of the Flowers Band and the Woodfalls Band and serves as the Professional Musical Director of Brass Band Schoonhoven (Netherlands), Tertnes Brass (Norway) and Wallberg Band (Switzerland).

As an adjudicator, Paul maintains a busy and prestigious schedule. He has judged at the highest level across Europe, including the British Open, Spring Festival, National Championships of Great Britain, SIDDIS (Norway), Swiss Open, French Nationals and events across Denmark, Lithuania and beyond.

In recognition of his contributions to the brass band world, Paul was awarded the Iles Medal in 2025.

Get Your Tickets UniBrass 2026

Tickets to both the UniBrass Contest and the Gala Concert are available now on the UniBrass website and can be purchased either separately or as a package deal for a discounted price.

If you are unable to attend in-person, you can still watch the action via the UniBrass livestream with passes starting at only £12.49 at https://www.unibrass.co.uk/watch

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