The Manx Youth Band hit the right note at the North West Regional Championships.
Their debut in the Fourth Section of Sunday’s contest held at the Empress Ballroom at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens secured them third place and the Roy Prescott Memorial Trophy.
Comprising 28 players - 26 under the age of 18 - they were competing against senior bands from the North West of England.
Musical director Ian Clague said the result made him ‘immensely proud’, adding: ‘This is the accumulation of months of hard work by the whole band.
‘It’s great their efforts to make quality music has paid off.’
Assistant principal cornet James Aire explained: ‘Following final rehearsals in Blackpool on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning, the band were drawn to play as fourth band on.
‘Most of the band had never stepped foot in the Empress Ballroom, never mind played there, but they did not let the sheer size of the venue phase them and looked confident as they filed onto the contest stage.’
‘Under the baton of Ian Clague the band turned in an excellent performance of their set test piece ‘An English Pastorale’ that left many of the audience surprised at quality of playing from such a young group.
‘After all 14 bands had performed, there followed a nervous wait for the regional secretary, Peter Bates, to announce the adjudicator’s results.
‘The results were announced in reverse order, from sixth place, and all the hard work by everyone involved with the Manx Youth Band was proven to have paid off when they were announced in third place.
‘There were some extremely proud parents, teachers and supporters after the result was announced, which coincidentally came on the 20th anniversary of Ian Clague leading Manx Concert Brass to third place on their debut in the same venue!’
Manx Concert Brass also played this year in the Second Section, under the baton of Derek Broadbent, and were placed seventh, a result which cements their position in the section for another year and leaves them well placed to challenge for promotion to the First Section in 2016.
