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Backworth Colliery Band took part in the Borders Entertainment Contest, 31st October, in Peebles. The band gave a confident performance, and although not highly placed in the results from a field that included numerous higher-section bands, the Band is showing improvement. A very enjoyable day’s banding, with a well-balanced programme including strong contributions from the Band’s younger players, and everyone entering into the spirit of “entertainment”.

The programme began with “Doyen”, by Goff Richards, written to celebrate the motor coach ‘Doyen’, describing a coach journey making its way through London. Then an arrangement by Leonard Ballantine of the American folk song “Shenandoah”, in his setting entitled “Mid all the Traffic”. The solo piece was “Buster Strikes Back”, in the arrangement by Alan Morrison, lyrically played by Callum Harrison. The band closed impressively with Goff Richards’ arrangement of three American songs in his “An American Trilogy”, popularized by Elvis Presley, with Matthew Fletcher donning an Elvis costume to bring out the true pathos of his euphonium solo.

The Leckie Memorial Church presented a quite reverberant acoustic that clearly hindered other bands, several suffering from over-blowing, muddy articulation, and lack of togetherness with their percussion. Backworth played within the dynamics of the music, allowing their phrasing to bring the music to life and clearly enjoyed their time in front of an audience. With steps forward taken in playing confidence and deportment, the Band now turns to its next challenge at the Durham League Contest in late November.