Hamilton City Brass celebrating their success at the 2022 Brass Band Championships. Photo / Supplied
Hamilton City Brass celebrating their success at the 2022 Brass Band Championships. Photo / Supplied
Local Waikato brass and percussion musicians have brought home the silverware with successes at the recent 2022 New Zealand Brass Band Championships in Wellington.
Competing in the premier A-grade section, Hamilton City Brass placed third in the section, and is the band's best national contest result in their 90-year history.
Musical director Mason Elliot says for a "truly community band, Hamilton's successes this year at the elite level of New Zealand brass banding are exceptional. The band has worked incredibly hard to attain this high standard and I couldn't be more proud".
Principal cornet Todd Smith was awarded the highly prized Best Soloist in the A-grade Own Choice award by adjudicator Kenneth Young, much to the delight of the band musicians and their supporters who had travelled to Wellington to see the band perform in the Michael Fowler Centre.
Todd Smith with A-Grade Best Soloist in Own Choice trophy. Photo / Richard Lummus
Todd started playing a brass instrument in 2006, and has played in bands in Palmerston North and Blenheim as well as multiple New Zealand National Youth Bands on both euphonium and bass trombone.
He moved to Hamilton in 2018, and switched to cornet when he joined Hamilton City Brass, then attained the principal cornet seat in late 2020. Todd also composes almost exclusively for brass bands.
Competing in their first national solo competition, Charlie Garcia-Gil won the 2022 Open Percussion event and performed at the prestigious Champion of Champions event, an impressive feat for their first solo competition. Charlie plays a collection of stringed instruments including violin and viola, and first became involved playing percussion with brass bands four years ago.
A member of the 2022 National Youth Band, this year Charlie led a team of five percussionists performing with Hamilton City Brass in the band events. Now studying for a Bachelor of Science, double majoring in ecology & biodiversity and statistics at the University of Waikato, Charlie recently had a successful audition with the Royal New Zealand Navy Band and plans to join next year.
Charlie Garcia-Gil performing at Champion of Champions event. Photo / Richard Lummus
Morrinsville E-flat bass player Leighton Ginever successfully defended his title as Junior Bass champion at the recent championships.
As well as competing in the Junior Bass section and playing with Hamilton City Brass in the band events, Leighton also competed in several other solo events including the Junior Slow Melody where he performed his own composition titled Love Song.
He was a member of the 2022 National Youth Band, which assembled in Wellington earlier in the year for in-depth rehearsals and performances. Leighton is studying for a Bachelor of Music, double majoring in composition and mathematics at the University of Waikato.
Hamilton's successes continued with band administrator Marilyn Edgecombe being recognised for her services to brass banding at a local, regional and national level winning the coveted Administrator of the Year Award.
Marilyn has a long history of involvement with the Hamilton Citizens Band organisation and is active as the management committee administrator as well as taking a lead on fundraising events and being involved with sourcing funding; arrangements for Hamilton City Brass concerts and the organisation's annual awards dinner.
Hamilton City Brass and Hamilton Auxiliary Brass have a busy second half of the year including preparation for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Brass Band Contest in Tauranga in October. The contest will comprise solo and small ensemble events and full-band events, and both Hamilton bands hope to see further success.
