The test piece chosen for the contest was On Alderley Edge, by Peter Graham and the adjudicators:- John Berryman, Alan Fernie and William Relton.
This contest boasted a formidable line-up of bands and included the top 9 ranked English bands and the six regional, Area Qualifying winning bands of 2006.”On Alderley Edge” is a beautiful crowd-pleasing test piece previously used in The National Finals in 1997 and is a particularly severe test for the soloists of the band. The solo horn, soprano, euphonium and flugel all have exposed and stratospherically high solos to negotiate and even with this line-up it was felt few bands would come through unscathed.
The Aveley and Newham Band had a much more favourable draw- No.13 in a field of 15. However in the event, with an hour’s break for lunch, the Band had a long and tedious wait outside the dressing rooms before they could make their debut at the Guildhall. The warm-up room was a great bonus though and well appreciated.
The Band enjoyed the acoustics of the Guildhall and gave a very musical performance. Nigel Taken was pleased with the effort although there were several unfortunate slips which would inevitably cost points.
The A&N Band was awarded 10th position beating Bands ranked well above them. These included Reg Vardy, YBS, Sellers, Rothwell, and Mount Charles. What could we have achieved with fewer slips?