In the championship division, six bands shot for gold at the Dutch Open Brass Band Championships (DOBC), Saturday in the Oosterpoort in Groningen. Martini Brassband Groningen took the win in the second division.
The international brass band competition is part of the Groningen Brass Experience.
Brass band De Bazuin Oenkerk led by Jaap Musschenga was allowed to kick off the ball, and did so successfully. In a thirty minute program the band played the lyrical cornet and euphonium solo Novella by Ben Hollings. Soloists Yvonne Galama and Hendrik de Boer have impressively demonstrated their musical qualities.
The choice for competition work stood out for the Oenkerkers A Brussels Requiem by Bert Appermont. The young-looking band was soloistically very strong and well balanced. Musschenga delivered an excellent interpretation of a piece of high quality, which was rewarded by the jury with a second place.
The winner of the evening was reigning world champion brass band Willebroek from Belgium. In the opening work Fanfare for the Best by Thomas Doss, the difference was immediately made in the lyrical opening bars by the grand overall sound of the band. In Explorers on the Moon by Paul Raphael, Frans Violet directed his musicians to the closing note with great drive. With a justified assessment of 96 points, the performance of the Belgians was the highlight of the evening.
Impressive solo
The Provincial Brass Band Groningen, conducted for the last time by Richard Visser, impressed with the cornet solo Only in Sleep by Eriks Esenvalds. Soloist Robert Ernest was given plenty of room to solo, partly due to the band’s delicate accompaniment. The Groningers achieved fourth place with their total program.
The winner in the first division was Youth Brass Band North Rhine Westphalia from Germany.