SUCCESS: Above, Eastern Bay of Plenty Brass, now proudly one of the country’s 10 A grade bands, photographed outside the Napier Municipal Theatre. Photos supplied
IT has taken 102 years but Eastern Bay of Plenty Brass is now in the top grade of New Zealand brass banding. The band joins three bands from Auckland, two from Christchurch and bands from Wellington, Blenheim, Dunedin and Invercargill in reaching the top echelon.
Established in 1914, the then Whakatane Citizens Band has operated as a D grade band for much of its existence. In the early 1980s it moved up to the C grade but went back down a few years later.
In 1994 the band won the D grade championships and moved up to the C grade again and in 1998, after several wins in that grade, moved up to B grade.
Since then it has been back in the C grade for a few years but mostly in the B grade and in 2012 and 2015 the band won the national B grade championships.
EBOP Brass president Philippa Hales explains that if a band wins a grade two years in succession it must move up to the next grade.
“At the 2016 championships the band just failed to do this when they were beaten by Hamilton Brass by half a point.
“After the contest, as a way of making up for the disappointment of the contest loss, band musical director Alan Spence suggested to the band the idea of applying to go up to the A grade based on the band’s last four years’ performances at the national championships where the band had won the contest twice and also gained a close second and third placing.
“After much discussion, a letter of application to move up to A grade was sent to the executive of the Brass Bands Association of New Zealand who unanimously agreed to the re-grading.
It is a big step up to A grade for such a young band, she says.
“Just over half of the 32-member band are still at school which makes it probably the youngest band in any grade in the country let alone the A grade.”
Each year at a national championship a test piece is chosen which all the bands play in their particular grade. If the selection is a “blockbuster” difficult work then the band will have to work very hard to perform well, however she believes the band is more than up to the challenge.
“For several years now the band has been punching well above its weight at national and provincial competitions and this is one more step in its development.
“Whilst it is a young band there are also some very talented and more experienced members, many of whom have played in the A grade with other bands so the thought is that the band deserves to be heard and seen in the top grade.
The band will make its A grade debut at the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington in April.
To celebrate its promotion, the band will hold a special concert at the Church of St George and St John on Wednesday, November 30.