Horsham Borough Band back in action after competition success

They won the London and Southern Counties Regional Championships held at the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage Arts and Leisure Centre on March 17.

As spokesman Howard Smith explains: “This qualifies the band to represent the London and Southern Counties Region at the national finals to be held in Cheltenham in September.

“The band was formed in 1900 and was originally known as the Horsham Recreation Silver Band. Following a merger with the Horsham Town Band in 1912, the band took on its current name.

“Brass bands are graded into five divisions, known as sections, from the championship section – with some well-known bands like Black Dyke, Grimethorpe Colliery and Brighouse and Rastrick – competing to be the best in the country. Horsham Borough Band compete in the next division, the first section. This division still demands a very high standard of musicianship, commitment and dedication on the part of the players, the conductor and even the committee. All the bands in the competition had to play the same piece, High Peak written by the renowned brass band composer Eric Ball back in 1969. Horsham were drawn to play first out of 15 bands, playing at 9.30am and the band gave a good account of themselves and were happy with their overall performance.”

The band’s conductor Will Wilkins, who took up the post of conducting the band two years ago, said: “This result is testament to the hard work of the committee and members to rebuild following the challenges of the Covid pandemic. We have been pleased to welcome several new players over the last couple of years, many attracted by the band's high standards. We knew that we needed a good result this year to avoid relegation, and the band have worked incredibly hard towards that goal. Attendance at our twice weekly rehearsals has been excellent. We knew we were playing well, especially after managing a very fine second place at the Southern Counties contest in Brighton two weeks earlier, beaten only by one of the top Championship section bands in our area, Wantage Silver Band.”

After Horsham, it was the turn of the 14 other bands, all based in London and the southern counties to play and attempt to surpass Horsham’s performance. Despite some excellent performances, none were able to do so with the two contest judges stating that the band that won impressed them both and was a clear winner.

Band secretary Andrew Hartley said: “This is a great achievement for the band and shows just how hard Will and the band have worked over the past couple of years.”

The band now turn to their summer programme of concert appearances, with their next appearance in Horsham at the Carfax bandstand on Saturday, April 20 at 11am. The band also have other summer engagements in Cranleigh, Godalming, Eastbourne and Horsham Park. The summer ends with a weekend trip to Devon to take part in Bandamonium, a light-hearted event where several bands from the south and west of England take turns to play short programmes in and around five or six different village pubs before jumping on a coach to the next village watering hole for the next mini concert.

“After this, the band will need to engage with the serious business of preparing for the national finals in September,” Howard said.