Jarvis Georgian House Hotel, Blackrod WINGATES recently regained a place among the Top Ten of British brass bands, and last night, on home ground for the first time under their new conductor, Michael Fowles, they showed that rating is well deserved.

With such a young band, and conductor, it is not surprising that they cross musical "barriers" that at one time would have been considered insurmountable.

But they remain a fine traditional brass band in such pieces as Edward 'Gregson's Variations on Laudate Dominum that brought them stirringly to the interval.

Percy Fletcher's Heroic March from an Epic Symphony was another piece that must have pleased the purists as would the band's encore, the Under the Double Eagle march.

Wingates have some fine soloists and none better than David Thornton whose euphonium piece was the Andrew Owenson arrangement of Bellstedt's Napoli. Brilliant technique combined with admirable control earned such applause that the soloist had to return for a second bow.

Three young women soloists - Anna Hughes, cornet; Lesley Howie, horn and Kerstin Thomas, fluegel - all played highly melodic pieces, showing considerable feeling.

In some of the less traditional works, the accent was on rhythm and unusual harmonies.

Goff Richards' arrangement of Harry Warren's Pasadena captured the atmosphere of a 1920s ballroom, and the percussion were kept busy in such jazzy numbers as George Gerswin's I Got Rhythm, and Jerome Kern's Ole Man River, the latter in a version by the Stan Kenton arranger Mark Freehn.

The William Himes arrangement of Amazing Grace was beautifully restrained. Doreen Crowther

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.