XBY Concert Band have just returned victorious with a Gold Medal from competing in the World Music Contest 2022 in Kerkrade, The Netherlands. We took a band of 50 players and despite a long journey and arriving at close to 3.00am on the morning of the competition we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and were proud to bring back such an award to the UK alongside our friends The Hertfordshire Show Band who have returned World Champions in their division!
The World Music Contest is a wind band festival held every four years in the town of Kerkrade and we have always enjoyed the support of the local people and also the Beer festival that runs concurrently with the music event. The WMC is recognised as a major international festival for wind music and there are regularly over 20,000 participants in the various classes of the competition. This year, XBY Concert Band participated in the Concert Band Class which is the highest division in the contest. The performance takes place in the Roda Hall at the centre of the town and it is adjudicated by a group of 5 eminent musicians from across the world. We played Earth Song by Tichelli, West Side Story – Symphonic Dances by Bernstein, an arrangement of Britten’s Four sea Interludes and Sunrise at Angels Gate by Phillip Sparke (a particular favourite of the band). As part of the event, we receive detailed feedback from the adjudicators and we will be taking their comments on board as we prepare and focus on our next international performance in May 2023 at Amiens, France.