Corsham Band took the champion’s crown in the West of England regional final of the national brass band championships in Torquay.

After taking on 20 other bands in the fourth section, and enduring a long wait for the results to come in, the band was proud to accept the title after scooping first place and was awarded a trophy for its efforts. According to brass band website 4barsrest.com, ‘the visiting judges were bowled over by both the standard and atmosphere they enjoyed in the fourth section in the arena auditorium’.

One adjudicator said the South West was sending ‘real quality to the finals’. Colin Hogg, the band’s musical director, said he was ‘simply thrilled’ to have helped a great band to enjoy long-overdue success.

Now the band is through to the national finals, the members can look forward to more rehearsals of another test piece. The finals take place on September 20 at Cheltenham racecourse. Corsham Band now looks forward to another contest, in Weston-super-Mare in May.