HATHERLEIGH Silver Band have crowned a successful season by triumphing at the South West Brass Band Association Annual Championships last weekend.

The band won their section, the 4th Section, at the contest held at the Riviera Centre in Torquay, beating off competition from eight other bands. A total of 38 bands played in the contest.

They chose their own choice of composition, The Journal of Phileas Fogg by Peter Graham, with adjudicator Peter Graham praising ‘a very polished performance’.

‘There were nine bands in our section and we were up against a lot of local competition,’ said deputy musical director Adrian Edwards. ‘Okehampton Silver Band played and Saltash played, and were second on the day.

‘We were really pleased to win, and it stands us in good stead for next year: in January we should be promoted up into the 3rd Section.’

The win comes just a few weeks after the band came sixth at the national finals of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain held in Cheltenham. They were among 20 bands who reached the finals from 140 bands entering nationwide.

Adrian said that the weekend’s win was particularly pleasing, as of the band members had changed since their last contest.

‘We had a change of playing personnel and there were five who were either new to the band or hadn’t played for some time, so that made the result even better,’ he said.

The band topped a great day by winning a special award for the best set of basses.

‘Two of the band’s four tuba players first won this prize in 1977,’ added Adrian. Members of the band are pictured.