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I DON"T believe the stupidity of choices for "champion" solo material for the upcoming Aust Nat contest next Easter. For "low" tuba - Hindemith Sonata 3rd movt. That is more about piano than tuba, For junior level, Air and Bouree - the Bouree is for unaccomp fiddle, and should be played unaccomp.

I REALLY wonder who the H... is going to judge these things and where the piano accompanists are going to come from.

If anybody out here knows more about all this, I'd love to hear from them.


The Australian National Band Championships attract top bands from around the world and are WELL worth attending. Good place for exhibitors too. They will be in Brisbane Queensland - near me - and I'll be there. Maybe a lot of us Oz tubaists can get together then.

Pardon my ignorance/curiosity, is this a high school level competition? I'm just wondering.

The Australian National Band Championships are for "community" level bands and performers. "Open" is essentially adults and "Junior" for younger players. Of course a talented junior can compete in the open section. It is for amateur performers, though many bands do have some professional level players.

Most of the bands are "British" style brass bands with "concert" bands having been brought in over the past few decades. In the open section bands are grouped into "A Grade", the top level, down to "D Grade" .

I have had a PM from a teacher here who won't be encouraging his bass trombone students to compete as the required solo piece is also a poor choice.

While I agree that for somebody to win the title of Australian National Champion they should be playing at a well above average level, setting a required piece which requires near professional level skills to perform adequately in a contest which is really for amateur players seems counter-productive.

Demanding professional level performance from amateurs will only hasten the demise of community music making and lead to the sort of situation we have with out Military Bands which have virtually been wiped out in the past few years.

Community music is for "FUN" not an audition for a pro symphony gig.