On the 26th of September Downshire Brass Band were named First Section Champion Band at the Cory Band Online Championships, an online contest setup to showcase the talent of many brass bands from across the world. Downshire Brass submitted an audio-visual performance entitled “Tales of Yarn and Home” which showcased the band against a backdrop of beautiful rural and urban landscapes across Northern Ireland. The band performed original arrangements of “She Moved Through the Fair” with Flugel soloist Lauran Stewart, “A Ragged Hank of Yarn” and “I’ll Tell Me Ma” playing amongst the scenery. These had been specially composed by the band’s Musical Director, Michael Alcorn.

In addition to winning the 1st section overall, Downshire also gained awards for best percussion, best euphonium and baritone section and an award for the best soloist in Section One which went to Lauren Stewart for her performance in “She Moved Through the Fair”.

However, the success didn’t stop there. Over the last month Downshire Brass’ performance has reached national publicity with brief TV news segments on BBC Ulster and UTV and it was taken up by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. The band also received recognition in national and local news articles including BBC News, 4barsrest, Love Ballymena, Banbridge Leader, and the Newsletter. As the band, begins to reflect on the huge recognition and success that stemmed from winning the Cory Online Band championships, we can hope that future success is on the cards for Downshire Brass, even in these hard times.

To read the articles on the contest and Downshire’s success, please click the link below:

BBC news -https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-northern-ireland-54348036

4BarsRest - https://www.4barsrest.com/news/41836/report-results-2020-cory-online-championships