FABB News

FABB forced to cancel 2012 Festival

Monday, 05 December 2011

The Federation of Australasian Brass Bands Chairman, Rick Casagrande, has announced the forced cancellation of the 2012 Australasian Open Brass Festival. In a letter to FABB members, Rick Casagrande writes:

4 December 2011

Dear FABB Members,

It saddens me to advise that the FABB organization has been forced to cancel the 2012 Australasian Open Brass Festival.

In the letter from the venue management, Twin Towns venue has decided that your FABB festival "does not provide the best outcome for the Twin Towns members". After all the gains that the bands have made, especially in the entertainment shows, I find it disheartening that FABB and Twin Towns have not been able to reach a negotiated position with respect to the venue that has served you so well to date.

The funding for 2012 was already in place with our sponsor, Yamaha, and this has made the Twin Towns decision even more difficult for FABB to accept.

The FABB board is saddened by this decision and is now actively searching for another venue for 2013. I am sure that everyone who has participated in FABBFest will agree that the venue is in fact quite difficult to replace anywhere. A performance room with both showroom lighting and audio within close proximity to an international airport and 80 metres from the beach is a most difficult of criteria to fill.

The decision to cancel FABB for 2012 is not made lightly and we have been mindful that some bands were not going to the Nationals in Melbourne so as to be able to make it to FABBFest. Given that the closing dates for the Nationals is fast approaching (16th December 2011) we thought it best to advise bands now so that they did not miss out on both contests.

We thank all bandsmen and women who have participated in FABB thus far and look forward to hosting you again in 2013.

Best wishes for the festive season and 2012 for all FABB people.

Yours faithfully

Rick Casagrande - Chairman
The Federation of Australasian Brass Bands

Results: FABBFest 2011

Twin Towns Results from the 2011 Yamaha FABB Australasian Open Brass Festival, 28 - 30 October 2011.

Yamaha Australasian Open Championship

1. Brisbane Excelsior, Paul Andrews
2. Gunnedah Shire Band, Jason Katsikaris
3. Kew Band Melbourne, Mark Ford
4. Brisbane Brass, Iaan Wilson
5. Glenorchy Concert Brass, Howard Taylor
6. St Marys Band Club, Ben Crocker
7. North Shore Brass, NZ, Colin Clark
8. Warringah Concert Brass, John Saunders
9. Footscray-Yarraville, Phillipa Edwards
10. South Brisbane Federal, Dylan Troyahn
11. Boroondara Brass, Danny van Bergen

Best Soloist in the Test: John Lewis, Gunnedah

Brisbane Excelsior - 2011 Australasian Open Champions

Yamaha Australasian Entertainment Championship

1. Gunnedah Shire Band, Jason Katsikaris
2. Kew Band Melbourne, Mark Ford
3. Brisbane Excelsior, Paul Andrews
4. Footscray Yarraville, Phillipa Edwards
5. Boroondara Brass, Danny van Bergen

Best Soloist: Kristy Rowe, Gunnedah Shire Band

Best AV Presentation: Glenorchy Brass

Gunnedah Shire Band - 2011 Australasian Entertainment Champions

Brass on Broadway

Winner: Paula Russell, And This is My Beloved arr. Michael Forsyth

Paula Russell

Media Coverage

Friday, 28 October 2011

Twin Towns FABBFest 2011 will be live streamed by Tim Kelly from brassbanned.com

Rob Kavanagh from BrassHub.com will be providing a live commentary and opinion, and 4barsrest.com as well as our own site, will also keep you up to date with results as they are announced.

2011 FABBFest Update

Thursday, 08 September 2011

Some of the best soloists and bands from Australasia compete for over $10,000 in prizemoney at this years 2011 FABBFest.

The Federation of Australasian Brass Bands (FABB) provide an update on this years Yamaha Australasian Open Brass Festival (also known as FabbFest), being held at Cooloongatta, Queensland, 28-30 October, 2011.

The Performers
Bands competing this year for the title of Yamaha Australasian Open Champion and Yamaha Australasian Entertainment Champion are:
Boroondara Brass (Danny van Bergen), VIC
Brisbane Brass (Iaan Wilson), QLD
Brisbane Excelsior (Paul Andrews), QLD
Footscray-Yarraville City Band (Phillipa Edwards), VIC
Glenorchy Brass (Howard Taylor), TAS
Gunnedah Shire Band (Jason Katsikaris), NSW
Kew Band Melbourne (Mark Ford), VIC
North Shore Brass (Colin Clark), New Zealand
South Brisbane Federal (Dylan Troyahn), QLD
St Marys Brass (Ben Crocker), NSW
Warringah Concert Brass (John Saunders), NSW

Suzume Youth Band
Saturday evening's special event this year is entitled "Brass on Broadway" and will feature 2011 Special Guests - the Suzume Youth Band (SYBB) from Japan.The SYBB was formed by its conductor Mr. Teruo Yabuuchi in 1981 and in 2011, SYBB celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Brass on Broadway
A selection of Australasia's finest brass soloists will perform some of the the best stage and screen musical classics. Brass on Broadway soloists are:
Ken Bradley (Tuba)
Phil Johnston (Tuba)
Jamie Lawson (Cornet)
Kyle Lawson (Cornet)
Dominic Longhurst (Cornet/Flugel)
Riki McDonnell (Euphonium)
Matt Pankhurst (Tuba)
Rosie Pearce (Horn)
Paula Russell (Cornet)
Matt van Emmerik (Euphonium)

The FABB is also pleased to announce that Lee Martelli, world class accompanist from Auckland, will be teaming with the soloists for the evening.

The Adjudicators
Russell Gray, Bill Broughton and David Gallaher have confirmed their availability and will be the adjudicators for the three featured events.

Biographies can be found at http://www.fabb.com.au/index.php/the-yamaha-australasian-open/adjudicators

Host
Adding a boost of professionalism and fun this year will be John McGough from New Zealand - well known professional entertainer, compere and brass artist.

Test Music
The Federation of Australasian Brass Bands has announced the selection of Psyche as the FABB 2011 Test Piece.

Composed in 2008 by Swiss composer Ludovic Neurohr as a commission from National Australia Brass Ltd, Psyche received its premiere at the Melbourne International Festival of Brass.

Ludo Neurohr studied composition with Professor Peter Graham at the University of Salford and completed his Masters degree in 2008. His ‘Spells of the Deep Forest’ commissioned by the Federation of Australasian Brass Bands was first performed at FABB in 2010.

Registration
All individual performers (including conductors) at FABB Fest must register.

Administrators, supporters and the general public are also invited to become members of FABB. Registration entitles the card ID holder to free unreserved admission to all events at FABB Fest.

http://www.fabb.com.au/index.php/registration

SCHEDULE
Friday 28 October
7.30pm Opening Function and Draw
Saturday 29 October
Commencing approx 12 noon - 2011 Yamaha Australasian Open Championship
7.30pm Guest Band Suzume Youth Band (Japan)
8.30pm Brass on Broadway (Soloist event)
Sunday 30 October
Commencing approx 10am - 2011 Yamaha Australasian Open Entertainment event

Tickets
This year, the Yamaha Australasian Open, Brass on Broadway, and the Yamaha Australasian Entertainment Open are separate ticketed events being promoted by Twin Towns Clubs and Resorts.

For promotional information and tickets go to:

http://www.twintowns.com.au/showroom.html

www.fabb.com.au

Adjudicators

Russell Gray FABB Confirm Adjudicators for 2011
The Federation of Australasian Brass Bands is pleased to confirm the appointment of three adjudications for the 2011 FABBFest.