'NOW' were awarded the top Gold Award in the prestigious 'OPEN CLASS' at the National Concert Band Festival (Midlands Region event) on Sunday (26 November 2006) performing Philip Sparke's challenging and breathtaking work 'Between the Two Rivers' (published in 2004) Theme and four variations on the well known hymn 'A Safe Stronghold our God is Still'. The Cripps Hall was packed for the performance and the audience was spellbound all the way through this highly colourful 16 minute piece as NOW brought the score to life..... (ncbf is the most established Concert Band Festival in the country. The Open Class is the highest and most prestigious class you can enter and is designed for College and University Bands. Gold is the Highest award in that class.)

This is indeed an exceptional achievement for this young band. If you are interested in playing, developing, and going places with an outstanding and impressive symphonic wind orchestra please contact us NOW!.......Currently we have players from Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough!

A sonorous tuba solo, precise percussion and flutes blowing a gale windy enough to shake those last leaves from the autumn trees... It's NOW performing my favourite piece, the majestic "Between the Two Rivers" by Philip Sparke at the Regional Wind Band Festival at the Cripps Hall, Northampton.
It's a piece that I know well and this performance made my hair stand on end. In fact, I think the rest of the audience felt the same way.  From my balcony vantage point, Iwatched everyone on the edge of their seats. Nobody rattled a crisp packet, nobody whispered, nobody moved... you could hear a pin drop - right to the very end. Thanks to all of you for a spellbinding performance.  Oh yes, and NOW won a Clear Gold, too. Well done everyone! (Donna)