Apokalypsis - The End of Days (and Tours)

12th July 2026

Day 2 has arrived. After another extremely warm night in the Rolduc, own choice day has a slightly different sense of anticipation. We already know we’re due to play as band number three at 11:50am, so there’s no waiting around for the draw – it’s straight into business.

Contrary to my northern hemisphere experiences, the morning rehearsal consisted only of an al fresco stage movement session in the grounds of the hotel. Before long we were on the coach and heading to the hall.

With an early draw, we were definitely on the back foot, so after a quick Monster chugged (thanks, Brad!) it was straight into the warm-up room. Then, with a few waves to my old Cory pals as they came off stage, it was our turn to perform.

I’m really impressed by the band’s willingness to showcase local talent, with all three works in our programme written by Kiwis, two of whom play in the band.

Under the Southern Cross by cornet player Kodi Rasmussen got the programme underway with theatrical harmonic movements and clinical detail. Luke Giri-Spence then gave a confident and assured performance of Anthony Ritchie’s Concertino for Euphonium, despite battling gale-force winds on stage. Finally, it was a pleasure for me to perform Apokalypsis for the first time, written by our solo baritone, Jack Bewley. What an outstanding piece of music.

A few rounds of band photos later and we were heading back to the hotel to get changed and do our own thing for a few hours. A lot of the band took advantage of being in the vicinity of the world’s best and headed back to the hall to watch, myself included. What a fantastic day of music, both making it and observing it.

For a lot of the band, the social side of the weekend was a chance to meet players they’d only ever been able to watch online from the other side of the world. It’s been really enriching to see this group enjoy every minute of a contest weekend, taking it all in, making memories and simply having fun. The square was filling with banders and supporters, and it was a day spent catching up with old friends and making plenty of new ones in the beautiful sunshine, surrounded by the stunning setting of Kerkrade town centre.

I’d like to finish by thanking David Bremner for the invitation, and the whole band for making me feel so welcome this week. From the moment I arrived, everyone made me feel part of the band, and it’s been an absolute pleasure to share this experience with such a friendly bunch of people. It’s been brilliant to represent Wellington Brass, and I really hope our paths cross again before too long.

- Tommy Tynan

Important stage movement rehearsal

The whole WBB crew 💛, courtesy of Daisuke Hayashi.