Anne Crookston on adjudicating, 30 years since that Nationals victory and her desire to see more women rising to the top | episode 4

Who’d be an adjudicator? It’s a demanding and some might say, thankless task, but it’s a vital role. An adjudicator’s decisions can bring elation or desolation and a judge’s comments can make or break someone’s confidence.

Anne Crookston is relishing her role as an adjudicator, in normal times regularly travelling far and wide to run the rule over some of the best bands around. She has the experience to back it up; a career steeped in education, and a performer who played at the highest level for decades before channelling her energy into conducting – all of which she discusses in this podcast, as well as a certain victory at the National Brass Band Championships 30 years ago.