2006 Scottish Regional Championships - Second Section
8-Mar-2006This is perhaps the most severe test of all in Scotland this weekend. Can anyone master Howard Snell’s rest piece we wonder?
Saturday 11th March
Adjudicators: Colin Hardy and John Maines
Test Piece: Images of the Millennium – Howard Snell
Commences: 10.00am
Draw: N/K
No photo? Please send a JPEG to: general@4barsrest.com stating the conductors name, your band, your region and section.
Annan Town (APD)
Conductor: David Shanks
Last Ten Years:
2005: 7th (D. Shanks)
2004: 7th (D. Shanks)
2003: 9th (D. Shanks)
2002: 7th (D. Shanks)
2001: 9th 1st Section (rel) (D. Shanks)
2000: 4th 1st Section (D. Shanks)
1999: 9th 1st Section
1998: 2nd (prom)
1997: 2nd 3rd Section (prom)
1996: 7th 3rd Section
Annan have been putting in pretty solid accounts here in the last four years and have hovered around the top six places under the baton of David Shanks. He has put together some strong foundations here since they started to compete in 1992 and he and his band will surely be looking to just up the ante a bit and claim at least a top six place or even a qualification place given a bit of luck, as they must be fed up of either coming 7th or 9th!
Barrhead Burgh
Conductor: Chris Bradley
Last Ten Years:
2005: 9th in First Section (rel) (B. Keachie)
2004: Winners Second Section (B. Keachie) (prom)
2003: 3rd (B. Keachie)
2002: 5th in 1st Section (rel) (B. Keachie)
2001: 7th 1st Section (E. Drysdale)
2000: 8th 1st Section (C. McKenzie)
1999: 2nd (prom)
1998: 8th 1st Section (rel)
1997: 8th 1st Section
1996: 2nd (prom)
Barrhead Burgh will want to show that the one year they spent in the First Section didn't go to waste even though they ended up coming in 9th place last year and fell through the relegation trap door. Chris Bradley takes over in the middle and the Whitburn top man is a talented musician who should bring out the best in his charges. Ones to watch out for we think.
City of Discovery Brass
Conductor: Bruce Fraser
Last Ten Years:
2005: 3rd (B. Fraser)
2004: 8th (B. Fraser)
2003: 9th 1st Section (B. Fraser) (rel)
2002: 8th 1st Section (B. Fraser)
2001: 5th 1st Section (B. Fraser)
2000: 2nd 2nd Section (prom) (B. Fraser)
1999: 2nd 3rd Section (prom)
1998: 8th 3rd Section
1997: Winners 4th Section (prom)
1996: DNC
Bruce Fraser has done some sterling work with City of Discovery in recent years since they started to compete in 1997, and although they shot up to the First Section pretty quickly, they found it tough and lacked a bit of confidence in 2004 when they came a lowly 8th here. Last year was a totally different story though and they only just missed out on a trip to Harrogate. More of that this time around and they could be looking for hotel rooms come September.
Clydebank Burgh
Conductor: Chris Mitchell
Last Ten Years:
2005: 4th (A. Duguid)
2004: 12th (A. Friel)
2003: 5th (E. Drysdale)
2002: 3rd (D. Laughland)
2001: Winners 3rd Section (prom) (D. Laughland)
2000: Winners 4th Section (prom) (D. Laughland)
1999: 3rd 4th Section
1998: 7th 4th Section
1997: 12th 3rd Section (rel)
1996: 12th (rel)
After winning promotion to the Second Section in 2002 and gaining a fine 3rd place, one of the most famous old bands in Scotland (13 times Scottish Champions no less) fell off the pace in 2004 when they came home in 12th place. Twelve months ago and they sounded like a different band and just missed out on a podium place when they came 4th. Chris Mitchell is now at the helm and he will want to give them that extra push towards the qualification places for sure.
Croy Parish Silver
Conductor: J. Anderson
Last Ten Years:
2005: 5th (C. Bradley)
2004: 5th (C. Bradley)
2003: DNC
2002: Winners 2nd Section (A. Friel)
2001: 8th 2nd Section (A. Friel)
2000: 11th 2nd Section (A. Friel)
1999: 5th 2nd Section
1998: 7th 2nd Section
1997: 9th 2nd Section
1996: 7th 2nd Section
Croy has been quiet on the contest front since last year's Regional Championships, but they will hope to return back year and repeat or even better their results of the past two years. Two 5th places were achieved under the baton of Chris Bradley, but a new MD in John Anderson will be looking for a podium place at least.
Dalkeith and Monktonhall Colliery
Conductor: James Chamberlain
Last Ten Years:
2005: 10th (I. Davey)
2004: 4th (I. Davey)
2003: 8th (I. Fleming)
2002: 9th 1st Section (rel) (I. Fleming)
2001: 8th 1st Section (I. Fleming)
2000: 6th 1st Section (G. Jenkins)
1999: 8th 1st Section
1998: 10th Championship (rel)
1997: 6th Championship
1996: Winners 1st Section (prom)
Dalkeith and Monktonhall Colliery has been competing here since 1990 and after going as low as the Third Section in 1992 they sped up through the ranks to come 6th in the Championship Section in 1998. They have since dropped back a bit from that high water mark, and have found themselves back in the Second Section for the past three years. Showed fine form at the Scottish Cup though with a win and with the talented Jim Chamberlain at the helm they could be looking for more silverware.
Jedforest Instrumental
Conductor: Alan Fernie
Last Ten Years:
2005: 6th (A. Fernie)
2004: 2nd Third Section (A. Fernie) (prom)
2003: 4th (A. Fernie)
2002: 2nd 4th Section (prom) (A. Fernie)
2001: 5th 4th Section (A. Fernie)
2000: 6th 4th Section (A. Fernie)
1999: DNC
1998: DNC
1997: DNC
1996: DNC
The talented composer and all round musician that is Alan Fernie has been doing wonders here with Jedforest Instrumental since they started competing in 2000 after a six year break away from the Championships. Starting back at the lowest level they have battled their way through and last year in their first contest at this level they came a very creditable 6th. A disappointing Scottish Cup though late last year when they came 10th we think has been put behind them and they should feature.
Selkirk Silver
Conductor: Richard Duff
Last Ten Years:
2005: 2nd in Third Section (prom) (R. Duff)
2004: 10th Second Section (C. Marr) (rel)
2003: 12th (C. Kemp)
2002: 4th (C. Kemp)
2001: 6th (C. Kemp)
2000: 7th (C. Kemp)
1999: 3rd
1998: 5th
1997: 5th
1996: 4th
Selkirk bounced straight back up after just the one year in the Third Section and their second place here last year meant a trip to Harrogate where they came 16th. Richard Duff has plenty of talent and a keen sense of what's right an wrong, so they could well feature if they can overcome the very obvious pitfalls in this test piece.
Shotts St. Patrick's
Conductor: Brian Keachie
Last Ten Years:
2005: Winners of Third Section (prom) (A. Duguid)
2004: 9th Second Section (S. Kerwin) (rel)
2003: 10th (S. Kerwin)
2002: Winners 3rd Section (prom) (S. Kerwin)
2001: 6th 3rd Section ((S. Kerwin)
2000: 5th 3rd Section (B. Allan)
1999: 10th 3rd Section
1998: 10th (rel)
1997: 12th
1996: 6th
The experienced Brian Keachie is at the helm this year for Shott's, who won the Third Section here last year and went on the claim 11th place at the Finals in Harrogate. They showed both here and there that they had enough about them to make a mark at the higher level and if they have made progress over the last year they may well do just that on the weekend.
St. David's Brass
Conductor: John Dickson
Last Ten Years:
2005: 11th (J. Dickson)
2004: Winners Third Section (J. Dickson) (prom)
2003: 3rd (J. Dickson)
2002: 3rd (J. Dickson)
2001: 4th (J. Dickson)
2000: 9th (J. Dickson)
1999: 7th
1998: Winners 4th Section
1997: 7th 4th Section
1996: 11th 4th Section
John Dickson has been producing a real band of quality here in the past few years ever since they started competing at the Championships in 1991. They have built slowly and steadily and capped their efforts in 2004 when they won the Tird Section title. Promotion last year saw them just struggle to find their feet in coming 11th, but we think they would have worked hard to improve on that this time around.
St. Ronan's Silver
Conductor: Alex Knox
Last Ten Years:
2005: 9th (D. McLeod)
2004: 3rd (D. Mcleod)
2003: 2nd 3rd Section (prom) (D. McLeod)
2002: 4th 3rd Section (C. Bradley)
2001: 9th 3rd Section (D. Robb)
2000: 4th 3rd Section (D. Robb)
1999: Winners 4th Section
1998: 5th 4th Section
1997: 4th 4th Section
1996: 7th 4th Section
St. Ronan's under their MD Alex Knox will want to return to the type of form they showed here in 2004 and not 2005 when they play this weekend. Then they came 9th and sounded a bit off the pace. They have come a long way though since the days in the dark reaches of the Fourth Section, so hopefully it will a return to a top six place and another step in the right direction.
Tayport Instrumental
Conductor: B. Deans
Last Ten Years:
2005: 8th (P. Ratnik)
2004: 9th First Section (I. Davey) (rel)
2003: 8th (R. MacDonald)
2002: 5th (R. MacDonald)
2001: 2nd 2nd Section (prom) (R. MacDonald)
2000: 9th (rel) (R. MacDonald)
1999: 6th
1998: Winners 2nd Section (prom)
1997: 9th (rel)
1996: 7th
The fourth new MD in as many years for Tayport as they strive to return to the First Section. They have done well at this level in the past so they should be confident of doing so again, although 8th place last year wasn't the best way of going about it. Anew MD and a new sense of expectancy may put them back on track.
Past Qualifiers:
2005: Granite City Brass, Lochgelly
2004: Barrhead Burgh, Kilmarnock Concert Brass
2003: Newmilns & Galston, Arbroath Instrumental
2002: Croy Parish, Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass
2001: Livingstone Brass, Tayport Instrumental
2000: Johnstone Silver, City of Discovery Brass
1999: Bon Accord Silver, Barrhead Burgh
1998: Tayport Instrumental, Annan Town
1997: Kilmarnock Concert Brass, Bathgate
1996: Longannet Colliery, Barrhead Burgh
1995: Tullis Russell Mills, Dalkeith and Monktonhall
Scottish bands at the Finals:
2005: 6th, 15th
2004: 3rd, 10th
2003: 5th, 11th
2002: 8th, 16th
2001: 8th, 15th
2000: 4th, 9th
1999: 3rd, 10th
1998: 13th, 16th
4BR Prediction:
If this contest is like any of the others around the country, then it could be a test of character more than anything as this is one heck of a challenge for the bands at this level with the test piece. Having heard it time and again, it seems to be more suited to a higher level. Well done to all the bands then that will tackle it head on. There may be casualities but at least they will go down fighting.
The band on current that does stand out for us here is Dalkeith and Moktonhall, although we think they will be challenged quite strongly by the likes of Barrhead Burgh and Jedforest Instrumental for the qualification places. The other three we think may show their form and strength could be City of Discovery, Croy and Shotts St. Patricks's with St. Ronan's as our dark horse. It is though an open contest in more ways than one.
1. Dalkeith and Monktonhall
2. Barrhead Burgh
3. Jedforest Instrumental
4. City of Discovery
5. Croy
6. Shott's St. Patrick's
Dark Horses: St. Ronans
