2006 Scottish Open Brass Band Championships - Runners and Riders
24-Nov-200614 bands will line up to see if their own choice performance will catch the ears of judges Dr Robert Childs and Stephen Roberts
Draw for order of play: 10.00am
Contest commences: 12.30pm
Adjudicators: Dr Robert Childs & Stephen Roberts
Test Piece: Own Choice
Awards:
1st: The Scottish Open Challenge Trophy, Commemorative Banner, Commemorative Engraved Glass Trophy and £1000
2nd: Commemorative Engraved Glass Trophy and £500
3rd: Commemorative Engraved Glass Trophy
4th: Commemorative Engraved Glass Trophy
The Winning Conductor will receive a commemorative Quaich
The Best Soloist will receive the 4BarsRest award of £100 plus trophy.
Bon Accord Silver
Conductor: Duncan Beckley
4BR Ranking: 73
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: David Cooper
Euphonium: Ashlyn Crozier
Trombone: Mark Boyd
Soprano: Emma Nicol
Horn: Karen Cooper
Flugel: Oliver Masson
Baritone: Karen Crozier
Eb Tuba: Paula Leslie
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 3rd time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 16th (Duncan Beckley)
2004: 14th (Tony Swainson)
2003: DNC
Current Form:
Bon Accord has struggled to make a mark here in the past two years, but on each occasion they were not outclassed. They really did show how good they are at the Scottish Regional Championships where they came 4th, but they will have to repeat that form here if they are to push for a top 10 place or better.
Duncan Beckley will certainly have his band well prepared and they have acquired some experienced performers to boost their chances. A good own choice selection may be the key.
Broxburn & Livingston
Conductor: Kevin Price
4BR Ranking: 152
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: George Doherty
Euphonium: Stuart Gorringe
Trombone: Ewan McKay
Soprano: Gordon Jenkins
Horn: Andy Forshaw
Flugel: Cherly Saunders
Baritone: Scott Findlater
Eb Tuba: John Walters
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 1st time
Debut: 2006
Last 3 Years:
2005: DNC
2004: DNC
2003: DNC
Current Form:
Broxburn are a band that has had a pretty decent year so far and certainly showed at the Scottish Regional Championships that they were a band on the up when they pushed Dalmellington in the First Section.
They didn't shine as they would have liked at Harrogate though, but they have had the time to regroup and with some experienced old heads in the ranks, a good own choice of test piece could see them take more than a couple of scalps.
Carlton Main Frickley Colliery
Conductor: Gary Gutt
4BR Ranking: 19
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Kirsty Abbotts
Euphonium: Ciaran Young
Trombone: Kevin Holdgate
Soprano: Claire Jenkins
Horn: Kate Eggleshaw
Flugel: N/K
Baritone: Bob Archer
Eb Tuba: Paul Davis
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 2nd time
Last 3 Years:
2005: 4th (Allan Ramsay)
2004: DNC
2003: DNC
Current Form:
Carlton Main come to the contest on the back of an excellent performance at the British Open where under Russell Gary they came 6th against the strongest possible of fields. They had been threatening to do that for some considerable time and if they can repeat that here they will surely be up and around the top prizes come the announcement of the results.
Gary Cutt leads their assault this time around and much will depend on whether they can produce another cracker like Birmingham or will they just fall away like last year here when they promised much but just failed to deliver. Lots of quality around the stands, they should be good enough to make it into the top six. After that, who knows?
Dalmellington
Conductor: Archie Hutchison
4BR Ranking: 65
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Eleanor Ferguson
Euphonium: David McKellar
Trombone: Derick Kirkwood
Soprano: David Roxburgh
Horn: Chris Dale
Flugel: John Boax
Baritone: Alison O'Donnell
Eb Tuba: Ian Taylor
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: Debut
Debut: 2006
Last 3 Years:
2005: DNC
2004: DNC
2003: DNC
Current Form:
Dalmellington will come to Glasgow confident of making a mark after a fine year of achievement, all be it in the First Section. They came 4th at the Lower Section National Finals in Harrogate, a bit of a disappointment after the excellent form they showed prior to the contest (5th at the Senior Cup and winners of Brass in the Park), but they have plenty of experience in the ranks and even more experience with the baton.
Last year they were clear winners of the Scottish Challenge Shield, and although it may be asking a bit much for a double this time around, they could well push hard for a top six place.
Fishburn
Conductor: Russell Gray
4BR Ranking: 24
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: John White
Euphonium: Jeff Bell
Trombone: Malcolm Gill
Soprano: Malcolm Usher
Horn: Steven Hardy
Flugel: Patrick Garner
Baritone: Neil Parkin
Eb Tuba: Anthony Taylor
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: Winners (Ray Farr)
2004: 16th (Major Graham Jones)
2003: 6th (Graham O'Connor)
Current Form:
The reigning champions certainly caused an upset here last year when they took the title after a slightly error strewn performance of ‘St. Magnus'. That success though has given them a real morale boost in 2006 and throughout the season and finally at London under Richard Evans they were excellent value as they came home in 12th place and battled against some of this weekend's rivals at Land O' Burns where they came runners up to Whitburn.
Russell Gray has been booked this year and he knows more than most what it takes to win a major title. That London experience may just be the making of Fishburn and with the MD having the ability to squeeze every last ounce of music out of a score they could well put up a sterling defence of their title.
Freckleton
Conductor: Paul Dalton
4BR Ranking: 54
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Alex Thomas
Euphonium: Pat Howard
Trombone: John Stevens
Soprano: Phil Symonds
Horn: Ben Tubb
Flugel: Richard Carradus
Baritone: Alan Brewer
Eb Tuba: Jonathan Hall
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 8th (Paul Dalton)
2004: 4th (Paul Dalton)
2003: 10th (Paul Dalton)
Current Form:
One of the quiet achievers of the banding movement, Freckleton continue to prosper in one of the toughest Regions in the country in the North West, where they came 7th at the Regional Championships. That said they have had a bit of an up and down year since and were disappointing at the Grand Shield in particular where they came 17th and were relegated.
Plenty of quality around the stands with the likes of former British Open Solo Champion Alex Thomas on top man, they have also performed well here too, coming 4th in 2004 and 8th last year. A dark horse perhaps?
Kingdom Brass
Conductor: Craig Anderson
4BR Ranking: 40
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Lee Bathgate
Soprano: Tommy Harrower
Flugel: Laura Heriot
Horn: Stuart McKenzie
Euphonium: Brian Paterson
Trombone: Bill Giles
Eb Bass: Angus Pearce
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 12th (Graham O'Connor)
2004: 7th (Ray Farr)
2003: 13th (Archie Hutchinson)
Current Form:
A band that may well fancy their chances here against a high class field. They certainly showed fine form in winning the Senior Trophy at Blackpool and once again at the Fife Charities contest and if they can repeat that type of form they may well be in with a chance of making a real mark.
They have had their moments here too, especially in 2004 when they came 7th and they were decent and solid under Graham O'Connor last year too. Craig Anderson is a fine musician and allied to a good own choice selection a top 10 place may well be the least of their ambitions.
Kirkintilloch Band
Conductor: Steve Bastable
4BR Ranking: 13
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: David Prentice
Euphonium: Andy McLean
Trombone: Marion Brackpool
Soprano: Steve Stewart
Horn: Allan Wardrope
Flugel: Martyn Ramsay
Baritone: Debbie Newby
Eb Tuba: Andy McKreel
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 2nd (Steve Bastable)
2004: 8th (Steve Bastable)
2003: 5th (Frank Renton)
Current Form:
Narrow favourites to take the title it seems, after two excellent performances at Birmingham and London which showed that they are now rightly considered a top quality band.
Talented players all around the stands and one of the best young conductors in front, if they click here they could well win by a comfortable distance. If they do try to do something a little too different though they could come a cropper and they just missed out on a top six place at the Royal Albert Hall just when they only had a few bars left to play. We don't think they will make that mistake this time around.
Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass
Conductor: Raymond Tennant
4BR Ranking: 67
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Hazel Barr
Euphonium: Ranald Rixson
Trombone: Chris Pugh
Soprano: Richard Pugh
Horn: Gemma Gardiner
Flugel: Laura Hall
Baritone: Claire Richardson
Eb Tuba: John Pugh
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 2nd time
Debut: 2005
Last 3 Years:
2005: 5th (Alistair Orr)
2004: DNC
2003: DNC
Current Form:
Kirkintilloch really put the cats amongst the pidgeons here last year with a fine performance that netted them 5th place and saw them take a number of high class scalps. Since then they showed solid development at the Regional Championships and with Raymond Tennant at the helm they continue to improve with an excellent 3rd place at the Land O' Burns contest and runners up at Fife.
They may find it hard to replicate their result of a 12 month ago, but you never know.
Scottish Co-op Band
Conductor: Allan Ramsay
4BR Ranking: 7
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Jim Hayes
Euphonium: Alison Bonnar
Trombone: Paul Kiernan
Soprano: Caroline Tennant
Horn: Rachel Love
Flugel: Andrea Casey
Baritone: Lyndsy Smith
Eb Tuba: Jonathan Gawn
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 9th (Frank Renton)
2004: 2nd (Frank Renton)
2003: Winners (Russell Gray)
Current Form:
Fresh from their entertainment exertions in Gateshead at Brass in Concert, Scottish Co-op will have to go to the contesting well once more and draw deep into their reserves if they are to regain the title they won here in 2003.
They are though more than capable of doing just that and have plenty of quality from top to bottom and one of the best MDs to lead them. If they can just rid themselves of their rather high error count of late they should be up and around the top prizes come the announcement of the results.
SWT Woodfalls
Conductor: Melvin White
4BR Ranking: 37
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Barbara Camps
Euphonium: Graham Lawrence
Trombone: Scott Stewart
Soprano: Mark Pye
Horn: Trish Chislett
Flugel: Chantal Pye
Baritone: Kevin Woods
Eb Tuba: Terry Cawte
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 2nd time
Debut: 2005
Last 3 Years:
2005: 3rd (David Barringer)
2004: DNC
2003: DNC
Current Form:
SWT Woodfalls showed here last year that they are a band who are more than capable of making a real mark against top quality opposition, but as they showed at other times during 2006, they can also struggle.
Failure to qualify for London was a disappointment, whilst they were off the pace somewhat at the Masters in Cambridge. Plenty of quality players and one of the best band trainers in the business at the helm means that the potential is there for sure. On their day though….
Unison Kinneil
Conductor: Colin McKenzie
4BR Ranking: 47
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Keith Johnston
Euphonium: Ian Campbell
Trombone: Colin Buchanan
Soprano: Owen Downs
Horn: Louise Tobin
Flugel: Gordon Lehany
Baritone: Andrea Ball
Eb Tuba: Jin Buchanan
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 15th (Andrew Berryman)
2004: 13th (Allan Ramsay)
2003: 11th (Allan Ramsay)
Current Form:
Unison Kinneil has struggled to really make a mark here at the contest in the last three years, but on each occasion they have shown plenty of potential and last year under Andrew Berryman they were pretty solid and secure.
They failed to make a mark at the Regionals, but that solidity was shown again at Blackpool. They were on an up though at Troon where they came 4th and that may prove a good pointer to how they do here.
Whitburn
Conductor: Andy Duncan
4BR Ranking: 14
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Chris Bradley
Euphonium: Richard Kidd
Trombone: Alex Phillip
Soprano: Scott Forrest
Horn: Ian Fleming
Flugel: Kenneth Crookston
Baritone: Anne Crookston
Eb Tuba: Graham Fraser
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 4th time
Debut: 2003
Last 3 Years:
2005: 6th (Andrew Duncan)
2004: 3rd (Andrew Duncan)
2003: 8th (Andrew Duncan)
Current Form:
Make no mistake – Whitburn can win this contest and win it well if they play to form. That though may be the $64,000 dollar question as they have been infuriatingly inconsistent this year and have only shown glimpses of their true quality on the contest stage (they won the Land O' Burns contest in fine style) at the majors they have entered.
That was the case at Brass in Concert, where there were some real musical highs to go with the more obvious comedy lows. So many fine players in the ranks and one of the best musicians at the helm, perhaps the time ha come here to show their class. It may be a case of wait and see.
Wingates
Conductor: Dr. Roy Newsome
4BR Ranking: 35
Principal Players:
Principal Cornet: Andy MacDonald
Euphonium: Gary Curtin
Trombone: Peter Moore
Soprano: Matthew Balsom
Horn: Julie Blackmoore
Flugel: Lizi Sawyer
Baritone: Marianne Cliff
Eb Bass: Andy Wyatt
Scottish Open Record:
Appearances: 3rd time
Debut: 2004
Last 3 Years:
2005: 7th (Phillip McCann)
2004: 6th (Roy Curran)
2003: DNC
Current Form:
Wingates are a band moving in the right direction and that was certainly shown under the direction of Dr Roy Newsome at the Regional Championships where they came 4th. More success followed at the French Open and they held their own at Blackpool and the Senior Cup.
They have been pretty good here too and with a solid ensemble and some excellent soloists they should fancy their chances. Make sure you get the chance to see a master baton man in action too.
