Kingdom Brass has announced the appointment of Andrew Duncan as their new MD following the ending of their long time association with Musical Director Craig Anderson.

Change

Chairman Bill Sandell told 4BR: "Craig had stated that his time as MD was finite and that it would last no more than 5 years. He had recently advised us that we should be considering future arrangements due to other commitments and with that in mind, the committee sought a replacement and to make that change now."

Grateful

Bill continued: "Kingdom Brass is extremely grateful to Craig for his tenacious work in driving the band to their current position. He led us on our successful tour of Germany and winning the Senior Trophy in 2006, our third place at the Scottish Championships in 2008 and securing our place in the Grand Shield for 2010. He will be hugely missed and we offer him our heartfelt thanks."

Thrilled

As for the new MD, Bill added: "We are absolutely thrilled to appoint Andrew Duncan. We have been looking for some time for the right person to optimise the performance of the band and we believe that we have found that in Andrew. We look forward to a very long and mutually rewarding partnership."

The band has many exciting plans and has been universally admired for its 'Kingdom Brass Youth Initiative' which I am sure will pay dividends for the band in the years to comeAndy Duncan

Delighted

Andrew himself told 4BR: "I am delighted to be starting work with Kingdom Brass, the first band I worked with. The band has many exciting plans and has been universally admired for its 'Kingdom Brass Youth Initiative' which I am sure will pay dividends for the band in the years to come."

10th celebration

The band recently celebrated their 10th anniversary in style with a sell out concert.

Kingdom performed a 'Night at the Movies', with video backing, lighting and smoke effects adding to the atmosphere and further celebrated with a reception after the concert for players, officials, sponsors and invited guests.

Soloist

The band’s guest soloist for the evening was Les Neish, who wowed the audience with ‘Zigeunerweisen’ and ‘The Bare Necessities’, which saw Les don a bear suit and give an impromptu maraca solo.

Delighted

A delighted Bill Sandell said: "The past ten years has just flown in, and been very successful for the band, so we knew we had to do something special to celebrate that. We have been planning this concert all year, and full credit must go to the band Secretary, John Todd, for pulling this all together and giving us an evening which will be talked about for years."

Also appearing in the concert was the Kingdom Brass Youth Band, with Les Neish conducting them through ‘Gonna Fly Now’ from Rocky, and principal conductor Anne Crookston in front of the band for ‘Wallace and Gromit’.

Busy week

Both bands then appeared on stage together for the first ever time for a performance of ‘The Little Mermaid’, with the junior band players on samba drums.

It had been a busy week for Kingdom, as a thirty strong contingent of youth band players and tutors headed to Meigle, in Perthshire, for a three day residential stay leading up to the concert.

A variety of activities took place including individual, section and full band rehearsals, games and leisure time.

Looking forward

Les Neish travelled with the group and worked closely with the young players, while the band’s principal percussionist, Lynsey Paterson, gave samba lessons in preparation for the weekend concert.

Youth Band Chairman, Lee Bathgate, said of the course; "The young players in the junior band were really looking forward to this one, and we gave them a varied programme of music and leisure activities to keep their interest up. Les was fantastic working with them, and now they’re demanding another trip next year!"