The West of Scotland Brass Band Association recently organised a highly successful feast of brass music making at the famous Robert Burns Museum in Alloway.

New initiative

The Brass @ The Bards was a new initiative and welcomed 12 enthusiastic young bands from the West of Scotland to perform across four different age dependent sections of Novice, Preparatory, Development and Senior.

The new competition’s main objective was to offer the young bands in the surrounding areas an opportunity to work towards a specific goal, focus their rehearsals on the preparation of a mini-concert programme and enjoy the chance to perform in public to an appreciative audience at an inspiring venue.

Exceeded expectations

Well supported and with the level of entries exceeding original expectations, adjudicator Bruce Fraser was extremely impressed with all the bands, feeling unable to award any bronze medals, only silver and gold to reflect his appreciation of the outstanding standard of music-making.

It is now intended to make the event an annual festival, helping youth bands to obtain access to a wider variety of bespoke events and to complement their preparation and attendance at the Scottish Festival of Brass later in the year.

Delighted

Carrie Boax, Chairperson of WSBBA told 4BR: "We are delighted with the success. By introducing the competition, WSBBA has been able to develop a new performance opportunity for the young bands, giving them another target in their rehearsal schedules, a superb experience to perform in public and also a great opportunity to meet up with their friends in the competing bands."

Positive

She added: "Feedback has been very positive and the venue’s staff were also been delighted with the smooth running of what was a brand new type of event.

We’ll definitely be looking to make this an annual competition and hope to announce next year’s dates as soon as possible."

By introducing the competition, WSBBA has been able to develop a new performance opportunity for the young bandsCarrie Boax, Chairperson WSBBA

Results:

Novice:
Levern Valley Community Brass (Brian Deans) – Silver (Winner)
Coalburn Bronze (Jane Brownlie) — Silver

Preparatory Section:
Kirkintilloch Junior Band (Andrew Foden) — Gold (Winner)

Gorbals Youth Brass Band (Lauren McCormack) — Silver
South Ayrshire Youth Brass Band B (Scott Walker) — Silver
Riverside Training Band (Lynda Nicholson) — Silver

Development Section:
Kirkintilloch Youth Band (Neil Robertson) — Gold (Winner)

Argyll Brass (Darren Tarn) — Gold
South Ayrshire Youth Brass (Scott Walker) — Gold

Senior Section:
Dalmellington Junior Band (Ian Taylor) — Gold (Winner)
Riverside Youth Band (Lynda Nicholson) — Gold

Thanks to Linda Cairns Photography for use of image