Whitburn may have had to rush off to take part in the 'Dark Arteries' Rambert Ballet production at the Edinburgh Playhouse on Saturday evening, although conducted by Prof Nicholas Childs they also proved equally at home in the 'dark arts' of contesting a few hours earlier as they successfully defended their Scottish Open title in Perth.

Acclaim

And whilst Gavin Higgins's innovative score has deservedly received acclaim from ballet going cognoscenti, brass band critics will also have been bowled over by Howard Snell's wonderful 'Gallery' composition, as Whitburn took the £3,000 first prize in assured style from perennial rivals Co-operative Funeralcare.

Dalmellington made it a home grown clean sweep of the podium places in third, whilst Scottish banding rounded off the season on an upswing, as Bon Accord Silver and Kirkintilloch saw off English rivals to end fourth and fifth. Former champion Fishburn led the well beaten forces back over Hadrian's Wall in sixth.

Masterful

Howard Snell's premise of a reflective musical walk through a 'Gallery 'may not be a wholly original one, but his masterful sextet of portraits were as expertly rendered as any that hang on the walls of Scotland's finest museums.

It was also given an outstanding interpretative 'exhibition' by Prof Nicholas Childs and Whitburn, in a winning performance rich in subtle textures and colours — right from the exposed soprano opening of the short, two-paged 'Entrance' which led into 'Street Market' — a bustling hive of activity based on Paul Cox's 'The Barras'.

Charm

'The Skaters Waltz' created a moment of bucolic charm before Henry Raeburns' 'Reverend Robert Walker' brought out delicate playfulness, which featured a number of high class vibraphone exponents — the best of which was 4BR 'Best Instrumentalist' award winner, Martin Schruba of Unison Kinneil.

The poignant 'March Back to Camp' based on 'Gassed' by John Singer Sargent brought intensely emotive playing from the best bands on the day, before the endearing 'Love Story' also gave a chance for soloists to shine.

Triumphant fashion

'Cut-Outs' — revealing Snell's passion for Matisse and in particular 'Jazz' was a touch of sublime scoring, before the 'Gallery' concluded with the glorious sounds of 'Landscapes' — with Whitburn in particular rounding off a high class performance in triumphant fashion.

Adjudicators Philip Sparke, Alan Fernie and the composer himself were in almost complete unanimity, with Whitburn gaining two first places and a second to secure the title for the second year running.

Beautiful writing

Philip Sparke later stated; "'Gallery' contains beautiful writing — but if you study the score you will see all these little motifs that Howard is known for: Only the top two noticed all of them, as well as producing a soundscape that captured the essence of the pictures."

The only pity for the 2015 champion was that their triumph was greeted with the type of reverential acclaim usually reserved for an art gallery — as the band and the majority of its supporters were already performing in the 'Dark Arteries' ballet in Edinburgh.

Whitburn high

However, when the news finally filtered through, Band Manager John Fraser was delighted that a busy week of high profile performances had ended on such a high.

He told 4BR: "We knew we had to play brilliantly at both events — and with the critical and adjudication acclaim our performances with the Rambert Ballet and at the Scottish Open received, I think we did that and more.

It's been a remarkable week of music making for the band — and our heartfelt thanks got to the Paul Hoskings at Rambert Ballet and to Prof Nicholas Childs for being able to lead us in such memorable performances."

Reflect

Runner-up Co-operative Funeralcare was left to reflect on a series of portraits that were just occasionally smudged by individual and ensemble errors. They ended a long season with a performance of rich merit off the number 1 draw, and which saw Alan Fernie place them first in his personal rankings.

Although disappointed not to have broken Whitburn's domestic supremacy, Band spokesperson Robert McCorkell was still upbeat. "Our congratulations go to Whitburn, but on another day and a better draw it may have been a different result. We can't be downhearted though after that performance and another year that has seen us do well at the major championship events."

Strength in depth

There was further evidence of an emerging strength in depth in top flight Scottish banding as Dalmellington once again pushed the two traditional heavyweights hard with a vibrant performance under Richard Evans.

Meanwhile, Bon Accord gained reward for their consistent approach, although Kirkintilloch's performance didn't quite appeal to the composer as much as it did his fellow judges as he placed them 10th in contrast to the podium placings of Alan Fernie and Philip Sparke, to eventually end fifth.

Inconsistent English

On a day when the English challenge was varied and inconsistent, Fishburn ended sixth to stop Kingdom Brass from making it Saltaire flag-flying clean sweep. Blackburn & Darwen couldn't reprise their 'Gallery' winning form from the recent Rochdale contest as they ended eighth, with the top ten rounded off by Rainford (who Howard Snell placed 4th) and Unison Kinneil.

Behind them came a series of increasingly variable performances with few complaints over their eventual destination.

Warm welcome

Once again, the warm welcome and excellent organisational skills of the Scottish Brass Band Association were second to none on what was a long but highly enjoyable day of contesting, whilst the well established open adjudication process continues to find broad favour with audiences and competitors alike.

It is also a contest that continues to bring the best out of Whitburn, as the dominant force in Scottish domestic banding rounded off a highly successful season with a brace of artistic triumphs.

Steve Jack

We knew we had to play brilliantly at both events — and with the critical and adjudication acclaim our performances with the Rambert Ballet and at the Scottish Open received, I think we did that and moreWhitburn, Band Manager, John Fraser

Results:
Test Piece: Gallery (Howard Snell)
Adjudicators: Howard Snell, Philip Sparke, Alan Fernie

Snell/Sparke/Fernie = Total

1. Whitburn (Prof Nicholas Childs): 1/1/2 = 4
2. Co-operative Funeralcare Band (Bryan Allen): 2/4/1 = 7
3. Dalmellington (Richard Evans): 5/3/4 = 12
4. Bon Accord Silver (Stephen Malcolm): 3/7/5 = 15
5. Kirkintilloch (Raymond Tennant): 10/2/3 = 15
6. Fishburn (Joseph Cook): 6/5/10 = 21
7. Kingdom Brass (Allan Ramsay): 7/8/7 = 22
8. Blackburn & Darwen (Huw Thomas): 8/12/6 = 26
9. Rainford (Gareth Brindle): 4/11/12 = 27
10. Unison Kinneil (Craig Anderson): 11/6/11 = 28
11. NASUWT Riverside (Stephen Malcolm): 9/13/8 = 30
12. Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass (Charles Keenan): 14/10/9 = 33
13. Marsden Silver (John Hinckley): 12/9/13 = 34
14. Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel (Stig Maersk): 13/14/14 = 41

4BR Best Instrumentalist: Martin Schruba (vibraphone) — Unison Kinneil