Although there is a rich Scottish diaspora to be found across all corners of the globe, the Fourth Section contest on Sunday morning in Perth showed that Rodney Newton's 'World Tour' still found a number of the hard working contenders encountering problems with their weekend musical breaks to foreign lands.

No clear winner

Michael Alcorn and Mark Wilkinson certainly had their work cut out in the box, later saying that there was "no clear winner"amongst the 13 spirited performances — none of which they said came away "unscathed".

There were certainly some nerves on show in an encouraging contest that varied in quality; although in competitor's defence many bands should be richly complimented for taking to the stage with quite a few empty chairs. Some parts were simply missing, others bravely subbed elsewhere.

Highland best

The best for the judges came from Highland Brass (led with enthusiasm and encouraging cajoling by Mark Bell) and Whitburn Heartlands (conducted with a touch more restraint by the experienced Whitburn horn star Iain Fleming)

Highland Brass from Culloden in Inverness will certainly be making the long journey to Cheltenham (a 1000 mile round trip) confident of further success.

Formed in 2014, they claimed their first Scottish title by capturing the colourful spirit of the various movements — from the well drilled march and anthem medleys of the opening to the suave Chicago ragtime, languid Hawaiian relaxation and the Aussie swagger of the close.

Excellent approach

Joining them there for a second time will be Whitburn Heartlands (with their senior counterparts rounding off a great weekend for the organisation) whose excellent approach initiated by their MD enabled the players to express themselves with purpose and confidence.

With the Scottish Brass Band Association now starting to see the fruits of its long term investment in grass roots banding starting to flourish, there was much to enjoy with a bold account from Penicuik Silver (led by the indefatigable Stuart Black) in third, as well as the enthused top-six finishers of Barrhead Burgh, Stranraer Brass and Bon Accord B.

Highly encouraging

Elsewhere there were also highly encouraging performances from the other competitors and performers (with Claire Pollard of Queensferry Community Brass deservedly taking the SBBA 'Best Instrumentalist' award and Owen Campbell of Dundee Instrumental taking the 'Youngest BBb tuba award).

Prior to the results there were two excellent non-competitive performances from Granite City Community Brass and

The best for the judges came from Highland Brass (led with enthusiasm and encouraging cajoling by Mark Bell) and Whitburn Heartlands (conducted with a touch more restraint by the experienced Whitburn horn star Iain Fleming)4BR

Results:

Fourth Section:

Test Piece: World Tour (Rodney Newton)
Adjudicators: Mark Wilkinson & Michael Alcorn

1. Highland Brass (Mark Bell) — 95*
2. Whitburn Heartlands (Ian Fleming) — 94*
3, Penicuik Silver (Stuart Black) — 93
4. Barrhead Burgh (David Henderson) — 92
5. Stranraer Brass (Angela Miller) — 91
6. Bon Accord Silver 'B' (Jennifer Cook) — 90
7. Dundee Instrumental (Robert McDonald) — 89
8. Kilmarnock Concert (Scott Walker) — 88
9. Callander Brass (Ian Milligan) — 87
10. Newland Concert (Paul McKelvie OBE) — 86
11. Queensferry Community Brass (James Anderson) — 85
12. Hawick Saxhorn (David Robb) — 84
13. Forfar Instrumental (Terrence Jackson) — 82

*Qualify for National Final

Best Instrumentalist: Flugel (Queensferry Community Brass)
Youngest BBb Bass: Owen Campbell (aged 13) — Dundee Instrumental