The Dunaskin Doon Band recently held their 150th anniversary celebration concert, where a sell-out audience in Kilmarnock gave a warm welcome back to her childhood band for tenor horn star Sheona White.

Sheona hails from Ayrshire where her family still lives, and 'honed her skills' as she said with the local band, before heading south to showcase her talents as one of the world's finest tenor horn players.

Wonderful evening

During the wonderful evening Sheona delighted the audience accompanied by the band, covering a wide range of musical genres with her lyricism and virtuosity bringing prolonged ovations.

The band itself also took the opportunity to publicly thank bass trombonist and stalwart, Blane McKnight for 50 years of sterling service to brass banding, all of them at Dunaskin Doon. Sheona was delighted to be asked to present him with his SBBA Life Membership Award.

The evening was a resounding success — the band played very well and Sheona was amazing. The audience was so receptive and warm and the standing ovation certainly showed that everyone enjoyed themselvesDunaskin Doon Band

MD thanks

Honorary President Angus Cochrane also took the opportunity to thank outgoing MD Chris Bradley for his time, patience and efforts over the past three years as he announced his decision to step down due to increased work commitments.

A spokesperson added: "While we are devastated to be losing such a talented and personable MD, we understand and appreciate the reasons behind it. He is leaving the band in a fantastic position, having returned us to the top tier of Scottish banding.

The evening was a resounding success — the band played very well and Sheona was amazing. The audience was so receptive and warm and the standing ovation certainly showed that everyone enjoyed themselves."

Fitting end

They added: "This was a fitting end to Chris' tenure and Sheona's appearance was hugely appreciated by the whole Dunaskin family. The queue of past players and old friends waiting to say hello to her, was testament to the genuine warmth of feeling for her."