4BR has been informed that the build-up to an online concert by Scotland's finest young brass band musicians is making good progress.

Virtual finale

Since the cancellation of the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) summer residential course due to the COVID-19 lockdown, work has been going on behind the scenes to create an exciting project which will involve as many NYBBS students as possible to ensure that a grand 'virtual' finale concert can be presented on 8th August.

Course organisers from the Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA) have been collaborating with tutors and conductors to engage the students in the preparation to bring to an end what would have been a week of learning at Strathallan School in Perthshire.

Encouragement and innovation

To replace the traditional face-to-face tuition, a series of videos has been prepared by the NYBBS conducting team for the SBBA YouTube channel, offering their encouragement, advice and musical expertise.

The latest innovation is a multi-video SBBA YouTube programme featuring the popular Scottish conductor, and composer Alan Fernie who has been commissioned to write a special piece of music for the concert event.

The latest innovation is a multi-video SBBA YouTube programme featuring the popular Scottish conductor, and composer Alan Fernie who has been commissioned to write a special piece of music for the concert event4BR

Creative process

Alan explains his creative process and how he named the piece that will be featured in the 2020 NYBBS Virtual Performance in a video presentation at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCaZ-y2mx_E

The one-word title of 'Ceol' (Gaelic for music), he says, reflects the fact that the piece is a "short and snappy starter".

In the second episode 'Building a Melody', he explains that striking just the black keys on a piano can produce a quite pleasant sound with the pentatonic scale reminiscent of Scottish tunes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S40QdMX8imo

In the third episode he discusses how he develops his initial ideas and brings shape and structure to his work...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYX8FrKKdK0

Find out more

Alan's composition tutorial is planned to be a six-part programme leading up to the music's inclusion in the NYBBS final concert.

To find out more also go to:
https://www.sbba.org.uk/news/5866/2020-nybbs-virtual-performance-to-replace-end-of-course-concert