The future of Scottish banding seems to be encouragingly bright after hearing the performances of over 60 talented youngsters who took part in the qualification rounds for the Scottish Youth Solo Festival later this month.
Over the weekend the players from the six Scottish Brass Band Association areas took part in live-streamed events on the SBBA YouTube channel.
Qualifiers
As a result, 15 qualifiers from the Fife, East of Scotland, Northern Counties and South West Scotland Associations will be joined by 19 finalists from the Borders and West of Scotland areas in three age categories: 12 & under, 16 & under and 21 & under.
The mentors for Saturday's regional qualifying event were Jamie McVicar and Sandy Coffin — both of whom were extremely impressed, not only by the way the soloists performed, but by the way they mastered the technology to capture their quality of their musicianship.
Well done
"It has been brilliant to see so many young people still practising and playing their instruments during these difficult times we are all living in,"said Jamie.
"Thank you and well done to everyone who took part and to SBBA for making this all possible."
On Sunday, Craig Anderson and Chic Keenan were the mentors, with Craig praising the performers for keeping music alive and vibrant, and the parents and teachers who supported and encouraged them to enter.
"The playing had been of an incredibly high standard,"he said, mentioning in particular the 12 & unders for filling him with "hope and joy for the future".
34 qualifiers
All 34 qualifiers will be advancing to the Youth Solo Festival final which will be broadcast on the SBBA YouTube channel on Saturday 13th March, when the Scottish Championships would normally have been held in Perth.
The following day, senior players will be showcasing their talents by taking part in their own Open Solo event.
The playing had been of an incredibly high standardCraig Anderson
Enjoy the performances
The young musicians' performances can be viewed on the SBBA YouTube channel at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVpZc1a4iZE (Saturday)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgZATfyNPno (Sunday).
The event was made possible through funding from Creative Scotland.
