Representatives of Scottish bands gathered at Falkirk Stadium last week for the first 'in-person' AGM of the Scottish Brass Band Association in three years.

The 2022 return following the Covid-19 hiatus was welcomed by SBBA President, Carrie Boax who informed delegates that the first year since restrictions were lifted had been a "roller-coaster".

Fortitude

Carrie highlighted that the start of the year had still been affected by Covid-19 limitations, although she was delighted that since that time bands had shown amazing fortitude in getting back on track with community engagement and events.

"Whilst it seems in many ways a distant memory now,"she said. "The impact on our membership took its toll, with some of our players unable to return to rehearsals due to poor health and some bands sadly unable to compete at the Scottish Championships."

She added: "Despite this, three of our 4b community ensembles along with 47 bands competed in Perth and have since built on that, so you can tell we are delighted to meet again in person and catch up with those that we had not seen in over two years."

Sad loss

Carrie also took time to pay the respects on behalf of the Scottish banding movement to the family of Beth Damer and the Coalburn Band organisation, as well as the family of conductors Richard Evans and Nigel Boddice MBE.

Beth was tragically killed when driving to take part in the Scottish Open event, whilst Richard and Nigel had become a revered figures with their lasting connections to the banding community and the National Youth band organisation.

"The tragic loss of Beth was felt by all that weekend and reinforced how precious and fragile life truly is, and the passing of Richard and Nigel was so sad after musical lives that gave so much to us all."

Carrie was however optimistic for the future, highlighting the continued great work of member bands and bodies in all parts of the country, the continuation of funding from the Scottish Government's YMI initiative, the success of the National Youth Band courses and SBBA solo and band events.

"We were encouraged to see the West, the Borders and Fife Area Association contests return against all of the odds, Creative Scotland funding saw new youth bands emerge and in the Northern Counties area we even welcomed existing bands into the association."

Scottish success

The President also noted that 2022 also saw Scottish bands compete successfully at the British Open and the National Finals in Cheltenham and London, whilst there were highly encouraging numbers competing at the Scottish Open, Challenge and Youth Championships.

Carrie added: "Bands and players I have spoken have said how much more connected they feel with SBBA as an organisation, but also with other local bands and players. I believe that has been a huge positive that has come from the end of Covid-19. The phrase 'Keep Music Live' has much more meaning and value than it ever had before."

Carrie also paid tribute to SBBA's sponsors and partner organisations, officers, committee members with the hope that partnerships and relationship "will strengthen further in the future."

During her presentation of the SBBA financial statement, Treasurer Julie Nicoll revealed that SBBA committee members, volunteers and helpers had given almost 4000 hours of their own time to the running of the parent organisation in 2022 — a figure on which future funding from Creative Scotland would depend.

Awards

Presentations were made to the 2022 'Bands of the Year' of Whitburn (Championship), Bo'ness & Carriden (First Section), Campbeltown Brass (Second Section), Dysart Colliery (Third Section) and Brass Sounds Inverclyde (Fourth Section).

The President's Awards saw Whitburn presented with a 'Special Recognition' accolade for its success in hosting their 'Virtual Brass Festival' in June 2021 during the Covid pandemic. Kingdom Brass was awarded the 'Performance of the Year' honour its 2021 National First Section victory.

Iona McVicar and Laura Carter received the 'Innovation Award' for their launch of the SBBA Speaks podcast during 2022, whilst the 'Outstanding Achievement Award' went to Campbeltown Brass to mark its 2022 National Second Section victory at Cheltenham.

We were encouraged to see the West, the Borders and Fife Area Association contests return against all of the odds, Creative Scotland funding saw new youth bands emerge and in the Northern Counties area we even welcomed existing bandsSBBA

Workshops

Following the AGM, band representatives attended a Learning Festival comprising four workshops.

Stuart Black introduced attendees to the 'Messanoic Method' of conducting, whilst a performance masterclass was led by the cooperation band's euphonium star, Chris Flynn.

During lunch, delegates were entertained by a quintet from the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, before they enjoyed a session on how to get the most from 'Gift Aid' by financial expert Kelda McMichael, whilst Nicholas Garman, secretary of the Association of Brass Band Adjudicators spoke about the Performance Assessment Criteria used in brass band adjudication.