The National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) Easter Residential Course came to an exhilarating end at the Strathallan School in Perthshire with a thrilling concert for family, friends and supporters.

Just over 40 young brass instrumentalists and percussionists from the NYBBS Reserve and Senior bands took part in the three-day event, working under conductors Ian Porthouse, John Boax and Alan Fernie.

Ambitious

During the week they led group practice sessions, sectional workshops and individual tuition with the aim of further developing the exciting potential of the next generation of Scottish brass banding talent on ambitious and challenging repertoire.

That included 'Ad Astra' (Jacob Vilhelm Larson); 'Oceans' (Goff Richards); 'Prelude '49th Parallel' (Ralph Vaughan Williams); 'The Smile' (Matthew Hall) and 'Funky Brass' (Otto M. Schwarz).

The percussion section also delivered a sparkling arrangement by lead percussionist Louise Andrews of Earth Wind and Fire's 'September'.

Success

Reflecting on the success of the course, SBBA Education Officer, John Boax said: "The Easter course is always an important barometer of how the annual summer course will shape up.

After this week I'm delighted to report the NYBBS family of young musicians are making great progress — and I'm very excited about what we have to offer in the summer when the Children's Band will join us for what will be another superb week of high-quality music making."

The NYBBS summer course will take place from Sunday 26th July to Saturday 1st August4BR

Summer Course

The NYBBS summer course will take place from Sunday 26th July to Saturday 1st August.

There are still a limited number of places available. The entry application form can be found via the NYBBS page on the Scottish Brass Band Association website at: https://www.sbba.org.uk/nybbs

The deadline for applications is Friday 1st May.