WLF meet the band: Kingdom Brass

Kingdom Brass will perform at the 2016 West Lothian Festival of Brass.

AS the countdown continues, it is time to meet one of the bands taking part in the 2016 West Lothian Festival of Brass.

Kingdom Brass will perform at the contest on Sunday, June 12, in Livingston’s Howden Park Centre under the baton of its Musical Director, Paul Drury.

Here is some more information on the band and its conductor…

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Principal players

History

Kingdom Brass was formed in August 1999 after the amalgamation of the Cowdenbeath and the Kelty and Blairadam Bands. What seemed like a sudden decision by many was actually the end process of 18 months of careful planning and negotiation, which started in the spring of 1998. Individuals in both camps saw the potential to form one band with the cream of Fife’s players, which would be capable of challenging for the top honours.

A meeting between the two band committees was organised and this took place in the Warout Stadium in Glenrothes in the summer of 1999. The proposals were discussed and the majority voted for the amalgamation. Both bands were then advised of the decision, which was positively welcomed by the majority of players.

The final competition between the two bands was the Scottish Miners’ Gala, which saw the rivalry of past years put aside with players from both bands guesting with the other in an party-like atmosphere. Cowdenbeath won the event, Kelty was runner up, and with that the new band was born.

Kingdom competed for the first time at the Fife Championships of 1999, and easily swept the boards at that event. In the years since then the band has gone on to win trophy after trophy, and is now firmly established as one of Scotland's top bands. Kingdom was awarded the title of Scottish band of the year in 2000 and 2001, and won the Forth Valley competition in 2001 after being runners up in that event in 1999 and 2000. A highlight for the band was competing at the National Finals in the Royal Albert Hall in 2000. The band won the Carnegie Invitation Contest in 2005, retaining the title in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 (after being absent in 2006 due to the band's tour of Germany, and in 2009 to concentrate on the Spring Festival). Kingdom also won the Land O'Burns contest in 2011. In 2008 Kingdom finally broke into the top three at the Scottish Championships, the best result by a Fife band in 30 years. That result was repeated in 2012, continuing Kingdom's consistent run of Scottish Championship results.

Kingdom has also found success at a National Level, winning the 2006 Senior Trophy competition and gaining third place at the 2009 Senior Cup. In 2014 Kingdom were runners up at the Senior Cup, gaining promotion to the Grand Shield for 2015.

The band can boast some of the finest solo players in Scotland, and produced the Scottish Solo champion in 2000 (cornet player Lee Bathgate), 2001 (tuba player Gareth Ross) and 2008 (when cornet player James Smith lifted his eighth Scottish title). The band's trombone quartet has been runner up at the Scottish Championships in 2000 and 2001, while Kingdom's mixed quartet became Scottish Champions in 2001, a title it retained in 2007 and 2008.

The success of the band in the initial years enabled Kingdom to move to a higher stage, competition wise. The band was invited to compete at the European Open Brass Band Championships in 2002, held in the impressive 'Kultur und Kongresszentrum' in Lucerne, Switzerland. That trip proved to be the highlight of the band's first few years, with a creditable sixth placing and an invite back to the event for 2003 where the band gained seventh place. In 2011 Kingdom Brass represented Scotland at the European Brass Band Championships, which were held in Montreux, Switzerland.

Conductor

Paul Drury was born in Dundee, receiving his early music tuition at the Salvation Army. He was a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and gained the ARCM Diploma aged 17. While still at school, Paul appeared as a tuba concerto soloist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

Paul's conducting career started in 2005 when he was appointed Resident Conductor of Unison Kinneil Band and he has since worked with the likes of Whitburn, Kirkintilloch, Newtongrange, Lochgelly and Bon-Accord Silver.

Paul became MD of Tullis Russell Mills in 2013 and led the band to victory at the Scottish Championships in 2014 and to the European Challenge Contest in Perth. He remains actively involved in music within the Salvation Army, being the Songster (choir) Leader at Edinburgh Gorgie Corps.

An experienced composer and arranger who has written for Hayley Westenra, Phillip McCann, Roger Webster, and others, his popular march ‘Jubilee' won the best march prize at the 2004 Brass in Concert Championships.