Under the spotlight: Shotts St Patrick's

Shotts St Patrick's Band on stage in Perth Concert Hall.

AS the Band Supplies Scottish Challenge draws closer, Shotts St Patrick's Brass is the latest band to go under the spotlight.

The North Lanarkshire band is working hard ahead of the contest, as is conductor Chris Mansfield, who will be conducting two bands at the event in Kilmarnock on November 19,

Principal players

Shotts St Patrick's

Shotts St Patrick's Brass has enjoyed a reasonably quiet 2016 on the contesting front.  The band started the year with a sixth place finish at the Scottish Championships, a significant improvement on the tenth place in 2015. 

This was followed with a second section runner-up spot at the Fife Brass Band Festival in April and a fourth place finish at the Northern Counties Brass Band Association Open Contest in May.

The band rehearses under the baton of Chris Mansfield.  Originally from Oldham but now living in North Lanarkshire, Chris was accepted to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and awarded a scholarship to complete both his undergraduate and masters degrees. While studying, Chris won the prestigious 2012 Governor’s Brass Prize and performed the Gordon Jacob Trombone Concerto with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO).

His freelance career has seen him work regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. At the age of twenty-one Chris received a trial for second trombone in the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Chris is also a keen chamber musician. He is part of the brass quintet Pure Brass and is a founding member of the trombone quartet, A Slide Too Far. Both ensembles are members of Scotland’s flourishing Live Music Now scheme.