A September to remember for Scotland's brass bands!

Now that the dust has settled on recent major contests south of the border, it is perhaps time to reflect on what has been a truly remarkable few weeks for Scottish brass banding.

Scottish Champion band Whitburn pulled off a quite momentous result at the British Open at Symphony Hall in Birmingham while, only a week later, Newmains and District led the Scottish assault on the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain by clinching the 4th Section National title.

In what will be seen as one of the most successful lower section National Finals for a number of years, and most definitely the best results from Scottish bands since the contests moved to the Cheltenham racecourse venue, there were also podium places gained by Bathgate (1st Section) and Dalkeith and Monktonhall (2nd Section) while seven out of eight of Scotland’s representatives achieved top 10 placings.

Whitburn’s second place in Birmingham was the West Lothian outfit’s finest ‘major’ result since an identical outcome at the British Open in 2003 and, it could be argued, an even greater achievement given the quality of bands on show at this year’s contest. There is the added accolade of being the highest placed British band at this year’s event with only the Swiss Champion band Valaisia denying Whitburn an even greater achievement. 

Florent Didier driving Whitburn to success

It is testament to Whitburn’s hard work and determination, not to mention fantastic levels of musicianship, which has seen the band make such a dramatic impact at the British Open after eventually capturing the Grand Shield trophy earlier in the year. Having also secured the Scottish Open and Scottish Championship titles in the last calendar year, Whitburn will head to the Royal Albert Hall in a couple of weeks full of confidence and deserved expectation.

Joining them in London to tackle Howard Snell’s Gallery will be the Co-operative Funeralcare Band. The ‘Co-op’ would probably have accepted being placed above Black Dyke at this year's British Open before the contest started but 16th place was slightly disappointing for a band which has taken on several new players in the recent past. A second place at the Dr. Martin Trust contest the day after Birmingham will hopefully set the band up for a return to form at the Royal Albert Hall.

And so to Cheltenham where Newmains and District, under the baton of experienced Musical Director Michael Marzella, continued its stunning return to the contest scene by being crowned 4th Section National Champion just over two years after returning from the brass band wilderness. Graeme Goldie and his colleagues can be immensely proud of what they have achieved in such a short space of time.

Newmains and District - National Champion

The very act of making it to the National Finals so quickly after re-forming is an achievement in itself while emerging victorious is something of a fairytale. Euphonium player John Stirling added cause for celebration by lifting the Best Soloist prize on a day when both adjudicators praised the musical performance and attention to detail shown by Newmains and District in its performance of Eric Ball’s Petite Suite de Ballet.

John Stirling collecting Best Soloist award

A delighted MD Michael Marzella commented: "This victory was a credit to everyone involved in re-forming Newmains and Distrct Band - it is a real 'phoenix from the ashes' story! The band has an incredible work ethic and a great team spirit which makes working with them so much easier. I am immensely proud of what the band has achieved." Michael added that credit was also due for contributions made by Alan Fernie, who did a mock adjudication with the band in the run-up to the contest, and to daughter Katrina Marzella, Black Dyke's baritone star, who spent a couple of days working with the group.

Earlier, in the same section, Dysart Colliery continued its remarkable progress with a seventh place finish from a number 2 draw, a great effort from a band which had put so much into qualifying for Cheltenham in the first place. Dysart will surely be the better for such a great experience on the national stage.

Dalkeith and Monktonhall was the first Scottish band to hint that a successful weekend was in the offing with an excellent third place in Saturday morning’s 2nd Section contest. Jim Chamberlain guided the Midlothian charges through a powerful performance of Stephen Ponford’s Music of a Legacy with many commentators and spectators having the band well in contention prior to the results. While 15th wasn’t the result that Arbroath Instrumental and Mike Robertson would have hoped for, this would have been the first appearance for many at a National Final and, hopefully, the experience will again be invaluable.

Sunday morning saw both St. David’s Brass (John Dickson) and Irvine and Dreghorn (Helen Douthwaite-Teasdale) achieve top-ten placings in a contest dominated by the fast-tracking BD1 Brass under Lee Skipsey. There was no shortage of positive comments about both bands’ perfomances of Gareth Wood’s Hinemoa but, unfortunately, neither did quite enough to prize a podium place from the adjudicators.

And so it was left to Newtongrange Silver and Bathgate to try and put the icing on the cake for Scotland’s banding weekend and neither disappointed. The former, under Scottish tuba star Andrew Duncan, made a great impression with its rendition of Eric Ball’s Tournament for Brass, achieving sixth place in the process, a placing which many in attendance thought might be even higher.

Bathgate meanwhile, from a number four draw, made a significant enough impression on judges Michael Fowles and Paul Holland to be leading the contest well into the second half only to be pipped by Pemberton Old Wigan from the North West of England. It was a terrific performance from Anne Crookston and Bathgate which, although not error-free, was full of musical shape and nuance and included a stunning contribution from principal cornet player Mark Elwis.

Bathgate has now appeared at ten contests under its experienced MD and is yet to finish out of the top five, a record which will be put sternly to the test as the band approaches its Championship Section status. Nonetheless, this was another noteworthy achievement from a band which is in good heart.

In conclusion, this year’s cross-border raiders went a long way to re-establishing some respectability to Scotland’s somewhat tarnished recent record down south, while Whitburn has proved to everyone connected with brass banding in Scotland that the sky is the limit.