Scottish Open 2022: Live

Saturday 26 November 2022

Thw Scottish Open Championships, presented by the Scottish Brass Band Association - live from Perth Concert Hall

Scottish Open 2022 - Live

November 26, 2022

Perth Concert Hall

Adjudicators: John Doyle and Glyn Williams

Mark Good reporting

Draw

*Views and comments expressed are opinions of the reporter and don’t necessarily represent those of SBBA.

Scottish Open - Results

1) the cooperation band - Michael Fowles 198

2) Whitburn Band - Nicholas Childs 197

3) Rainford Band - David Thornton 195

4) Pemberton Old Wigan DW Band - Chris Binns 194

5) East London Brass - Jayne Murrill 192

6) Easington Colliery - Stephen Mlcolm 191

7) Hepworth Band - Ryan Watkins 190

8) Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass - Mareika Gray 189

9) The Kirkintilloch Band - David Roberts 188

10) Kingdom Brass - Paul Drury 187

11) Fishburn Band - Duncan Beckley 186

12) City of Bradford - Jonathan Bates 184

13) Dalmellington - Gary Williams 182

14) Johnstone Band - Colin McKenzie 181

15) Elland Silver - Daniel Brooks 180

16) Newtongrange Silver - Anne Crookston 179

17) Bon-Accord Silver - Stephen Malcolm 178

18) Wingates Band - Andrea Price 177

19) Unison Kinneil Band - Raymond Tennant 176

Neil Philip Memorial Trophy for best euphonium: Chris Flynn, the cooperation band

4barsrest best soloist: Flugel, City of Bradford

7.50pm

Coming soon is a livestream of the results! Preceding the all-important announcement will be a performance from the principal players of the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland. Watch the action here.

Prediction time!

Ah, those pesky results. It could be tight at the top today. For what it's worth - and for a bit of fun - here's a prediction from today's contest:

Prediction

1) Cooperation

2) Whitburn

3) City of Bradford

4) Easington

5) Kirkintilloch Kelvin

6) Pemberton

Dark horse: Rainford

19) the cooperation band | Michael Fowles - The Journey of the Lone Wolf (Simon Dobson)

We've reached the final band of the day, as the cooperation band takes to the stage to play the third rendition of the contest of The Journey of the Lone Wolf.

There's a clinical, disciplined feel to the opening stages, before euphoniums show their quirky musical character in the melodic lines of Dobson's score.

Myriad musical colours rise to the fore before a cry of desperate proportions, delivered with ruthless efficiency by Gordon Kyle on soprano. The soprano sound then cheekily dances with horn.

cooperation band used this work as its own choice at the European Brass Band Championship earlier in the year and Stephanie Kennedy, on flugel, takes to the centre of the stage - as she did in Birmingham - to enchant the audience in Perth during the pearly solo passage.

Ross Bahlaj is suitably languid in his trombone contribution and Chris Flynn (euphonium) demonstrates the refinement for which he has become known with the renowned Glasgow band.

The sounds are gargantuan to close, bringing to an end a performance of great drama and authority.

It's tight at the top in today's Scottish Open! Cooperation is leaving no stone unturned, Michael Fowles meticulous in his quest to help guide the band to its first Scottish Open title since 2013; ironically, he was the conductor to wrestle it away from coop's grasp when he won with Whitburn the following year.

18) Wingates Band | Andrea Price - Vita Aeterna Variations (Alexander Comitas)

A suitably understated opening from Wingates Band, with a nice lightness of touch. The flugel playing of Liv Appleton shines to the fore, elegant yet not overwrought.

A swift change of gear follows and Wingates begins to take the audience on a journey through some of the more spirited sections of Comitas' score. It's engaging, too, only occasionally getting a little strident.

Andrea Price is crystal clear in her gesture, encouraging her players at every twist and turn. They respond well, if not everything quite comes to fruition and moments of tension rise to the fore. But there is control, too, with the understated chorale-like passages delivered with impressive composure.

Wingates also keep something in reserve for the final stages of Comitas' work, a former European Championship set work, the ornate, chamber music style work giving way to something much more organ-like as the piece reaches its conclusion. The band has had to wait its turn to play today but, for the most part, has retained its energy levels and brings its performance to a majestic close.

17) Hepworth Band | Ryan Watkins - Revelation (Philip Wilby)

Revelation was penned as a tribute to the music of Purcell. The work sees Hepworth employ a revised formation on stage, with cornets facing each other, and euphs/baris sitting in back row cornet and bass trom positions. Soloists move to their positions too.

It's a musical melting pot in the opening stages, a variety of colours rising to the fore. The muted colours shine through particularly effectively.

There is a religious dimension to Revelation, as the title suggests, though at times, Hepworth is practically devilish as it relishes the faster moving corners of Wilby's score.

The more reflective moments are met with good composure, though ensemble loses its rigidty at times.

There is, however, some fine solo playing, especially from euphonium(s), linking so well with each other from either end of the stage and displaying tremendous finesse.

It's a thrilling, full-blooded close, everything left on stage, as Hepworth brings down the curtain on its performance at the 2022 Scottish Open.

16) Kingdom Brass | Paul Drury - Fraternity (Thierry Deleruyelle)

The inspiration for Fraternity came from the disaster of Courrières. One of the most significant events in the history of coal mining, this disaster is acknowledged as the worst mining accident in history.

Kingdom Brass is suitably haunting to open, grumbling basses soon giving way to haunting chords across the band.

After enduring a few frustrating years away from the top flight, the Fife band is back - and is keen to make up for lost time in its first Scottish Open appearance for about five years.

Not everything quite lines up but at full tilt, it's impressive. Percussion brings full blood and thunder, subsiding to make way for low brass, which take up the mantle to full effect.

Kingdom has some fine soloists among its ranks and the likes of David Prentice (cornet) and Alex Philip (trombone) are among those to shine in this heavyweight work.

The final, climactic moments, are guided with great care and attention by Paul Drury. There are some fragilities which bring the sheen off but it's a performance of great commitment from Kingdom.

15) Whitburn Band | Nicholas Childs - The World Rejoicing (Edward Gregson)

There's a sophistication to much of the opening from Whitburn Band, as the West Lothian band sets its stall out in the opening few bars as it looks to claim an eighth consecutive Scottish Open title.

It's not immune from the occasional scruffy edges but the detail leaps from the score. The cornet sounds are especially elegant, Nicholas Childs drawing a sweetness from the players around the stand in the latest performance of this recent Gregson work, the result of a collaboration among several banding nations.

Not quite everything lands together - but the quality is undeniable throughout. Among the soloists to shine is principal horn player, Andrew McMillan, an unassuming charm to his virtuosity. The lines of Chris Bradley (cornet) and Scott Kerr (euphonium) weave in and out with a gentle ebb and flow.

It wasn't flawless from Whitburn, but it was wholly committed, reaching new heights in the final stages, with large spells of the brilliance audiences have long come to expect from the West Lothian outfit.

14) The Kirkintilloch Band | David Roberts - Cloudcatcher Fells (John McCabe)

Kirkintilloch is nicely measured to open in its choice, commissioned by Boosey and Hawkes in 1985. John McCabe’s Cloudcatcher Fells was used as the test piece for the National Brass Band Championship in the same year and remains a challenge almost 40 years later.

David Roberts paces the music nicely, ensuring a gentle lilt, without forcing things.

A sterling soprano cornet contribution permeates this performance; so secure from Erin McSporran, who rises to the fore when required.

Kirkintilloch hasn't enjoyed fluctuating form in recent years but the band is working hard to bring McCabe's score to the audience - and the adjudicators - in Perth this afternoon in its bid to secure its first Scottish Open title.

13) Unison Kinneil Band | Raymond Tennant - Rococo Variations (Edward Gregson)

An opening of poise from Unison Kinneil, Raymond Tennant ensuring a well-measured account.

There's a pleasing lilt to the siciliana, with ensemble only occasionally losing its rigidity. At full tilt, Kinneil produces a big sound, one which sparkles courtesy of percussion.

The intricate trombone section work is neat and although it feels a little frantic elsewhere at times, the playing is exciting.

Intonation gremlins rise to the fore at times but they are fleeting in a mixed, though engaging, performance from Unison Kinneil Band.

12) Fishburn Band | Duncan Beckley - English Heritage (George Lloyd)

Members of Fishburn Band get themselves very cosy with each other on the sprawling Perth Concert Hall stage.

This is a performance imbued with light and shade, while there’s an endearing, old-fashioned quality to the sound., which blends so well.

Fishburn and Duncan Beckley work hard to find the clarity in Lloyd’s score, cascading semiquaver lines rising off the page to great effect.

Moments of fragility creep in, sometimes during the more understated corners of Lloyd’s score, but there’s a good degree of refinement to the hushed, chorale-like passages.

Well done, solo cornet player, ascending to the higher reaches in ‘that’ moment before the band, inspired by solo trombone, is suitably jaunty in the endearing tunes which follow.

It brings down the curtain on a characterful rendition of a fine piece, one which did much to engage the audience in Perth.

11) Pemberton Old Wigan DW Band | Chris Binns - Rococo Variations (Edward Gregson)

Rococo Variations was commissioned by the British Open Championships for the 2008 contest in Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Conductor Chris Binns ensures a flowing open before the disparate material which follows is threaded together nicely, lines of short, stabbing sounds punctuating the air in Perth Concert Hall.

The solo playing - notably in the cornet and euphonium departments, as well as bass - is classy, in what is proving to be another well-chosen piece at today's Scottish Open. The music ebbs and flows when required and Chris Binns chooses carefully the moments at which to draw the bigger sounds from his charges.

There is no shortage of intricate lines in Gregson's work and so much of the detail rises to the fore, including some fast and furious tuned percussion and a magnificent, industrious horn section.

A little over-exuberant to close, perhaps - but Pemberton Old can return to Wigan feeling chuffed with its performance on stage in Perth.

10) Bon-Accord Silver | Stephen Malcolm - Isaiah 40 (Robert Redhead)

Cor, Stephen Malcolm is a busy man today, as he takes to the stage to conduct his second band of the day, following an outing with Easington Colliery earlier.

Bon-Accord gets the Scottish Open back underway with Isaiah 40, music commissioned for the final of the 1996 National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

It's measured to open, and the Aberdeen band settles into its stride, producing a pleasing full band sound that is exciting but never threatens to be overbearing.

There's a delightful elegance to the euphonium playing of Richard Kidd, whose contribution lingers long in the ear in one of the more reflective corners of the piece, before the excitement ramps up again. It's a well-tempered performance and an engaging reading; a fine choice and one which Bon-Accord Silver embraced on stage in Perth.

3pm

It’s break time here in Perth Concert Hall, after nine strong performances at the 2022 Scottish Open. What have you made of it so far? Tweet using the hashtag #SFoB2022.

9) City of Bradford Band | Jonathan Bates - The Journey of the Lone Wolf (Simon Dobson)

There's a great deal of organisation to the opening stages, Jonathan Bates leaving no stone unturned in a multi-layered score.

This Bartok-inspired score is a treasure trove of diverse musical ideas. The fast, furious material subsides and makes way for some inspired solo playing, firstly from flugel (an enchanting contribution, accompanied by gentle backing track) and then trombone. The composure is admirable, players turning the corners with ease and demonstrating sounds of undoubted quality. Confidence continues around the stand too, in baritone, euphonium and cornet, as the Yorkshire outfit seeks to make a real impression at the Scottish Open.

Much of the detail fizzes off the page as the score takes a frenetic turn, Jonathan Bates guiding his band through every twist and turn. It's high octane and City of Bradford keeps something in reserve for the final moments, in an impressive display in Perth. Bravo.

8) Elland Silver Band | Daniel Brooks - Year of the Dragon (Philip Sparke)

An opening which isn’t entirely secure from Elland Silver - and big, big, big, especially in the percussion department. The errors are sprinkled over a performance which, when it’s on song, has much to enjoy, including some classy solo sounds.

Indeed, the solo trombone playing in the interlude is suitably melancholic, languid in its approach, and the refinement seems to inspire colleagues around the stand, the flugel sounds tender and endearing.

The chorale is hushed, though not immune from some rough edges. The musical intentions are clear, though, from a musical director who steers the ship gracefully. The quality is undoubted and it has certainly settled into its stride - it's just a tad inconsistent.

7) Easington Colliery | Stephen Malcolm - On the Shoulders of Giants (Peter Graham)

Dark, sinister sounds to open from Easington Colliery, courtesy of impressive trombones, in the Bruckner-inspired fanfares. The enormous introduction gives way to scurrying musical lines, most of which spring off the stage.

This work was first set as the test-piece for the 2010 British Open and pays tribute to this diversity and to the great American brass virtuosi. From those opening, Chicago Symphony tribute fanfares met with aplomb by trombones to the Miles Davis and Tommy Dorsey-infused second movement, it is a melting pot of musical styles. Soprano, flugelhorn, euphonium and trombone are among the soloists to shine. It isn’t without slight fragilities in some of the pearly, high writing but it’s an evocative musical picture.

As it hurtles towards the latter stages of the pieces, the virtuosic soloists of yesteryear float in and out of the musical mist, snippets of well-kent solos bubbling to the fore in fleeting - quality - glimpses.

While not entirely consistent, (and maybe a little over-cooked at points), it’s a performance which, at its best, does much to impress, with some fine solo playing among the ranks too.

6) Rainford Band | David Thornton - English Heritage (George Lloyd)

Neat and nimble to open from Rainford Band, in a work first chosen as the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain test-piece in 1990. Much may have changed in the banding world since but the piece remains extremely engaging - and continues to provide a stern test.

Quality sounds, individually and collectively, are evident around the stands and David Thornton gives particular care to the lighter, reflective corners of Lloyd's score; a welcome, understated quality when required.

The MD is typically animated in his gesture, an extra spring in his step after solo cornet clears the famous high hurdle.

It's not the biggest sound of the day so far - but it's refined and very well shaped from the Merseyside band in its appearance on stage in Perth.

5) Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass | Mareika Gray - The Journey of the Lone Wolf (Simon Dobson)

There's a huge variety in the choices of repertoire for today's Scottish Open, with Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass opting for the intriguing Journey of the Wolf, telling the story of the hungarian composer Béla Bartók, in its first competitive outing with Mareika Gray at the helm.

An opening of some stature gives way to a multitude of musical colours, jazz-infusions apparent. The direction is calm, authoritative and no-nonsense - and the band returns the favour, rising to the considerable challenges in this evocative work.

There's a mellifluous quality to the solo playing from Claire Mcllreavy in Night Music, a style embraced wholeheartedly by principal trombone, Lewis Bettles (resident conductor with the band), before baritone Laura Good picks up the mantle with some poise. Likewise on principal cornet (Amy McMillan) and euphonium (Angus Ritchie), confidence abounds.

With percussion in full flight and bass trombone unleashed (and firing straight at the press gallery), there is a delightfully menacing quality to the band's performance. At times, very menacing. It's a demanding piece, no doubt about it - but KKB has set its stall out here.

4) Newtongrange Silver Band | Anne Crookston - Pageantry (Herbert Howells)

Newtongrange Silver is robust to open, bass trombone a key component of the band's brooding sound in the early stages.

While it's not without ensemble fragilities, it's a commanding reading from Anne Crookston, steering a second movement which ebbs and flows and retains refinement in the upper reaches of cornets' register. It's suitably sombre here.

Veteran principal cornetist, Angus Edmond, displays trademark refinement to open the final movement, Jousts: con brio. There appears to be great confidence around the stand in Newtongrange today and, while not immune from occasional fragilities, the Midlothian band is bringing forth a powerful performance, elegantly crafted by its musical director.

3) Dalmellington Band | Gary Williams - The World Rejoicing (Edward Gregson)

Edward Gregson's piece was written as part of a collaboration among several banding nations, with the intention the work would be performed at their major championships, including the British Open on UK shores. While severely disrupted by the pandemic, those events have now been returning but it's as an own choice the piece is performed by Dalmellington today.

There's an elegance to the opening as the familiar strains of Now Thank We All Our God weave their way in and out of the texture - and Dalmellington brings a multi-layered performance to the stage, myriad musical colours rising to the fore. The sounds around the stand have a sheen to them; trombones are a fine example, the control and balance refined throughout.

Dalmellington is looking to improve upon its eighth place at the Scottish Open in 2021 and opens up into a sound of tremendous breadth when required. Basses do their bit, a magnificent platform on which to build a band sound, and Gary Williams guides the Ayrshire band to a confident close.

2) East London Brass | Jayne Murrill - Metamorphosis for Brass Band (Jan de Haan)

A suitably eerie opening, before East London Brass opens up into a performance full of commitment and bravado.

Jayne Murrill turns the corners of this intriguing score gracefully, and the exposed solo passages around the stand are met with an impressive sense of calm.

This is, at times, a rather 'bitty' score but the MD threads it together and helps ensure cohesion to the performance.

The London outfit is a regular visitor to the Scottish Open and has left nothing in reserve in its journey north to Scotland's Fair City, bringing to the stage an intricate work - with flair.

1) Johnstone Band | Colin McKenzie - The Essence of Time (Peter Graham)

Johnstone Band, from Renfrewshire, opens proceedings with The Essence of Time and it’s purposeful, even if not quite all the detail springs from the score.

There’s a lush quality to the sound of the band in full tilt, and a classy quality to the solo sounds. The band appears to settle into its stride as the piece progresses, feeling particularly at ease in the warmer corners of the piece, which was commissioned for the European Brass Band Championships in Falkirk in 1990.

Neat and nimble work from basses passes to trombones, who pick up with aplomb, and a neat grooves develops in percussion to underpin brass.

A Time for Peace is delivered with delightful lyricism, solo cornet sounds emanating gracefully from the stage.

The intricate euphonium and baritone work marches forward purposefully and there’s a sense of poise is apparent in the performance en route to a warm, engaging close.

11.29am

Good morning and a very warm welcome to Perth for the Scottish Festival of Brass.

Saturday sees the Scottish Open Championship taking place, with 19 bands performing own choice works in a bid to impress adjudicators, John Doyle and Glyn Williams. An exciting day awaits!

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