the cooperation band ends eight-year wait to regain Scottish Open title

It was a case of saving the best until last when the cooperation band, playing off the final no.19 spot, stormed to its first Scottish Open, supported by Besson, victory in eight years.

Playing Simon Dobson’s Journey of the Lone Wolf – the third band to do so – under the expert musical direction of Mike Fowles, the band put in an almost flawless performance to knock the Whitburn Band off a perch it had occupied since 2014.

Whitburn, conducted by Prof Nicholas Childs, came in a very creditable runner-up with its rendition of The World Rejoicing by Edward Gregson while taking third spot was David Thornton’s Rainford Band playing English Heritage by George Lloyd.

The Scottish Open is part of the Scottish Festival of Brass, held over two weekends. A fortnight earlier Bathgate Band had taken home the Band Supplies Scottish Challenge Shield with Philip Wilby’s A Lowry Sketchbook, directed by Craig Anderson.

Yesterday was a tremendous day of brass music making of the highest standard which was marked by the fact that it was the first Scottish Open to be completely free of Covid restrictions in three years.

To read a blow-by-blow account of the day’s performances, see this report by journalist Mark Good.

During the day, compere Alasdair Hutton was presented with a commemorative gift by the Scottish Brass Band Association to mark his retirement from presenting contests after more than 20 years.

And another stalwart of Scottish banding, Ian Gordon, was recognised for his long service with the registration team, having set up the original card system which was operated out of shoe boxes!

Here are the results from yesterday’s contest as determined by adjudicators John Doyle and Glyn Williams:

1. the cooperation band (Mike Fowles) 198pts
2. Whitburn (Prof Nicholas Childs) 197pts
3. Rainford (David Thornton) 195pts
4. Pemberton Old Wigan DW (Chris Binns) 194pts
5. East London Brass (Jayne Murrill) 192pts
6. Easington Colliery (Stephen Malcolm) 191pts
7. Hepworth Band (Ryan Watkins) 190pts
8. Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass (Mareika Gray) 189pts
9. Kirkintilloch Band (David Roberts) 188pts
10. Kingdom Brass (Paul Drury) 187pts
11. Fishburn (Duncan Beckley) 186pts
12. City of Bradford (Jonathan Bates) 184pts
13. Dalmellington (Gary J Williams) 182pts
14. Johnstone (Colin McKenzie) 181pts
15. Elland Silver (Daniel Brooks) 180pts
16. Newtongrange (Anne Crookston) 179pts
17. Bon-Accord Silver (Stephen Malcolm) 178pts
18. Wingates (Andrea Price) 177pts
19. Unison Kinneil (Raymond Tennant) 176pts

4barsrest award for best instrumentalist: Flugel player Phoebe Mallinson, City of Bradford
Neil Philip Memorial Trophy for best euphonium: Chris Flynn, the cooperation band

Photographs to follow soon