On the road to Cheltenham – eight Scottish bands head for the lower section National Finals

As Scotland’s two Championship contenders in the British Open return home – sadly empty handed – eight of our lower section bands are now preparing to travel further south for their participation in the National Finals in Cheltenham this weekend.

The event will see 79 bands vie for their respective coveted National Championship titles in Sections 1-4 throughout next Saturday and Sunday in The Centaur at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The order of play will be:

Section 4 

Starts at 9am on Saturday

Results Ceremony at 2.45pm, followed by

Section 1

Starts at 3.15pm

Results Ceremony at 9.45pm

Section 3

Starts at 9am on Sunday

Results Ceremony at 4pm, followed by

Section 2

Starts at 4.30pm

Results Ceremony at 10.00pm

Facing the early start on Saturday will be Highland Brass and Penicuik Silver in the Fourth Section, playing the test piece A Saddleworth Festival Overture by Goff Richards, an old favourite dating back 40 years.

Later that day, competing in the First Section will be Coalburn Silver and Bathgate who will be playing a new composition from Philip Harper entitled St James’s – A New Beginning.

On Sunday it will be the turn of Selkirk Silver and Shotts St Patrick’s in the Third Section, performing the The Lost Village of Imber by Christopher Bond, followed by the Second Section which will see Irvine & Dreghorn Brass and Newmilns & Galston’s renditions of Philip Sparke’s Lakeland Variations.

From tomorrow, we shall be featuring the two bands from each section – starting with Coalburn Silver and Bathgate in the First Section – each day this week in the build-up to the weekend.