Feast of life membership awards during the festive season

There have been numerous presentations of Scottish Brass Band Association life membership medals over the past couple of weeks as bands use their Christmas concerts as an opportunity to honour those members who have given long and unswerving service to the brass band movement.

Barrhead Burgh Band’s seasonal concert at the Wynd Centre in Paisley provided the backdrop for SBBA secretary Tom Allan to hand over an award to flugelhorn player and vice-chairperson Fiona Kennedy for over 40 years service to brass banding.

Newtongrange band president Chris Ludwig was delighted to present two life membership medals at the band’s concert at the National Mining Museum Scotland to baritone player Jimmy Murray and multi-talented player, teacher, conductor, adjudicator, composer and arranger Alan Fernie for being banding stalwarts for over 50 years.

Jimmy (on left of photo, below) began playing in 1970 for Dalkeith Burgh Band before joining Newtongrange with whom he stayed until retiring from the band in 2022.

Alan began playing in 1973, joining Newtongrange the same year. He has played freelance with the BBC Scottish Symphony, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and both the Scottish Opera and Ballet and was a founder member of the Caledonia Brass quintet.

An instrumental brass teacher, his first conducting job was with Selkirk Silver and resident at Kirkintilloch. He has since conducted numerous bands including Bathgate, Tullis Russell, Dalkeith & Monktonhall, McTaggart Scott and most of the Borders bands.

Musical director of the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) Children's band, Alan has over 20 years as MD of Loanhead Brass Roots, and currently of Newtongrange Junior Band.

He has worked in the USA and throughout Europe and is composer-in-residence for Brass for Africa, enjoying several visits to Uganda.

Broxburn & Livingston’s final concert of the year saw solo baritone player Maureen Marzella being presented with her SBBA life membership medal. Regarded as something as a pioneer in Scottish banding, she was the first female student to learn a brass instrument in West Lothian schools and was one of the first women players to be formally registered to compete at brass band competitions in Scotland.

Renfrew Burgh Band cornet player and chairperson Myra Mack was presented with her life membership medal by Tom Allan at the band’s Christmas concert at Neilston Parish Church. Myra was one of the original pupils to play in the Renfrewshire schools brass band in the mid-1960s, joining Renfrew at the end of the decade. She has been a member of the band for a total of almost 40 years.