Campbeltown Brass
About Les Neish
Les Neish is one of the leading tuba players of his generation. His endeavours as a tuba player have gained him recognition as a soloist, chamber musician and educator throughout the world. His career has been extremely diverse with highlights including a performance at Millennium Park, Chicago and recording on an album with pop star “Sting”.
He gained a First Class Honours degree, Professional Performance Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma with Distinction from the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. As an alumnus, Les is proud to be tuba tutor at the Junior RNCM as well as the role of Besson visiting tutor at this prestigious conservatoire.
Always pushing the boundaries, Les became the first tuba player to be awarded the Worshipful Company of Dyers Award for Wind and Brass at the Royal Overseas League Competition and performed the first solo tuba recital at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester. His debut solo CD “Salt of the Earth” was received to great critical acclaim, winning Brass Band World, British Bandsman and www.4barsrest.com Solo CD of the Year Awards and receiving airtime on BBC Radio 3.
Away from solo performance, Les is privileged to be part of the tuba section of the world famous, American based, Brass Band of Battle Creek and as a chamber musician is a member of the Fine Arts Brass Ensemble, a group which has performed in over 60 countries for the last 30 years.
With a real passion for musical education Les has performed workshops to youngsters throughout the UK, Europe, USA and Australia. Playing a major role in the Scottish Brass Band Association Youth Development programme Les has performed numerous workshops to thousands of youngsters and has been an integral part of the huge increase in youth bands throughout the whole of Scotland.
Les is also an experienced adjudicator, judging solo, brass band and windband competitions throughout the world, including the prestigious BBC Radio 2 Brass Soloist of the Year, the Tasmania Band League State Championships and the Young Artist Tuba Final at ITEC Arizona.
Les is dedicated to raising the profile of an instrument that is sometimes forgotten at the back of an orchestra. He really is proving that the tuba has so much more to offer!
On
the 18th of February, 5 brass players from Islay and Jura band went along to Campbeltown for a brass weekend. When we got to Campbeltown we went straight to our workshops. We got given a piece of music by Katrina, the conductor, which was Catch a Falling Star so we had a wee look over that and then played it with some other players from Campbeltown. Then we played it with Les Neish, who has recorded with Sting and might possibly be the best tuba player in the world. He can play 72 notes on the tuba! Wow! Then it was the concert! The nerves definitely started to kick in but we played it very well. Then all the Islay players did a rendition of Oh Ye Canny Shove Yer Granny off the Bus! It turned out very well! Then we listened to Campbeltown Brass Band. They were AMAZING! I have never heard anything like it!
The next day, we did some master classes with Les. We played some concentration games which were very hard! Then we all got his autograph!
It was truly a superb weekend!"
I
had loads of fun during the weekend. We did lots of different things during Saturday and Sunday. These are my favourite things:
- Going to the workshop
- Going to the masterclass
- Listening to Les play
- Listening to all the other bands
- Playing at the concert
- Lesson with Les
Out of all these my favourite thing is going to the masterclass - it was really fun!
On
the 18th February the brass players from the Islay Primary schools went over to the main land and played in Campbeltown for two days and it was great fun!
When we got to Campbeltown we went straight to lunch at the church. After lunch we started to play our instruments. We had a new song that I have never played before so that was hard! While we were there we played tag, I met a new friend and his name is Kyle. I was playing with him and he is a great friend to play with!
That night we played in a concert with the Campbeltown brass players. We played Catch a Falling Star and the Islay people played “Ohyehcannyshoveurgrannyoffthebus”. That day I had a stitch so it was hard for me to play.
The next day we went to the swimming pool and had a lot of fun but that was the day we all had to go back to Islay. Before we went we had fish and chips from the shop across the street.
The
workshops on Saturday and Sunday were really good and I really enjoyed them. I really enjoyed my lesson with John and learned a lot from this. I enjoyed meeting Les. He is really amazing. I enjoyed playing at the concert on Saturday night. It was a great weekend.
I
really enjoyed the workshops on Saturday and Sunday. I really enjoyed meeting Les and having a lesson with him. He taught me lots of fancy things. I enjoyed meeting everyone from Islay. I had a great time playing with David John.
On
Saturday we headed off to Campbeltown and despite the strong winds, the Finlaggan was quite smooth and we all arrived vomit free.
As the 7am ferry was cancelled, we missed all the morning workshops but we made it in time for soup and sandwiches! After lunch we were handed a piece of music and asked to play it. It was called “Catch a Falling Star” and Les Neish, one of the worlds leading Tuba players, helped us.
Later that evening we played that piece with the Campbeltown Brass Beginners Band and “Ohyecannyshoveyergrannyoafabus” by ourselves. We then got to watch the Junior & Senior Campbeltown Brass bands featuring Les Neish. He was amazing!
The following morning we went swimming and then had our final workshop and master class with Les. We played some fun games to help with our timing and breathing. I had to play solos in front of everyone! It was terrifying, especially as I had to go first!
After that we just had time for a quick snack and then back to Kennacraig to catch the 6pm ferry. It was a really fun weekend!
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