Campbeltown Junior Brass – Gold Award and Winners of the Development Section

This was my first trip with the band and being the newcomer I had no idea what to expect, but I came away completely and utterly amazed by the tenacity, the professionalism and the resolve of these youngsters. Any parent sitting in that tent, watching and listening to how these young players held themselves with such confidence would have been very proud. I am not a music virtuoso, I cannot tell you if they missed a beat or missed a note, but what I heard was not the sound of individuals but the sound of a voice. Each player supported the other, their “voices” entwined, harmonized and blended together to become this beautiful voice that sang its way to victory. It is a testimony to the hard work that all these youngsters have put in, the devotion to their craft and the professional way they all handled themselves – they are all a credit to the town, their parents and to the band.

As usual, it was an early morning start, with a 5 hour bus journey to the Scottish Mining Museum in Newtongrange. After arriving at our destination, it was a further 3 hours before our performance with just 15 minutes to impress the adjudicator Mr Peter Roberts. This year the band was entered into a higher section than last year. The Development Section has an upper age limit of 16 years on 1 January 2011 with one adult bass player permissible, so the pressure was on.

In the past, even before the last note was played, the bus home was ready and waiting in the car park to take the band home, without hearing whether they have won or not. This year, an overnight stay was planned and even though it was another 3 hours wait before the results, just hearing the name “Campbeltown Junior Brass” being announced as the overall winner made it all worth while. And the icing on the cake was to hear that our tenor horn player, Alison Campbell, won the best instrumentalist in this section. Erin Mclellan, at a tender age of 8, collected the trophy on behalf of the band.

With a bus load of ecstatic youngsters, the band headed to Glenrothes to join the Tullis Russell Mills Youth Band for an evening of fun and relaxation. A total of £800 was raised and all proceeds were shared between Tullis Russell and Campbeltown Brass. It was a perfect ending to a very perfect day.

Sunday morning we headed back to Tullis Russell’s band hall for a morning workshop presented by Mr Hedley Benson, Principal trumpet player with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The workshop was part funded by The Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA) and we were pleased to have the newly appointed Development Manager Mr Andrew Duncan with us. The band played a couple of their winning pieces and was later joined by some of the players from Tullis Russell’s youth band. Individual performances were also given by players of both bands, where Mr Benson was able to provide very constructive and helpful pointers to these young players. We want to say a massive thank you to our hosts, especially Mr Alan Douglas, for organising such a successful social night and workshop, and for their hospitality.

The next two important events in the band’s calendar will be the Scottish Youth Championships in November, where Campbeltown Brass Juniors hope to defend their title for the second year running; then in November will be the celebratory concert in memory of Mr Jimmy Taylor.

Finally, it never ceases to amaze me that in the farthest corner of Scotland, you will find such an abundance of musical talent and young people so dedicated and committed to their music. Each one of them deserves our support and our encouragement. My sincere thanks to all the volunteers, committee members, parents and friends of Campbeltown Brass who have put in so much time and effort in nurturing these youngsters and providing the opportunity for them to enjoy music and to hone their craft. Campbeltown and Kintyre should be proud – I certainly am!

EW

Archives