Brass bands flock to Livingston

Feb 4 2010 by Marjorie Kerr, West Lothian Courier

THE country’s best musicians will be polishing their skills as they head to Livingston this weekend.

This Saturday and Sunday (February 6 and 7) will see Howden Park Centre host the Besson Scottish Solo and Ensemble Championships presented by the Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA).

The annual competition will, this year, be fought out between 45 soloists, who have all qualified from five area contests and will perform in three age groups on Saturday.

The ensembles competition on Sunday will also feature the first-ever Scottish Championships for slow melody and for percussion.

The 2010 Saturday evening gala concert stars the multi award winning West Lothian Schools’ Brass Band and the Co-operative Funeral Care Band with guest soloists the internationally acclaimed Roger Webster on cornet and Neil Gallie on trombone.

The weekend’s adjudicators will be Roger Webster, Neil Gallie, Bryan Allen and Alasdair Rankine.

SBBA’s Development Officer, Alan Edmond, commented: “Once again we are indebted to Besson and West Lothian Council for their support for our solo and ensemble championships, which are this year returning to their spiritual home in Livingston, having been relocated for the past few years while Howden Park Centre was being redeveloped.

“As always, there will be a wonderful array of young soloists on display on the Saturday, in addition to the terrific guest soloists we have been able to secure, but we are very excited about the introduction of the slow melody and percussion events on the Sunday, which we hope will attract a large entry in addition to those competing in the open solos and ensemble sections.”