Newtongrange Take West Lothian Challenge Title
The Newtongrange Silver band underlined their status as Champion band of Scotland with a hard fought victory in the West Lothian Challenge final. In a very entertaining final the band enjoyed a 1 point victory over fellow finalists Unison Kinneil.
Under the direction of Allan Ramsay the Newtongrange Silver band provided a varied and entertaining programme which was well received by both the adjudicator and the audience. The band opened their program with the march "Keighley Moor", perhaps more commonly associated with the YBS band as their signature march. After this rousing opening the band presented their overture item "Ruslan and Ludmilla". A fantastic overture but perhaps the band did not do it justice on this occasion and many felt that it was the weakest item in the programme.
Newtongrange flugel John Philip
The audience were then entertained with the first solo item of the evening the Reid Gilje arrangement of "Children of Sanchez" by Chuck Mangione, played this evening by the bands flugelhorn John Philip. This was followed in quick succesion by the trombone solo "Stardust" arranged by Geldard and played by the bands principal trombone Alex Philip. In a return to the big band era the bands next number "Sing, Sing Sing" featured virtually every section with the band effectively capturing the sound of the 'Big Band' era reflected in Mark Freeh's arrangement. A bit of a comedy interlude followed next with the bands euphonium players Neil Philip and Ian Davey being transformed into Laurel and Hardy for "Another Fine Mess".
Ollie helps Stan reach those high notes
Any fans of Laurel and Hardy would have recognised the familiar tunes in this fantastic arrangement by Sandy Smith. They would also have enjoyed the comedic talents of the euphonium duo as they treated us to a host of familiar slapstick gags. The bands next number showcased the work of a Scottish composer and for this the band chose to play "A Scots Pastorale" by prolific composer and arranger Alan Fernie. Alan is probably better known for his masterful arrangements but this original work is quite different from many of his crowd pleasing arrangements. The Newtongrange band gave a fantastic performance of this number using it to great effect to show off the bands full dynamic range. Returning to the big band style the bands next item was "Caravan" by Brian Allen. Another energetic performance from the band with almost everyone on their feet at some point during the performance; seems you have to be fit to play with this band. The band closed their programme with Edelman?s ?Reunion and Finale from Gettysburg? arranged by Andrew Duncan. This fantastic and evocative arrangement was made even more so by the use of the projection screen which showed us images of the Battle of Gettysburg throughout the performance.
The legendary Phillip McCann
As Unison Kinneil took the stage most eyes in the audience were scanning the solo cornet bench looking for the bands newest signing; and there he was, on fourth man down ? the legendary Philip McCann. Unison Kinneil?s programme featured some of the wonderful arrangements from the pen of their conductor Andrew Duncan. They opened their programme with his arrangement of John Williams score from the Star Wars movie ?A Phantom Menace?. Slowing down the tempo from that energetic opening the bands Principal Cornet player Ian Culross gave a wonderful performance of the Neil Diamond classic ?Love On The Rocks? arranged by Phillip Sparke. This was followed by the spiritual ?Deep River? by W. Broughton before the bands chosen piece to showcase Scottish composition talent. For this the band chose ?Bound for the Promised Land? from their own composer in residence and Eb tuba player Paul Drury. A great performance of a fantastic piece and Paul fully deserved his own bow at the end of the performance. The band then lightened the mood with Andrew Duncans ?Cartoon Classics?, bringing together themes from Looney Tunes, The Pink Panther, The Flintstones and The Simpsons. Some excellent stuff from a very hard worked percussion section utilising all manner of odd instruments to create the cartoon feeling ? wonderful piece.
Kermit the bass trombone
The bands next item was, as Andrew Duncan put it, ?a wonderful little piece of theatre?. The conductors own arrangement of ?Tubby The Tuba? showcased the talents of the aforementioned Paul Drury as Tubby, Cameron Marr as the narrator, a cameo appearance of Philip McCann as Senor Pizzicatto and a show stealing performance from Dave Frame as Kermit the Bullfrog. For their next number the band showcased the wonderful soprano voice of their percussion player Aileen Marley singing an Andrew Duncan arrangement of the traditional scots song ?The Water is Wide?. The band completed their programme with the ?Peterloo Overture? by Andrew Duncan. The composer of the piece gave us a great introduction to it explaining the story behind the piece and how the Peterloo massacre provided the impetus for the birth and subsequent growth of workers rights leading to the formation of the trade union movement. The band gave a flawless performance of the piece and adjudicator Bruce Fraser agreed with that assessment by awarding the band the overture prize for the best overture in all rounds of the contest.
Winning Conductor Alan Ramsay
Both bands in this final presented entertaining and imaginative programs and have really raised the bar for entertainment contests in Scotland. With such good bands on show and excellent presentation from both it was always going to be too close to call; adjudicator Alan Morrison indicated as much when he placed Newtongrange Silver a single point ahead of runners up Unison Kinneil. The entertainment awards for the semi-final rounds went to Newtongrange Silver and Dalmellinton respectively. The best soloist prize was taken by Alex Philip of Newtongrange Silver for his performance of ?Autumn Leaves? in the first semi-final. The best ensemble piece was taken by the trombone section of Newtongrange Silver for their performance of ?It?s Alright? also from the first semi-final. As mentioned previously the overture prize was lifted by Unison Kinneil for their performance of ?Peterloo Overture? in the final. And so a new name goes on the West Lothian Challenge trophy and if this year is anything to go by then next years contest will certainly be one to look forward to.
Contest Programmes played by the bands
Newtongrange Silver Band
March Keighley Moor - Joe Cook
Ruslan & Ludmilla - Glinka arr. Michael Kenyon
Children of Sanchez - Chuck Mangione arr. Reid Gilje
Stardust - Lewis Prima arr. Bill Geldard
Sing Sing Sing - Mark Freeh
Another Fine Mess - Sandy Smith
A Scots Pastorale - Alan Fernie
Caravan - Brian Allen
Reunion & Finale from Gettysburg - R Edelman arr. Andrew Duncan
Unison Kinneil Band
A Phantom Menace - John Williams arr. Andrew Duncan
Love On The Rocks - Neil Diamond/G Becaud arr. P Sparke
Spiritual - Deep River - W Broughton
Bound For The Promised Land - Paul Drury
Cartoon Classics - Andrew Duncan
Tubby The Tuba (with narration) - Kleinsinger/Trip arr. Andrew Duncan
The Water is Wide - trad. arr. Andrew Duncan
Peterloo Overture - Malcolm Arnold arr. Andrew Duncan
Other Prizes
Best Overture - Peterloo Overture - Unison Kinneil
Best Ensemble Piece - Its Alright - Newtongrange in first round
Best Solo - Alex Philip, Newtongrange - Autumn Leaves
Most entertaining performances from first rounds to Dalmellington and Newtongrange.
