Scottish Co-op Lift WLC Trophy
In a closely fought contest with old rivals Whitburn the Scottish Co-op band emerged victorious to lift their first West Lothian Challenge trophy.
This was surely the most anticipated final in the history of the contest. Scotland‚Äö?Ñ?¥s brass band ‚Äö?Ñ??Old Firm‚Äö?Ñ?? of Whitburn and Scottish Co-op squaring off against each other for the first time in over 20 years. Scottish Co-op had booked their place in the final on 4th June against Unison Kinneil and Newtongrange Silver. Whitburn‚Äö?Ñ?¥s road to the final saw them take the win over Kingdom Brass and Dalmellington on 11th June.
Whitburn
Whitburn were first up and they opened their programme with the stirring ‚Äö?Ñ??Scherzo‚Äö?Ñ?? from Shostakovich 10 arranged by their MD Andrew Duncan. This is a piece which has become synonymous with Whitburn and they gave another polished performance here. A good opener.
Whitburn‚Äö?Ñ?¥s newest recruit Richard Kidd then took centre stage to perform the euphonium solo ‚Äö?Ñ??Carnival of Venice‚Äö?Ñ?? arranged by Alan Catherall. Once again Richard showed why he is one of the rising stars of Scottish banding as he gave a near flawless performance. The band accompaniment was also very sympathetic to the soloist and never intrusive. Whitburn have got themselves a rare diamond in this player.
After two fantastic opening pieces the band then showed a much quieter side with a quite wonderful performance of John Irelands ‚Äö?Ñ??Elegy‚Äö?Ñ?? from ‚Äö?Ñ??A Downland Suite‚Äö?Ñ??. Some lovely well controlled playing in this and the band were really beginning to impress now.
The band then entertained us with their Mozart selection. Arranged by the bands own Anne Crookston ‚Äö?Ñ??Ein Musikalischer Spass‚Äö?Ñ??, roughly translated as ‚Äö?Ñ??A Musical Joke‚Äö?Ñ??, featured a small 12 piece group. Instantly recognisable by those of an equestrian persuasion as the theme from the Horse of the Year show. The ensemble played very well but I‚Äö?Ñ?¥m afraid this number didn‚Äö?Ñ?¥t do it for this writer at least.
Back on more familiar ground once more the band then launched into the Mark Freeh arrangement of ‚Äö?Ñ??Ol‚Äö?Ñ?¥ Man River‚Äö?Ñ?? . The band had also played this one in the semi-final and they obviously enjoy it. So did the audience as they were treated to some great playing by the band and some wonderful kit work from Lynsey Patterson.
For their second soloist of the evening the band chose to feature flugelhorn player Jim Chamberlain playing the Andrew Duncan arrangement of ‚Äö?Ñ??Scarlet Ribbons‚Äö?Ñ??. Anyone fortunate enough to have a copy of the bands CD recording ‚Äö?Ñ??Reflections of Freedom‚Äö?Ñ?? will already have heard this one and what a delightful little piece it is. Accompanied by Anne Crookston on piano Jim didn‚Äö?Ñ?¥t disappoint tonight and delivered another near faultless performance of a number which has become a bit of a signature item for him.
For their finisher, or so we thought, the band chose another Andrew Duncan arrangement and another piece which is not unfamiliar to Whitburn fans. Andrew Duncans skilful arrangement of Malcolm Arnolds ‚Äö?Ñ??Peterloo Overture‚Äö?Ñ?? is wonderfully descriptive of the public meeting which turned to tragedy on St. Peters Field, Manchester in 1819. Through the music the audience were led from the peaceful hymn tune opening, the distant beat of military drums approaching, the chaos as the soldiers entered the field, and finally the aftermath. A wonderful piece given a great performance by Whitburn.
We all thought the band were finished but they had one last ace up their sleeve as they launched into the Sousa march ‚Äö?Ñ??Stars and Stripes‚Äö?Ñ??. We were treated to a comedic interlude as the bands soprano and Eb bass players fought over the main melody line before eventually having their parts swapped by Chris Bradley. With the status quo restored the band proceeded to give a good account of this rousing march. Not to be outdone the bands Eb bass player Graham Fraser snatched one last chance in the limelight.
A fitting end to a super show from the band and they certainly set a high marker for Scottish Co-op to overcome. In terms of entertainment this was a great programme and was well received by an appreciative audience.
Scottish Co-op
After a short break the Scottish Co-op band took the stage in this their first West Lothian Challenge final. The band opened their programme with what has become a bit of a signature march for them, ‚Äö?Ñ??Keighley Moor‚Äö?Ñ??, celebrating that part of Yorkshire from which some of the best brass bands in the country hail. A powerful start then and the Co showed that they were up for the challenge.
The bands next item showcased the talents of their principal cornet player Jim Hayes in the cornet solo ‚Äö?Ñ??Charivari‚Äö?Ñ?? by John Iveson. Some top class playing from Jim in this item and the band were perfect in their accompaniment too. A strong contender for the soloist prize?
For their section feature the band chose a Goff Richards arrangement of the Stevie Wonder hit ‚Äö?Ñ??You Are The Sunshine Of My Life‚Äö?Ñ??. Featuring the trombone section on one side and, unusually, three flugels on the other. All six players really impressed with some terrific melodic playing which really gave the feeling, in this intimate setting, of a New York basement jazz club.
Upping the tempo once more the band chose one of my favourite overtures as their next item. ‚Äö?Ñ??Ruslan and Ludmilla‚Äö?Ñ?? arranged by the little professor himself, Walter Hargreaves. Allan Ramsay must have a soft spot for this piece too as he also used it in last years winning programme. The band gave a very exciting performance of this wonderful overture with hardly a note out of place and some wonderful dynamic control, especially at the higher end of the dynamic range.
For their Mozart item the band chose another of my personal favourites in ‚Äö?Ñ??Ave Verum Corpus‚Äö?Ñ?? arranged by Jakeway. Quite a contrast to Whitburns choice and this was to prove the crucial piece. Again Scottish Co-op were superbly controlled showing great dynamic contrast throughout the range. A wonderful performance of one of the Austrian maestros most well known and well loved compositions.
We all hoped it would come and the Co did not disappoint with a reprise of their comedy number from the semi-final, ‚Äö?Ñ??My Sister Kate‚Äö?Ñ?? arranged by Brian Allen. With a sprinkling of imagination supplied by conductor Allan Ramsay the band treated the audience to some old style ragtime complete with 1920‚Äö?Ñ?¥s gramophone sound effects. A delightful little number which the band pulled off to a tee.
Next up was the only clashing item in the two programmes with Mark Freeh‚Äö?Ñ?¥s ‚Äö?Ñ??Ol‚Äö?Ñ?¥ Man River‚Äö?Ñ??. The Co gave an equally impressive performance in this number but perhaps their kit interlude had that little bit more. The bands kit player Derek Love managing to hit virtually everything within reach including some odd sounds from the heads of the trombone section!
No Scottish Co-op programme it seems would be complete without a trombone solo from the always impressive Paul Kiernan. For tonight‚Äö?Ñ?¥s programme Paul chose to leave all of those technical pieces in the case and instead treated us to an equally impressive rendition of Adrian Drovers ‚Äö?Ñ??Annie Laurie‚Äö?Ñ??. Paul showed that he is quite the master of the trombone with a wonderfully melodic tone which helped to capture the laid back style perfectly. The band again, as they had done all night, added to the overall ambience with some superb accompaniment.
To close off their programme the band went to the wonderful repertoire provided by the Salvationist movement. Most of the bands in this years contest have chosen at least one piece form this vast library and tonight the Scottish Co-op chose to feature Peter Graham‚Äö?Ñ?¥s ‚Äö?Ñ??Shine As The Light‚Äö?Ñ??. Again the band produced a top drawer performance, managing to bring out all the effects in Peter Grahams wonderful writing.
The Adjudication
And so to that point of the night that we all knew had to come, how do you pick a winner from two quite fantastic performances. The man who had to make that decision was Nigel Boddice, but before he did Alan Fernie revealed his choices for the soloist, section feature and overture prizes. The Scottish Co-op took the prize for the best overture for their semi-final performance of ‚Äö?Ñ??The Abduction From The Seraglio‚Äö?Ñ?? arranged by Scottish composer Tommy Donaldson. Following that Whitburn band were announced as winners of the best section feature for their performance of Andrew Duncans ‚Äö?Ñ??The Water Is Wide‚Äö?Ñ?? from their semi-final and featuring their cornet section. It came as no surpise when Whitburn euphonium player Richard Kidd was announced as the soloist winner for his performance of ‚Äö?Ñ??Valflickens Dans‚Äö?Ñ?? from the semi-final. So 2-1 on prizes to Whitburn then with only the announcement of the overall winner to come. Nigel Boddice was gracious in his remarks about both bands but he made a telling remark about the choice of Mozart piece indicating that this was the deciding factor between the bands. He awarded the winners trophy to Scottish Co-op with 195 points but indicating how close a contest it was Whitburn were not far behind on 194. So, Scottish Co-op lift the title at their first attempt and Allan Ramsay makes it two on the trot as winning conductor.
The results of the West Lothian Challenge 2006
Final
| Venue: | Howden Park Centre, Livingston |
| Date: | 25th June 2006 |
| Adjudicator(s): | Nigel Boddice |
| Entertainment Programme | |
Band |
Conductor |
Draw |
Pts |
|
| 1. | Scottish Co-op | Allan Ramsay |
2
|
195
|
| 2. | Whitburn | Andrew Duncan |
1
|
194
|
Best Overture: Scottish Co-op, The Abduction From the Seraglio
Best Ensemble: Whitburn, The Water Is Wide, Cornets
Best Soloist: Richard Kidd, euphonium, Whitburn, Valflickens Dans
