Congratulatiuons to NYBBS - Review by Mark Good
Review of The Shetland Bus event in Glagow by Mark Good
***********************************************************************************
Congratulations to the The National Youth Brass Band of Scotland (NYBBS) on their performance on 19th January at Celtic Connections. First class performance from band and Andrews Duncan's musical arrangement and for participating in this major fusion for brass band and folk music at The Mitchell Theatre in Glasgow,. As part of Scotland's internationally renowned Celtic Connections annual festival. This is the first time NYBBS has been invited to participate in this significant festival and the collaboration has already gained the positive attention of the festival's national preview reports.
As described by the festival organisers, "the performance commemorates the 70th anniversary of the extraordinary wartime story enshrined in Jenna and Bethany Reid's narrated musical suite ‘The Shetland Bus', unveiling a new collaboration between the Reid's original six-piece [folk] ensemble and The National Youth Brass Band of Scotland, expanding and enriching the music's beautifully vivid evocation of disaster, escape, heroism and survival against all odds".
The music was specially arranged and scored for the band by Andrew Duncan to effectively integrate, accompany and musically develop the performance of ‘The Shetland Bus' suite. At a recent rehearsal between the band and folk ensemble Andrew Duncan commented: "This is such a wonderful experience for the NYBBS players, the ensemble and myself. From its original premiere at the 2010 festival by the Reid's folk ensemble, our forthcoming performance will introduce a whole new musical dimension to ‘The Shetland Bus' suite for the Celtic Connections audience - with the addition of the brass band it's now a phenomenal combination of sounds that work so well together.
Celtic Connections takes place across 20 venues in Glasgow from 17th January - 3rd February, involving over 2,000 performers in 250 performances. The festival is now in its 20th year and has become one of the most prestigious celebrations of international folk music in the world. The involvement of NYBBS in this exciting event is synonymous with the recently released new strategy for the organization and plays tribute to the wealth of musical experiences being made available to these talented young musicians.
Well done NYBBS for being part of a geat experience.
