Nationals milestone for Whitburn stalwart
THE National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall was extra special for one Whitburn Band player.
Iain Fleming, one of the most gifted tenor horn players of his generation, was playing at his 25th national finals. Having first played at the Nationals with Hammonds Sauce Works Band in 1979, Iain was principal horn player with Whitburn for 31 years and has won eight Scottish championships during his time with the band.
On his milestone, Iain said: "It may seem strange but I can remember bits of them all.
"In contesting terms performing on stage at the Royal Albert Hall is a very lonely place, made that much easier by playing great music, amongst friends in a great band."
Iain began his career at Penicuik Silver in 1972, moving on to Newtongrange, Hammonds Sauce Works and Fairey Engineering bands. He settled with Whitburn, where he was principal tenor horn from 1984 until earlier this year, when he passed on the baton to his son Michael.
As a soloist, Iain has won the Scottish solo championships five times, the Scottish slow melody title two times and was twice winner of the National Mineworkers tenor horn prize. He has also won best horn at the Scottish Championships on three occasions, and in 2006 was awarded best horn at the British Solo Championships.
Iain is also a successful conductor, having worked with Penicuik, Peebles, Dalkeith and Monktonhall, Cowdenbeath (now Kingdom Brass) and Newtongrange. To mark the event, Whitburn presented Iain with a commemorative quaich and a framed list of all the Nationals he has performed at.
David Kinross, Whitburn Band president, commented: "The word 'legend' is one that certainly applies to Iain. He has been one of the finest brass players in Britain for over three decades and everyone at Whitburn Band is delighted to celebrate this landmark with him."
