Whitburn welcomes new players

Whitburn Band has welcomed four new players to its ranks at the beginning of this, the band’s 150th anniversary year.

Douglas Couchman is returning to the band on solo cornet, while Calum Tonner also joins the solo cornet team.

 Robyn Anderson will play second trombone, with Tim Burns on second tenor horn.

Douglas returns to Whitburn having spent the past year playing with Nelson City Brass in New Zealand, where he won the B Section at their National Championships and also picked up the award for the best cornet player. In 2017, he played Assistant Principal Cornet with Whitburn.

Calum is a well-known and respected brass performer, having sat in principal chairs with Whitburn, the Coop Funeralcare Band and Kirkintilloch over the past decade whilst also performing as a freelance trumpeter. Calum has most recently been performing around the world on cruise ships and is now back living in Scotland.

Robyn is one of Scotland’s most exciting prospects in the brass band scene. She is the current Principal Trombone of the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland and is in her first year at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland studying performance. She joins Whitburn from Coalburn, and is looking forward to performing with the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland later this year.

Tim joins Whitburn on a permanent basis having ‘guested’ with the band on several occasions in 2019. After growing up in Stockport, Tim was a member of BT, Point of Ayr and Marple before taking a break from banding to pursue other hobbies. In 2018, Tim became a member of Newtongrange Silver Band.

Whitburn would like to thank trombonist Adam Dougherty, who has left the band to focus on his musical studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Euan Meikle, who takes a step back from the band’s cornet section as he takes up his new job with Yamaha UK.

Charlie Farren, Whitburn Band Chairman, said: “We thank Adam and Euan for their great contributions, and we are delighted to be able to announce these signings.

“This will be a very busy year for the band on the contest and concert stage as we celebrate our 150th anniversary.”

Douglas, Calum, Robyn, Tim