Gold awards all round at Innerleithen Youth Brass Band Contest
Young brass musicians enjoyed a successful day of music making at the Innerleithen Youth Brass Band Contest on Saturday.
Hosted by St Ronan’s Silver Band at St. Ronan’s Primary School, the contest brought together eight bands across three sections, giving young players at different stages of their musical development an opportunity to perform, gain feedback and celebrate their progress.
Adjudicator Andrew McMillan praised the high standard of playing, saying that all the bands had performed very well. Every participating band received a gold award, recognising the quality of their musicianship and the hard work of players and conductors.
The section winners were:
Preparatory section: Newtongrange Junior Band, conducted by Alan Fernie
Novice section: Bathgate Youth Band, conducted by Stewart Brynes
Development section: Galashiels Youth Band, conducted by Stuart Black.
Also taking part were Peebles Burgh Youth Band, St Ronan’s Future Band, Maroon Brass, Hawick Saxhornettes, and the combined Penicuik Youth Band and St David’s Youth Band.
Event organiser Adrianne Robb, vice chair of St Ronan’s Silver Band, said: “It was wonderful to see the young musicians sharing their achievements, growing in confidence and enjoying listening to one another.
“Every band had something to celebrate, and gold awards across all three sections are a real credit to the hard work of the players, conductors and everyone supporting them.”
St Ronan’s Silver Band thanks all the players, conductors and supporting adults, along with the adjudicator, volunteers, families and audience members who helped make the contest such a success.
Section winners with adjudicator Andrew McMillan
Preparatory section
Newtongrange Junior Band (Alan Fernie) — Gold, section winner
Novice section
Bathgate Youth Band (Stewart Brynes) — Gold, section winner
Peebles Burgh Youth Band (K.J. Belleville) — Gold
St. Ronan’s Future Band (K.J. Belleville) — Gold
Development section
Galashiels Youth Band (Stuart Black) — Gold, section winner
Hawick Saxhornettes (Stuart Black) — Gold
Maroon Brass (Stuart Black) — Gold
Penicuik Youth Band & St David’s Youth Band (John A Dickson) — Gold