Hundreds tune up at Scottish Bands Contest!
More than 250 young people aged from nine to 18 from across Scotland competed in The Boys’ Brigade’s 37 th Scottish Bands Contest on Saturday 23th April at The Brunton in Musselburgh.
The day’s top winners were; 1 st Largs in the Mini Pipe Novice and Pipe Novice category, 6 th /8 th Dundee in the Pipe Championship class and 1 st Tulliallan in the Open Class Championship.
Callum, a drummer with 1 st Largs Company said:
“I have been playing in the band for almost eight years. We have rehearsed a lot ahead of the championships, dedicating to over two and half hours every week. I thought our performance was really good, especially because we have such a young band.”
Scott Findlay, BB leader & bandmaster of the 6 th /8 th Dundee Company added:
“Many of our recent former members have come together to be founder members of the City of Discovery Pipe band. Many of these former members still support the BB band today as tutors and coaches. In November, we are taking the band to Ypres in Belgium to perform at the historic Menin Gate ceremony.”
Around 500 spectators attended the competition over the course of the day, with bands attending from Companies in Ayrshire, Dundee & Angus, Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, Dunfermline, South Lanarkshire and Edinburgh.
There were ten different categories available, offering participants of all ages and skill levels to showcase their talents.
The bands performed for Councillor Jim Gillies, Depute Provost of East Lothian Council, Major General Mark Strudwick CBE, retired British Army officer and Bill Stevenson, Director for The Boys’ Brigade in Scotland.
After the performances, Bill Stevenson said:
“Once again each band displayed some exceptional skills and we all got the chance to hear some fantastic music. It was a great opportunity to see not only to see young people enjoying themselves, but the audience all entertained.
“Music continues to play an integral part in The Boys’ Brigade, and we can’t thank everyone involved enough for making the event such a special day. It was evident how many very young band members there was this year. This gives us great encouragement for the development of music in The BB.”