Whitburn win West Lothian Challenge contest
June 28
West Lothian Challenge Trophy from Councillor Jim Walker
from West Lothian Council.
WHITBURN Band has won the West Lothian Challenge for the fourth time.
Conducted by Frank Renton, the local favourite defeated Kingdom Brass – with Andrew Duncan at the helm – by two points at the Howden Park Centre in Livingston on Sunday, June 27. The victory means Whitburn is the most successful band in the history of one of Scotland’s premier entertainment competitions.
It also means the band has won two contests out of two with Frank Renton conducting. The band’s programme consisted of Finiculi-Finicula, Oblivion (featuring Chris Bradley) Bach Variations, You are the sunshine of my life (featuring Hayley Edmond, Chris Bradley and Jennifer Liddell on flugel, Alex Philip, Gary Kennedy and Gordon MacDougall on trombones), Norwegian Wood, Tonight, Pure Imagination (featuring Alex Philip), Huntin' Wabbits and the finale, Shine as the Light.
As well as winning the contest overall, Alex Philip was named Best Soloist for his performance of My Funny Valentine in the semi-final, while Frank Renton picked up the award for the Best new composition or arrangement for Libertango which was also performed by the band in the semi-final. These additional awards were adjudicated by the celebrated Scottish composer and teacher, Alan Fernie.
Full Result of the 2010 West Lothian Challenge:
Adjudicator: Alan Morrison
Points: Music (out of 100), Entertainment (out of 50)
- Whitburn (Frank Renton) (94/47) = 141
- Kingdom Brass (Andrew Duncan) (91/48) = 139
Best Soloist: Alex Philip (Whitburn) - trombone
Best Section Piece: Minstrel Boy – Kingdom Brass
Best new composition or arrangement: Libertango (Whitburn)
Audience Prize: An American Tale (Kirkintilloch)
Whitburn qualify for West Lothian Challenge Final
June 14
WHITBURN Band has qualified for the final of the West Lothian Challenge.
Conducted by Frank Renton for the first time, the band impressed adjudicator Nigel Seaman at the Howden Park Centre on Sunday, June 13 in the semi-final against Kirkintilloch and Clackmannan bands.
Whitburn started its programme with Funiculi-Funicula, arranged by Michael J Garisi, before Adrian Drover’s arrangement of Billy Strayhorn’s Chelsea Bridge and Scat from Peter Graham’s Cats Tales followed.
The classy Libertango, described as ‘sexy’ by the judge, was next before Alex Philip gave a quite stunning performance of the trombone solo, My Funny Valentine.
The band’s penultimate piece was the quirky Hunting Wabbits, from the pen of Gordon Goodwin, which is inspired by the exploits of Elmer Fudd from Looney Tunes. Duel of the Fates from Star Wars brought Whitburn’s programme to a close.
Whitburn’s performance on the night was enough to secure a three point margin over Kirkintilloch (Allan Ramsay) and seven points over third-placed Clackmannan, conducted by Paul Kiernan.
Whitburn will now compete in the final of the West Lothian Challenge against Kingdom Brass. The contest will be held on June 27 at the Howden Park Centre, Livingston.
Whitburn Band Appoint New Resident Conductor
June 3
WHITBURN Band has appointed a new resident conductor.
Jim Chamberlain, who is on a break from playing due to an ongoing embouchure issue, has been taking Whitburn for the past few weeks.
In recent years, Jim was the star flugel player with the band. He won an array of individual prizes including the Best Soloist award at the 2007 Scottish Open as Whitburn went on to win the contest for the second consecutive year.
As a conductor, Jim started in 1998 with the South Milford Band in his native Yorkshire, as well as directing the Stanley Newmarket Youth Brass workshops near his home town of Wakefield.
After he moved to Scotland in 2000, he took up the MD position with Penicuik Silver as well as helping out other bands including Bo'ness and Carriden.
He then conducted Lochgelly Band in Fife, taking them to the Lower Section National Finals in Harrogate after he led them to second place in the Scottish Regional Championships in 2005.
Jim - a brass instructor with Fife Council after a ten-year stint as a classroom music teacher in Edinburgh – is currently the conductor of Dalkeith & Monktonhall.
He led them to victory in the Scottish third section in 2008 before winning the Scottish Challenge Cup later that year
The East Lothian band then went on to win the second section at this year’s regional championships.
A spokesperson from Whitburn Band said: “We are delighted that Jim has decided to become our resident conductor. We are confident Jim’s excellent musicianship will help the band prepare for the challenges ahead.”
Meanwhile, Whitburn has signed two new players.
Dave Kinross, a former soprano cornet player with Unison Kinneil and Broxburn and Livingston, has joined the band on third cornet.
Mark Good has also joined on Bass Trombone. An-ex Campbeltown Brass member, Mark has played Principal Bass Trombone with the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland.
Whitburn qualify for National Finals
March 15
WHITBURN Band has qualified for the National Championships of Great Britain, to be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London later this year.
The band delivered a fine reading of George Lloyd’s English Heritage under the baton of Steven Mead to finish second behind the Co-operative Funeralcare Band at the recent Scottish Championships.
Congratulations must go to Chris Bradley, who won the coveted Terris Medal for the best cornet player of the contest.
Whitburn stars impress at Scottish Solo Championships
February 9
FIVE players from Whitburn Band picked up a number of prizes at the recent Besson Scottish Solo and Ensemble Championships.
Charles Cullen (cornet), Hayley Edmond (flugel), Iain Fleming (horn), Michael Fleming (horn) and Andy Robson (euphonium) were all awarded at the event, which was held in Livingston’s Howden Park Centre.
In the youth solos category, for players aged between 16 and 21, Michael Fleming finished second.
The following day, Michael’s dad Iain also took home a runners-up medal in the inaugural Open Slow Melody competition. Meanwhile, Hayley Edmond had a fine day and finished just behind in third with Charles Cullen – last year’s Scottish Solo Champion – finishing one place back in fourth.
In the main event, the Scottish Open Solos, Charles finished second and won the prize for Best Cornet player and Best Soloist over the age of 40, while Iain finished a point behind in third and took the accolade for the Best Horn player of the contest.
Andy Robson also picked up the prize for Best Euphonium or Baritone player at the event.
Congratulations, of course, must go to young tuba star Ross Knight from Arbroath Instrumental and Carnoustie High School, who won the Scottish Open Solos, the Scottish Slow Melody Championship and the youth solos. Well Done Ross.
Whitburn sign young cornet star
January 29
WHITBURN Band is delighted to announce the signing of Susannah Downs to the cornet section.
Susannah, who is currently the principal cornet of the West Lothian Schools Brass Band and principal trumpet of the West Lothian Schools Orchestra, has joined the band on tutti solo cornet.
She has previously played with Unison Kinneil and Newtongrange.
The 17-year-old follows in the footsteps of her father Owen, who enjoyed a long and illustrious spell with Whitburn on soprano cornet between 1983 and 1997. Amongst his many victories, he was part of the Whitburn Band which won the Grand Shield in 1991.
Susannah, who is also on the solo cornet bench at the National Youth Brass Band of Scotland, joins Whitburn only a few months after she became the East of Scotland Solo Champion in the youth category (16-21 years)
She said: "I am delighted to be part of Whitburn Band and I feel that I now have the opportunity to develop even more as a player due to the band's high standards. I want to win as many Scottish medals as my dad!"