LATEST NEWS

March

Whitburn Youth Band recently held its annual solo competition.

Judged by Jim Chamberlain, the competition – now in its fourth year – featured 12 players over three sections. The results were:

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January

Whitburn Youth Band is delighted to announce Caroline Farren as its new musical director.

Caroline was born in West Lothian and has been a member of the brass band movement since 1992 when she began taking cornet lessons through the junior band run by Broxburn Silver Brass Band.

During her time at school she was principal cornet of both the West Lothian Schools Brass Band & National Youth Brass Band of Scotland for 6 years, and had the honour of playing duets alongside Roger Webster on several occasions. She later joined Unison Kinneil band on repiano before signing for the Scottish Co-Op band in 2003, also on repiano.

After various seat changes, including soprano & principal cornet, she eventually settled on flugel horn in 2008. The band has since been renamed, and is now The Co-operative Funeralcare Band and hold the title of Scottish Champions, Scottish Open Champions and All England International Masters for 2010.

Caroline studied performance at the RSAMD, with Nigel Boddice MBE & Peter Franks (Scottish Chamber Orchestra), graduating in 2006 with a BMus honours in performance.

She then continued at postgraduate and Masters level, finally leaving the Academy in 2008. She has worked on the Scottish freelance circuit ever since, performing regularly with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Ballet. In 2008, she took up a short term contract as Assistant Principal Trumpet with the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra.

As well as her involvement in orchestral playing & brass bands, Caroline is a brass instructor for South Lanarkshire and Falkirk Councils and is involved in conducting school ensembles in both regions. She has taught privately and coached brass sections of windbands & youth orchestras since 2007 and this year was involved in a training day for St Ronan's Future band in Innerleithen.

Caroline is extremely grateful at being approached to work with the Whitburn Youth Band and is looking forward to meeting and working with everyone involved with the band in 2011.

I'm sure you will all agree this is very impressive and we are delighted to have Caroline on board.