The Kirkintilloch Band, conducted by Allan Ramsay, laid down a mid season marker to their Scottish counterparts by winning the West Lothian Festival contest on the weekend.

Fancy

Paired against rivals Whitburn, Kirkintilloch took the title and the £500 top prize with an eclectic programme that took the fancy of adjudicator Ray Farr. The victory actually saw the band pick up a total of £1,300 in prizes after their win in the semi final was taken into account.

Stunning

In addition to taking the overall title, soprano star Steve Stewart took the main individual prize as 'Best Soloist' for his stunning rendition of 'On with the Motley'.

Programme

The winning programme started with 'Mambo Caliente', and was followed by 'Vitae Aeternum', a new arrangement of 'All By Myself', the soprano feature, 'On With The Motley', 'All Night Long', 'The Bare Necessities', 'Romance' from 'Salute to Youth' and the finale, 'An American Tale'.

It was enough to secure the band a 1 point winning margin over Whitburn, conducted by Russell Gray, whose programme included 'Mansions of the Lord', which won the 'Best New Composition' award for the contest, whilst the band's trombones won the 'Best Section' Award.

Steve Stewart was on sparkling form and I think this victory sets the band up nicely for the major contests to come later in the yearAllan Ramsay

Fourth win

It was MD Allan Ramsay's fourth win at the contest with his third different band, and he was a happy man when spaking to 4BR: "I thoroughly enjoyed working with Kirky once again, and I thought the overall standard of their performance was excellent. Steve Stewart was on sparkling form and I think this victory sets the band up nicely for the major contests to come later in the year."

The Kinneil Band meanwhile took the prize as 'Most Entertaining Performance' in the first Semi Final on 7th June.

Final:
1. Kirkintilloch Band (Allan Ramsay) — 95pts
2. Whitburn (Russell Gray) — 94pts