Co-operative Funeralcare produced a ‘wow factor’ entertainment performance at the Land O’ Burns Contest in Troon on Saturday to further cement their position as the dominant force in Scottish banding.

Boost

Under the direction of MD, Allan Ramsay, they claimed the £3,000 top prize for the first time, to add to the Scottish Championship and West Lothian titles won earlier in the year, and provide a huge boost of contesting confidence ahead of the British Open in Birmingham next weekend.

Wow!

Described by adjudicator Richard Evans as — "Wow!! – A fine performance very well played", Co-op beat off the strong challenge of reigning champion Kingdom Brass under the baton of Bede Williams, with a purposeful performance from Whitburn led by Anne Crookston in third.

Sole English representatives, Fishburn showed good form in ending fourth, with the top six places completed by a delighted Newmilns & Galston and Coalburn Silver, who took the prizes on offer for the highest placed First and Second Section bands respectively.

Sunday work

Co-op will have little time to enjoy the latest 2012 success though, as according to the MD (who notched up his fourth Troon victory), despite some late night celebrations, the band faced a tough 5 hour Sunday rehearsal on the Open set work, ‘Electra’.

"We are all obviously thrilled to win the Land O’ Burns title for the first time," Allan told 4BR. "But our immediate priority lies with the British Open – so the celebrations were just tempered a wee bit!"

Confident band

He added: "We have been working hard since returning to rehearsals and made sure we put in the preparation for this contest, building it around our current successful entertainment format.

It was a confident band that took to the stage, and I couldn’t have asked anything more of the players in the circumstances."

Lights out

Those circumstances saw the band having to abandon their first attempt at their 20 minute programme, after an electrical failure left their trombone section peering into the stygian gloom in their opening item.

After a half hour break, they returned to start again, even though the stage lighting was only marginally improved by some inventive opening of doors to gain extra natural light.

Thanks

"I must thank the organisers for taking the sensible approach and allowing us to start our programme again," Allan said, before chuckling, "It would have been impossible to carry on. The trombones told me they couldn’t see me conducting – which may not have been anything new though!"

The winning programme opened with ‘All Night Long’, before soloist Paul Kiernan took the ‘Best Trombone’ prize for his suave rendition of ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’.

Roy Newsome’s arrangement of ‘Deep Harmony’ was a well chosen contrast in memory of friends and associates lost to the band in the past year, before they closed with a vibrant rendition of ‘Fire in the Blood’.

We are all obviously thrilled to win the Land O’ Burns title for the first time, but our immediate priority lies with the British Open – so the celebrations were just tempered a wee bit!MD, Allan Ramsay

Open mark

The MD now hopes to build on the good form as Co-op seeks to make a mark at the British Open.

He concluded: "The hard works starts again, but we are confident we can do well at the Open on a piece that I believe suits our strengths."

Kingdom build

Kingdom Brass will also be looking to build further on another good result, as they look forward to defending the Fife Charities Contest in a few weeks time.

Band spokesperson John Todd told 4BR: "Although we are disappointed we couldn’t retain our title, we were very happy with our performance. Congratulations to Co-op who were excellent, but this result continues to show the progress we are making and sets us up nicely for the Fife Charities contest."

Kingdom topped and tailed their set with works from composer Matt Hall, with ‘Activate’ and ‘Nightingale Dances’, which bookended euphonium soloist Neil Phillips on ‘Brillante’, ‘Tonight’ arranged by Mark Freeh and the high tempo, ‘Belford’s Carnival March’.

Solid Whitburn

Although there was disappointment for former winners Whitburn, they will have taken encouragement from a solidly played programme that opened with the march 'BB&CF' and concluded with a rousing ‘Peterloo Overture’, whilst there was delight for Kilmarnock Concert Brass as they took the separate ‘Most Entertaining Band’ prize under the direction of Raymond Tennant.

Star trombonist

With plenty of high quality solo performances throughout the day to enjoy, the ‘Best Instrumentalist’ Award went to one of Scotland’s rising stars, bass trombonist Josiah Walters of Arbroath Instrumental.

Full Results:

1. Co-operative Funeralcare (Allan Ramsay) — 193
2. Kingdom Brass (Bede Williams) — 192
3. Whitburn (Anne Crookston) — 191
4. Fishburn (Huw Thomas) — 190
5. Newmilns & Galston (Alan Cameron) — 189
6. Coalburn Silver (Gareth Bowman) — 188
7. Newtongrange Silver (Paul Collis-Smith) — 187
8. Arbroath Instrumental (Michael Robertson) — 186
9. Clackmannan & District (Paul McKelvie OBE) — 185
10. Johnstone Silver (Paul Kiernan) — 184
11. Shotts St. Patrick's (Michael Marzella) — 183
12. Kilmarnock Concert Brass (Raymond Tennant) — 182
13. Tullis Russell Mills (Martyn Ramsay) — 181
14. Campbeltown Brass (James McVicar) — 180
15. Dunaskin Doon (Andrew Mallon) — 179
16. Irvine & Dreghorn (John Boax) — 178

Best 1st Section Band: Newmilns & Galston
Best 2nd Section Band: Coalburn Silver
Most Entertaining Band: Kilmarnock Concert Brass

Highest Placed Ayrshire Band: Newmilns & Galston
Best Instrumentalist: Josiah Walters — Bass Trombone (Arbroath Instrumental)
Best Principal Cornet: Whitburn
Best Soprano Cornet: Kilmarnock Concert Brass
Best Flugel Horn: Coalburn Silver
Best Horn: Clackmannan District Brass
Best Trombone: Co-operative Funeralcare
Best Euphonium: Newmilns & Galston
Best Bass Section: Co-operative Funeralcare
Best Percussion Section: Kingdom Brass

Adjudicator: Richard Evans