The Scottish Brass Band Association has announced a strong looking line up of 21 bands that will battle it out in Perth on Sunday 29th November for the 2014 Scottish Open title.

Cantata

Sponsored through support by Besson Musical Instruments, the bands will perform Andrew Duncan’s three movement set work, ‘Cantata for Brass Band and Percussion’, with the composer joined in the open adjudication process by composer and conductor Tom Davoren and RNCM Head of Brass John Miller.

Each judge will independently place their bands in order of preference, the average of which will decide the eventual result.

The contest running order of bands will be pre-drawn, with the process taking place at the SBBA Annual General Meeting in Livingston on Sunday 18th October.

Absolute music

Andrew Duncan’s work was commissioned by Foden’s Band and given its inaugural performance earlier this year. Each movement expresses different moods and different emotions and is composed in the tradition of 'absolute music' — with no story or narrative attached to it.

The composer writes in the preface to the work: "In writing Cantata I have tried to use the genre of the modern brass band to express and encompass many different emotions ranging from despair to ecstasy and from rage to tenderness.

My influences in writing the piece were several of my own favourite composers including Bartok, Stravinsky, Wagner, Shostakovich and in the case of the main theme, Mozart."

Champions

Reigning champion and hat trick seeking Co-operative Funeralcare Band will face rivals from Scotland, England and Norway, with eleven contenders from the North of England, North West and Yorkshire making the trip over Hadrian’s Wall, whilst Tertnes Brass flies in from over the North Sea hoping to go one better than they did in 2012 when they were runner-up at the contest.

The strong domestic rivals are headed by National finalists Whitburn who last won the contest in 2007.

In writing Cantata I have tried to use the genre of the modern brass band to express and encompass many different emotions ranging from despair to ecstasy and from rage to tendernessAndrew Duncan

Competing bands:

Blackburn & Darwen
Clackmannan District
Co-operative Funeralcare
Dalmellington
Felling
Fishburn
Johnstone Silver
Kingdom Brass
Kirkintilloch
Kirkintilloch Kelvin Brass
Marsden Silver
NASUWT Riverside
Newtowngrange Silver
Rainford
Reg Vardy
Rothwell Temperance
Shepherd Group Brass
Tertnes Brass
Whitburn
Wingates
Yorkshire Imperial Urquhart Travel

For more information, please go to: http://www.sbba.org.uk/