1st December 2011
Tonight we had a short concert to perform our Scottish pieces for family and friends who could not manage to Perth to hear us at the week-end.
At the end of the concert we presented our Annual Awards. This normally takes place at our Annual Concert which should have been on the 4th but,unfortunately, has had to be postponed until March.
This year we introduced a new award - the Players' Choice Award. This was voted for by band members and given to a player thought to have made a significant contribution throughout the year. The Players' Choice Award for 2011 went to Cornet player Ewan Howie.
The award for Most Promising Player was given to Niamh Junner and the Most Improved Player was Amie Mackenzie.
This years presentation was made by Councillor Douglas Yates. In recognition of the tremendous support Douglas has given to the band our main award has been re-named the Douglas Yates Musician of the Year and this year it was won by Euphonium player Ailish Douglas.
The standard of the band continues to improve and all players deseve a special mention for their contribution to a successful year.
27th November 2011
Today we headed to Perth Concert Hall to take part in the Scottish Youth Brass Band Championships. After our success at Brass In The Park earlier in the year we were really looking forward to it.
We played 4th out of 9 bands in the Novice Section and were given a Silver Award. We were a little disappointed until we read our adjudicator remarks. They were very complimentary and made special mention of our Cornet, Tuba and Percussion sections. The adjudicators also thought we had a great sound and liked our dynamic contrast.
We all had a great day and are already looking forward to next year!
29th October 2011
The West of Scotland Brass Band Association held their Solo & Ensemble competition today in the Salvation Army in Kilmarnock.
In the Junior Ensemble class our group were awarded 1st place and in the Junior Solo class Ewan was placed 3rd and received a Gold Award. Great results for our first time participating in the event and as a result both the Ensemble and Ewan have qualified for the Scottish Finals to be held in Livingston in February. In the Intermediate Solos both Christopher and Gabbi gained Silver Awards also at their first attempt.
Well done to everyone for a successful day in Ayrshire.
10th September 2011
At last, our first Gold Award!
Today at Brass In The Park we won our first ever Gold Award. The adjudicator, Peter Roberts, said that "overall we had a well chosen programme, with contrasting pieces. A well disciplined group which responded well to the conductor." The pieces we played were Hungarian Dance No.5, William Tell Overture, Do The Bossa Nova and Minka. Mr Roberts said that Minka had " good style and execution ...... a fine ending."
We are always happy to perform at Brass In The Park because it is a really good day out for the band but getting our first Gold made it a very special day. Now for the Scottish!
18th August 2011
Summer holidays are over and tonight was our first rehearsal back. Blowing away the cobwebs and at least everyone was blowing in the wee end of their instruments, even the Tuba player!
We only have 4 rehearsals before our first competition of the the new session ... Brass In The Park so it was quite a hard rehearsal.
9th June 2011
We have had a quiet time this term. The new members have settled in really well and are beginning to make themselves heard!
Tonight we held our first ever Slow Melody Competition. As well as playing a slow melody of their own choice each soloist had to compose and play a 16 bar tune. Everyone enjoyed the experience and there were a number of very fine performances with Ailish Douglas being announced as the overall winner by our adjudicator Kenneth Blackwood.
17th February 2011
Our new members joined us tonight for the first time. It was great to see them enjoying themselves so much. Sure they got lost at times, mis-counted rests at times but mostly they were enjoying playing in such a large group. Hopefully they will all be back next week!
8th February 2011
We played at the Brass Festival in St Ninian's HS. This was a joint concert with East Renfrewshire Brass Ensemble. The special guests at the concert were the RSNO Brass Quintet who opened the evening with some outstanding playing and they performed a good mix of music that was just right for the occasion. LVCB and the ER Brass Ensemble then played individual sets before both groups along with the Quintet finished off the evening with some massed band items.
11th December 2010
Another successful bag pack today at the Iceland store in Barrhead. An excellent total of £400 was raised. Well done everyone!25th November 2010
Bowling Trip 2010. Once more off the the XScape at Braehead for an enjoyable nights bowling, eating and cheating. I am sure that's the 3rd year in a row the Trombones have one this event!
21st November 2010
The Scottish Youth Brass Band Championships in Perth Concert Hall. Another long day! This competition keeps getting bigger ...... 20 bands in our section ...... the Novice. We had a great day listening to some of the other bands in our section and also the Development section. Our band members enjoyed the standard and the different music in the Development section and vowed to practise more to achieve that standard. Time will tell! At the end of the day we got another Bronze Award, we really deserved at least a Silver according to Mr Deans.
15th November 2010
Our first ever bag pack. We were at Sainsbury's in Darnley from 10am - 6pm and raised over £1400 which should cover the bus to Perth and the one to Newtongrange earlier in the year. The band played three time throughout the day and the shoppers appeared to like hearing what their money was going to support.
21st October 2010
Our most prestigious gig yet ...... The Herald Society Awards 2010. These were held in the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow and the Band were invited to play at the beginning of the award ceremony. The awards were introduced by BBC's Bryan Burnett and everyone said how well the Band played. The ceremony was in association with the Big Lottery Fund.
11th September 2010
We travelled through to the Scottish Mining Museum in Newtogrange today to take part in Brass In The Park. The format was a little different this year as we played indoors. We played No.6 of 12 bands in the Novice Section. At the end of a very long day we were given a Bronze Award. We were a little disappointed as we thought we played well enough to get a Silver but we all had a great day and James even got to lie down in an ambulance for half an hour!
19th August 2010
First rehearsal back after the summer break. No time to waste as Brass In The Park is on 11th September ......... only 4 rehearsals!
30th June 2010
This morning the band took part in the Big Lottery Fund's re-launch of the Community Awards in the Merchant City, Glasgow. This took the form of a street party and the band were asked to repeat their performance after lunch. There were lots of VIP's present and many of them stopped to listen to the band. They all commented on how smart we looked and how good we sounded.
6th June 2010
Today we played at Rouken Glen Park as part of East Renfrewshire's Family Day. After a rain in the morning the weather was fine for our performance in the afternoon. Mr Deans was unable to conduct due to a broken collar bone. Mr Howie conducted us and we played really well. We played two spots on our own before joining forces with the Barrhead Burgh Band in a number of items.
6th May 2010
This evening we held our 3rd Annual Concert in Springhill Primary School, Barrhead. A varied programme of music was extremely well played by the band as were the solo and group items. This year the different sections in the band were featured to give potential recruits a chance to hear what the various brass instruments look and sound like. No it isn't a saxophone!! Mrs Helen Glen, Head Teacher of the school, presented the Annual Awards. This year Robbie Farquar received the award for Most Promising Player and the award for Most Improved Player went to Ewan Howie. Musician of the Year was presented to the band's Flugel Horn player, Gabrielle Brownlie. Gabrielle was the soloist in the horn section's rendition of 'Groovy Kind of Love'.
1st April 2010
The 'new' 2010 band played in it's first concert, taking part in East Renfrewshire Music Service's Annual Concert . When we were invited to take part we did wonder about the date! Fortunately when we got to Newton Mearns Baptist Church there was a very appreciative audience and we were relieved it wasn't an 'April Fool". The band played with a lot of confidence and special mention goes to our new members who are no longer beginners!
25th January 2010
Unfortunately the Open Evening has had to be postponed until later in the year. On the bright side the beginners who started playing in September joined the band and fitted in really well. They were made to feel welcome by the 'auld yins' and we hope they will come back for more!