Quartet of players receive Life Membership Medals

Four players received long service awards from the Scottish Brass Band Association last weekend. The awards were presented at separate Saturday night concerts by Langholm Town Band and Kilmarnock Concert Brass. 

At the Langholm event, ‘A Night at the Movies’ at the Buccleuch Centre, SBBA life membership medals were presented to flugel player and band secretary Christine Calvert, principal cornet Nicole Weatherstone and principal euphonium Jacqueline Elliot for over 40 years service to the brass movement and to the same band. All three players joined Langholm Town Band in 1979. Christine started on flugel and that has been her principal instrument for 44 years. She met her husband of 34 years at the band and her two children and father-in-law are also playing members. Christine has been the band secretary for over 20 years and she also assists with the youth band. She is the contest secretary for the Scottish Borders Brass Band Association. Sisters Nicole and Jacqueline have played cornet and euphonium respectively for the duration of their membership of LTB. Both have served as active committee members for over 20 years and Nicole’s daughter Caitlin is also in the band.

A joint concert by Kilmarnock Concert Brass and the cooperation band at the Howard Centre in Kilmarnock was the setting for Kath Martin’s presentation of a life membership medal by SBBA secretary Tom Allan. Kath is celebrating over 50 years in banding, having joined the Rochdale Metropolitan Youth Band in 1971, firstly on baritone and then euphonium. Subsequent spells with Middleton Band in Greater Manchester, and the Lancashire Fusiliers Band were followed by membership of Irwell Forge Band in Bury, Lancashire, Goodshaw Band in Rossendale and neighbouring Haslingden & Helmshore Band. On moving to Dumfries and Galloway in 2008, she signed up with Dunaskin Doon Band on cornet and tenor horn and also played with Dumfries Town Band before joining Kilmarnock Concert Brass in 2018 where she has played cornet, horn and now baritone.

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