'Side by side' success at Whitburn
Members of Whitburn Band’s development bands, Whitburn Heartlands Band and Whitburn Youth Band, have had the chance to work on a ‘side-by-side’ project with the senior players. The Heartlands players, who perform in the Fourth Section, and the youth band sat in at some Whitburn rehearsals, working on some concert repertoire and a test piece.
Caroline Farren, flugelhorn player with Whitburn, oversees the organisation’s development bands. She said, “This opportunity allows our younger brass and percussion players to sit alongside the senior band at select rehearsals throughout the year to experience a different level of music making, technique and expertise. This is available regardless of age or standard, with the purpose of building confidence and creating links between our band members. Our senior band players are happy for them to have a go at anything on the stands and offer guidance and tips on how they approach new or demanding music. It is hoped that this will further encourage our development players in their musical pathway and give even more opportunities for performances with the senior band in future events.”
The youngest participant so far was 10 year old cornet player Carter, who is also a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland junior school. He said: “When I woke up on the morning of the rehearsal, I was absolutely buzzing to be able to play with a Championship Section band, next to Whitburn’s cornet players Georgia Adamson and Reece Ward-Murray. They helped me with some of the notes I didn’t know how to play, and now I know how hard I have to work to get into a top band. It was a lot of fun.”
Father and daughter Donald and Ruby Morrison also participated in the scheme. Donald added: “I thoroughly enjoyed my rehearsal with Whitburn Band, sitting next to experienced quality players. A huge thank you to Caroline for arranging this opportunity.”
Caroline concluded: “We are incredibly proud of our pathway system at Whitburn and are excited to be introducing this new scheme, open to any and all of our development band musicians. We strive for inclusion in our organisation and like to create opportunities for development, musicianship and excellence.”
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