Final Call for Besson Open Solo & Ensemble Competition Entries

Published in Contest on 2014-01-22 by Empty Chairs

More news from Besson Open Solo & Ensemble Competition

The Scottish Brass Band Association (SBBA) is pleased to confirm that this year’s Besson Solo and Ensemble Competition looks set to be another successful annual event, taking place on Saturday 1^st and Sunday 2^nd February at Howden Park Centre, Livingston, Scotland, in association with Besson and West Lothian Council. With the closing date for entries looming on 25^th January 2014, it now offers a final call for interested performers for Sunday’s Open Solo and Open Ensemble sections for brass or percussion players.

Approximately 40 soloists and 20 ensembles have already qualified for Saturday’s finals in the Junior, Intermediate and Youth sections. But, with the closing date of 25^th January, SBBA is still enthusiastic to encourage more brass and percussion players to take on the competition challenge and submit their entries for Sunday’s Open Solo and Open Ensemble sections. These include Open Solo (brass or percussion), Open Slow Melody (brass), Open Ensemble (brass or percussion) and the return of the Open Duet Section (brass) which was first introduced last year. SBBA looks forward to building on the entries of previous years with particular emphasis on increasing the Open Ensemble entries. To enter, simply contact SBBA Secretary, Tom Allan (tomallan@sbba.org.uk or Tel: 07881 920 361 as soon as possible.

The Association warmly welcomes Hedley Benson and Nigel Durno as the adjudicators for the brass sections, together with Alasdair Rankin as the adjudicator for the percussion sections. SBBA is also delighted that the event is once again being so well supported by Besson, in conjunction with West Lothian Council through the use of this superb venue. In addition, Besson’s generosity in its leading role for the event is further reflected in their provision of the impressive prizes of a student cornet for each of the weekend’s winning brass ensembles.

SBBA is also extremely grateful to SN Percussion who are kindly supplying, free of charge, all the percussion instruments for the growing percussion sections throughout the weekend.

The competition is a key annual event for brass band musicians and offers a highly respected competitive platform. The event is an exciting opportunity to see virtuosic talent in action, and public support is warmly welcomed to encourage the players with their performances. The first draw for Saturday takes place at 9.30am, with the competition commencing shortly afterwards, whilst Sunday starts with the draw at 10.00am, and starting with the Percussion Section at approximately 10.30am.

SBBA is enthusiastic to build on the success of previous years for this event, encouraging a growth in entries for the Open sections and through an increase in audience attendance. The Association therefore looks forward to welcoming supporters and performers alike to this important event for brass and percussion performance development in the brass band calendar.