It’s an excellent learning process for young talent
The members of Whitburn Band pride themselves on nurturing up-and-coming talent and in sharing their expertise with fellow players.
The band has adopted a‘pyramid structure’that allows a young player to perform their first ever note with Whitburn Wee Band and progress right through the ranks to the senior band – a band which has performed at the world’s greatest concert venues including the Royal Albert Hall.
Some of its players are also now working with the Whitburn Heartlands Band and are sharing their expertise with its younger members.
Chairman Charlie Farren explained the scheme is all about giving talented players the chance to shine.
He said:“The organisation begins with what we call the Whitburn Wee Band and that’s for beginners to maybe kids a year or so into their playing.
“It’s a 14-piece ensemble just now – anybody that plays a brass instrument is welcome to come along and they are the first group that would rehearse in the band room on a Sunday afternoon.
“After that we have our youth band, aged from about 10 up to 16, with a couple of more senior members who also sit in to help along and nurture the players.
“Then we have our development band, which is a mixture of our youth players and adults and that’s called the Whitburn
Heartlands Band. They compete at adult level competitions and they’re currently in the third section.
“The whole organisation is geared toward nurturing a player to where they are good enough to become a member of the senior band.
“Or if there isn’t a space in the senior band for them, then if that player is of a good enough level and with enough experience, then they can join another band in West Lothian because we’re mindful of the fact that there are still another five or six brass bands in West Lothian within a 15-mile radius.”
Charlie said members like Alex Vidler are invaluable to the band as they help to support younger members in their career.
He continued:“He has been with the band for about 50 years and has played at the highest levels.
“He has a vast amount of experience and is a really mild-mannered, nicenatured guy – so the perfect gentleman to be sitting next to a young player and encouraging them and passing on his knowledge.
“Guys like him and Jimmy Graham and Bobby Hendry are like the lifeblood of the band – they show everybody from the beginning of their playing and musical career that it’s a lifelong skill.
“And they tell them it might be a hobby, but being a member of a brass band is more than a hobby, it’s a bit of a devotion.”