Scots ensemble get in tune for wind band Silver Fling
Thirty brass, woodwind and percussion players from all over Scotland travelled to Fort William last weekend to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lochaber Community Wind Band (LCWB), writes Fiona Scott.
Under the leadership of guest musical director Vaughan Fleischfresser of Peebles, in the Scottish Borders, the musicians tuned up Caol Community Centre on Saturday April 2 before returning to take part in the Lochaber Silver Fling the following day.
As community band conductors all over the country will know from experience, it is hard to pick music for an unbalanced ensemble, consisting of players of widely disparate musical abilities and tastes. Playing in such a group is also a very different experience from playing in a full band.
The Lochaber Silver Fling set out to provide an opportunity for members of relatively small bands to take in the thrill of playing in a 55-piece band with players on every part, and with sufficient numbers of experienced players to take the pressure off the novices.
Repertoire was chosen for the weekend based on LCWB’s firm conviction that musical development is achieved through grappling with challenges.
At the start of 2022, repertoire was sought with an emphasis on British-based composers or arrangers. All fears of the challenges ahead were allayed the moment Vaughan lifted his baton.
With just the right mix of laid-back congeniality and concentrated musical focus, he coaxed and motivated, insisted and encouraged with what appeared to be an instinctive ability to sense where his efforts would be best spent.
Fully appreciating that the weekend was more about musical challenge and experience than putting together a flawless concert, Vaughan and the band worked through the repertoire at the all-day rehearsal on the Saturday and again on the Sunday morning.
At the concert on Sunday afternoon, Vaughan fronted a band of players who were redcheeked with excitement and smiling from ear to ear at having overcome what had seemed insurmountable challenges only the previous morning.
With the help of John Whyte, LCWB MD, Vaughan transformed the Silver Fling group from a tentative scratch band to a musically assertive and attentive ensemble.
Speaking after the Silver Fling concert Robin Gillies, LCWB chairman, said: ‘We are well aware that what we witnessed in Lochaber this weekend was teaching excellence at work and will forever be grateful to Vaughan for giving so generously of his talent for our collective and personal benefits.
‘We had such great fun at the weekend and the large and appreciative audience lifted the whole occasion to great heights.’
LCWB would like to thank the British Association of Symphonic Bands And Wind Ensembles, the musicians who attended and the audience who had generously contributed towards the educational and organisational aspects of the weekend through financial and in-kind assistance. They also thanked Mr Fleischfresser and all the musicians for going along, and Alasdair and Sandra Fraser at the Caol Community Centre.
‘I couldn’t be happier with the way the whole weekend worked out,’ added Mr Gillies,
‘It exceeded even my wildest dreams.’