Kingdom Brass are pleased to announce two high profile new signings for the 2008 contesting season with James Smith and Marion Brackpool signing on Principal Cornet and Principal Trombone.

James, seven times Scottish Solo Champion, brings with him a wealth of experience as a soloist, principal player, teacher, clinician and conductor. A former principal cornet player with CWS Glasgow and Kirkintilloch bands, James is well used to playing at the very top level, and will be an asset to the band.

Marion, until recently principal trombone with the Kirkintilloch Band, further outlines the ambition Kingdom are showing going into 2008. Winner of the John Campbell award for best trombone at the 2007 Scottish Championships, Marion's skill and experience at the top level are most welcome in the ranks of Fife's finest band.

Other recent additions to the band include Lynsey Paterson, who returned to the band after a spell as principal percussion at Whitburn. Martin Edwards also returned to the band on the soprano seat, and Michelle Cain returned to the flugel seat after coming back to the band recently on cornet. Joining the band for a short spell on '3rd man' while working locally is Randi Holm, who plays assistant solo cornet with Manger Musikklag in Norway.
added 28th December 2007

Kingdom Brass have had another busy Christmas and New Year period, performing at many local concerts and events.

Beginning at the end of November in Kirkcaldy's Pathhead Church, the band performed a superb concert to the large audience, just days after performing at the Scottish Open contest in Perth. Guest soloist for the evening was Iain Culross, who delivered three sparkling cornet solos on the night.

On December 16th Kingdom performed in the impressive Auchterarder Parish Church. A capacity audience of hundreds were thrilled with the performance of the band, which included some festive items, carol singing and a special rendition of 'Twelve Days of Christmas' with audience participation. The concert was filmed by a TV crew from one of the regional German TV stations, with Bob Ross (from the world famous 'Blechschaden' ensemble, and the band's unofficial tour guide) revisiting Scotland to renew acquaintances with the band, and follow up on his 2004 documentary which also featured Kingdom Brass.

Also over the Christmas period, the band had two days of carol playing and fundraising in the Gyle shopping centre in Edinburgh, and performed as part of a short carol service in Lumphinnans Primary School, as part of the band's policy on youth development.
added 23rd December 2007

Kingdom Brass returned to form at the recent Scottish Open competition, putting in a superb performance of the set testpiece, Peter Meechans's 'Macbeth'.

With a much changed band from the one which took to the stage in Falkirk for the FCBA contest, Kingdom were expected to still be 'settling in' to the new personnel, but a well delivered performance brought praise from many in the hall, with the band expecting a much higher placing than the eventual 9th place.

Conducting the band at the event was John Hinckley (due to the band's Musical Director Craig Anderson having a prior engagement), and he praised the band for the performance on stage, stating it was an 'excellent show'.
added 11th December 2007

Kingdom Brass are very happy to announce a major investment in youth, with the Kingdom Brass Youth Initiative receiving funding from the National Lottery.

This initiative will see the formation in the coming months of learners classes for young people of primary school age in and around the Cowdenbeath and Kelty areas.

Ambitious plans were drawn up earlier in the year, with £100,000 worth of investment set as the target over the coming years. This investment in youth will secure the future of Kingdom Brass, and sees the band return to the very successful model which Kingdom's parent bands, Cowdenbeath and Kelty, had in the past where they trained their own players. Indeed, some of those players trained in that time are still very active players in many of Fife's bands today.

The picture attached to this news article, estimated to be from the early 1960's, shows one of Cowdenbeath's senior band members going over some last minute details with members of the junior band before a performance.
added 8th September 2007

Kingdom Brass are launching an ambitious £250,000 bid to fully redevelop their existing rehearsal facilites on the site of the current Hall in Cowdenbeath.

Anyone familiar with the current hall will know it has been in need of redevelopment for many years, and Kingdom has been working hard behind the scenes for months to secure a series of partnerships with local companies who have agreed to assist in this redevelopment bid.

The band will be entering into partnership with two firms for the duration of the project, the building firm "The Purvis Group" and property consultants "Hardies".

The new facilities will provide a secure home for Kingdom Brass and the Kingdom Brass Academy, as well as the band's various other groups and ensembles which use the current hall.

A third partnership, with Fife Council, has also been entered into to provide temporary accomodation for the band while demolition of the Haldane Hall takes place. Should the bid for funding for the new facilities fail, Kingdom have also secured the lease on a new permanent home should the band require it, still within the town of Cowdenbeath, which will be redeveloped to suit the band's needs.

Definitely the end of an era for the band, the current hall has belonged to Cowdenbeath Band and Kingdom Brass since 1952, and was originally constructed in 1928. Always looking forward and innovating, Kingdom Brass are welcoming this bold venture to finally secure modern facilites to allow the future development of the organisation.
added 26th August 2007

Kingdom Brass appeared in concert as part of the 2007 Aberdour Festival.

The concert, which was held in the superb surroundings of St Fillans Church in Aberdour, attracted a great audience to this intimate venue.

All proceeds from the concert were donated to Childline Scotland.
added 1st August 2007

Kingdom Brass provided all the pomp and circumstance for the opening and closing ceremonies of the prestigious Vagliano Trophy.

The competition, which saw the lady golfers of Great Britain & Ireland against those from Europe, was held at the Fairmont resort in St Andrews from July 26th - 28th.

Kingdom Brass provided the national anthems for both teams, as well as background music to entertain the crowds at the event.
added 1st August 2007

Kingdom Brass wowed the local audience at the Beath High School Concert.

The concert, which featured Kingdom Brass alongside Lumphinnans Primary School Choir, packed the main hall at Beath High School, and saw fantastic performances from the band and choir.

This rare performance in the band’s home town introduced a new generation of listeners to the sounds of brass, as well as entertaining the adult audience, many of whom were quick to ask when the next appearance of the Fife Champions would be.
added 3rd July 2007

Kingdom Brass face a hectic summer schedule, playing various contests, concerts and galas over the summer months.

Kingdom will appear at a dozen different events, mostly within the central Scotland and Fife area.

The events Kingdom will be performing at are -

June 3rd - West Lothian Challenge Contest
June 9th - Blackburn Gala
June 16th - Longridge Gala
June 23rd - Winchburgh Gala
June 30th - Kelty Gala
July 2nd - Cowdenbeath Concert
July 15th - Wedding Performance
July 26th - Vagliano Trophy, St. Andrews
July 28th - Vagliano Trophy, St. Andrews
July 29th - Aberdour Concert
August 18th - Charlestown Gala
August 25th - Land O' Burns Contest

added 1st July 2007

Kingdom Brass missed out on a place in the WLC final, finishing runners up to eventual winners Scottish Co-op at the semi final stage.

A strong performance from the band, which was praised by adjudicator Steven Mead for it's excitement and entertainment value, wasn't enough to overcome the challenge of Scottish Co-op and book the band a place in the final of this prestigious contest. Newtongrange finished in third place in the competition.

Kingdom Brass won the prize for 'Most Entertaining Band' in the semi final stage.

The band's programme consisted of -

Scherzo from Shostakovich 10
Italian Girl in Algiers
Someone to Watch Over Me
Nimrod
Black Bottom Stomp
Pines of Rome

added 1st July 2007

Kingdom finished a disappointing 14th place at the Senior Cup competition in Blackpool

'A game of three thirds' was how many described the performance of Sparke's "Dances And Alleluliahs" at the recent Senior Cup competition in Blackpool's Winter Gardens.

An opening described by the adjudicators as 'spectacular', 'flawless' and 'awesome' looked to have the band heading towards the top four placing most neutrals expected from Scotland's top ranked band in Blackpool, until the middle section of the testpiece where individual errors slowly crept in, followed by ensemble problems as players started to realise the promised land of a Grand Shield place was slowly slipping away.

A very strong final third of the testpiece was a valiant effort by the band to resolve the situation, but by that point the damage was done. Kingdom were placed in the 'lottery' of also rans, and could have realistically been placed anywhere from eighth to eighteenth.

As the adjudicators said in their summing up ... 'it promised so much'.

added 1st July 2007

Craig Herriot has won the Bill Shaw Memorial slow melody contest

Craig, euphonium player with Kingdom Brass, added the Bill Shaw Memorial title to his already impressive array of awards.

The reigning Fife Solo Champion impressed the adjudicator, Bruce Fraser, to win from a field of ten players.

Second place at the competition went to Kingdom's solo horn, Alison Hall.

added 1st July 2007

Kingdom Brass, conducted by Craig Anderson, have won the FBBF Contest (formerly the Carnegie Invitation Contest)

A strong performance of the band's own choice testpiece, Philip Sparke's "Dances And Alleluliahs" gave the band first place at the competition, which was held in the Carnegie Hall, Dunfermline

27 bands appeared at the competition, and with Kingdom playing as last band on the day, it was well into the evening before the Fife Champions took to the stage.

Principal Cornet with the band, Lee Bathgate, won the prize for 'best instrumentalist', and the bass team of Angus Pearse, Jim Kelly, Graham Smith and Ian Green won the prize for 'best bass section'.

Having been unable to compete at this event in 2006 due to the tour of Germany, Kingdom were looking to retain the title last won in 2005, and add the Carnegie title to the FCBA title to complete a local double.
added 1st July 2007

Kingdom Brass produced a sparkling performance at the Scottish Championships to finish in the top half of the Championship section for the fourth year in a row, and the sixth time in seven years.

Craig Anderson guided the band through the extremely difficult testpiece, Robert Redhead's "Isaiah40", and gave a very polished and exciting performance, which was praised by many in the hall.

Pre results speculation had Kingdom well in the mix with the rest of the 'big four', with many in the hall predicting the top four places in various permutations. Once the results were out, it was clear Kingdom had impressed many on the day, and another top half placing was reward for the hard work put in by band and conductor leading up to the contest.

Previous Results

2007 - 4th (C. Anderson) Isaiah40
2006 - 5th (G. O'Connor) Journey to the Centre of the Earth
2005 - 5th (R. Farr) Rienzi
2004 - 5th (D. Hirst) Tristan Encounters
2003 - 7th (A. Duncan) Prague
2002 - 4th (A. Morrison) Whitsun Wakes
2001 - 4th (T. Wyss) Jazz

added 1st July 2007

Kingdom's mixed quartet were crowned Scottish Champions at the recent Scottish Solo & Quartet contest

The quartet, comprising of the band's top two cornet players Lee Bathgate and David Gorman, solo horn Alison Hall and solo euphonium Brian Paterson were conducted into first place by the band's principal tuba, Angus Pearse.

Runners up to Kingdom were Whitburn, with Broxburn & Livingston in third place. The adjudicators for the contest were Roger Webster and Leslie Howie.
added 7th February 2007

Craig Herriot, euphonium player with Kingdom Brass, has been crowned the Fife Solo Champion for 2007.

Craig retained the Fife title, which he last held in 2005, from last year's winner Lee Bathgate. Lee, principal cornet with Kingdom, had to be content with the runners up spot (as he was in 2005). A remarkable battle between two of Scotland's finest players over the past three years ! Alison Hall, solo horn with Kingdom, finished in third place.

Carol Sandell, baritone player with Kingdom, won the slow melody competition with the quartet prize going to the Kingdom trombones (and baritone) and the Kingdom mixed quartet taking the runners up place.

Kingdom will be well represented at the forthcoming Scottish Championships, with both quartets and four soloists (Craig Herriot, Lee Bathgate, Alison Hall and Mark McLauchlin) competing for the Scottish titles.

Adjudicator for the day was Chris Bradley.
added 7th February 2007

The set testpiece which Kingdom Brass will perform at the Senior Cup competition 2007 has been announced as Philip Sparke's "Dances And Alleluliahs".

Kingdom Return to Blackpool in 2007 hungry for more success after the historic win at the 2006 Senior Trophy. The testpiece that day, Peter Graham's "The Essence Of Time", is a firm favourite among players and listeners alike and this year's piece promises to match that in terms of approachability. Although a new piece, Dances And Alleluliahs promises to become a firm favourite among bands in the future.

Originally written for the English National contest in 2006, won that day by Fodens, the testpiece will provide a stern test for all the competing bands, especially the many soloists featured in the work. Cadenzas, solos, duets, quartets and sectional passages feature almost every player in the band from soprano right through to percussion (with some fiendish tuned percussion parts !).

Sparke wrote this about the piece -

.... My chief concern when writing Dances and Alleluias was that I knew I couldn't continue the line of thought that had led to Music of the Spheres, a piece which had taken me about as far as I currently could (or wanted to) go in terms of scale and virtuosity. In addition, I wanted to write 'absolute' music rather than a programmatic piece but keep the same emotional journey which is for me the most important aspect of Spheres.

My first idea for the new piece was a final 'alleluia' - I didn’t imagine any specific religious connection but wanted the slow music to be vocal in nature and ecstatic in mood, as that word implies. It was then logical to intersperse the slow music with faster dances.

The work opens with a very quiet unison passage, leading to the first alleluia, which is intoned by horns and trombones. It's not clear here whether the music is fast or slow and this ambiguity continues until the first dance is reached at bar 51. This reaches a climax but is interrupted by a euphonium cadenza which leads to the second alleluia, sung first by trombone and then euphonium and soprano cornet. This again reaches an emotional peak which dissolves into a second dance, in the form of a nimble and delicate scherzo. Despite a turbulent central section the scherzo ends quietly before a baritone introduces a chorale-like episode for the lower half of the band. A solo cornet then begins the final alleluia section which builds to a passionate close.

"It will be as much a test of delicacy as brawn"

Philip Sparke

added 12th January 2007

Kingdom Brass are preparing for their annual Christmas Concert, which is being held once again in the fantastic setting of the Vine Church, in Dunfermline. Click here to view the concert poster.

Guest soloist with the band this year is Leslie Howie, former solo horn with the world famous Black Dyke Band, and the concert is being generously sponsored by Besson.

Tickets can be bought from band members, or are available at the door. Prices are £5 and £2.50 for concessions.
added 6th December 2006

Kingdom Brass have won an eighth straight FCBA Open title at the 2006 FCBA Open Contest, held this year in Falkirk's Town Hall. The band also won the title of 'Best FCBA Member Band' and retained the famous 'Boiler' for another year.

In a controversial results ceremony, adjudicator Steve Pritchard-Jones announced he was awarding the majority of the minor prizes to lower section bands in recognition of their contribution to the contest (one of the biggest cheers of the day was for popular St. Ronans solo trombone Keith Belleville, who won the award for best trombone at the competition). Despite this announcement from the adjudicator, Kingdom's soprano cornet player Tommy Harrower did pick up the prize for best cornet on the day, his outstanding performance in the testpiece meant the adjudicator had no choice but to go against his own premise and give the Champion Band on the day one more prize. Craig Anderson also picked up the winning conductor's trophy, recognition of the work he put in running up to the contest to get the band's fiendlishly difficult own choice testpiece ready for the stage.
added 5th November 2006

Kingdom Brass will grace the stages of Europe twice in the coming years, with the announcement that the band will be returning to the European Open competition in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 2007 and performing another concert tour of Germany in 2008.

The band competed at the prestigious competition, held in Lucerne's 'Kultur und Kongresszentrum', in 2002 and 2003, and will return to the competition next September for a third time. The fantastic venue holds many great memories for the band, and the current personnel are already looking forward to performing in one of Europe's finest venues.

Kingdom will return to Germany in 2008 to perform another tour of the country following this year's successful tour which saw the band perform in fantastic venues and in front of capacity crowds from the north to the south of the country.
added 25th September 2006

Kingdom Brass have strengthened the band with four new players in preperation of their defence of the Fife title on October 14th.

The percussion team is strengthened with the signings of Steve Duncan on timpani and Stuart Kelly on percussion. Stuart, previously with Clackmannan, and Steve, previously with Whitburn and Newtongrange, are welcome additions to the team.

Making a welcome return to the band is cornet player Alan Koczubick, and baritone player Brian Mitchell. Alan previously played on the solo cornet bench with Cowdenbeath and Kingdom, and returns to the band on 3rd cornet after a short spell away. Brian Mitchell returns to the band on solo baritone, after a spell with Unison Kinneil.
added 25th September 2006

Kingdom Brass have completed a busy summer season of engagements throughout east and central Scotland.

The band performed at several gala's locally and through the Lothians, performing several concerts as well throughout the summer months.

The highlight for the band during the summer was playing at the beer festival in Kirkcaldy, a small scale reminder of the band's pre concert refreshments in Munich's Hofbrauhaus.
added 25th September 2006

Kingdom Brass have won the Senior Trophy competition in Blackpool, one of the qualifiers for the British Open Championships.

The band, led by conductor Craig Anderson, produced the most musical performance on the day to win the competition in a very strong field of 20 bands.

The testpiece was Peter Graham's "The Essence Of Time" and the band coped superbly with all the technical aspects of the piece, as well as producing some fantastic solo playing from all round the band.

After the news of the band's historic win broke in the famous Galleon Bar the celebrations began, with jubilant Kingdom players spilling out into the foyers of the Winter Gardens and then onto the stage of the Opera House for a celebratory photo session.
added 14th May 2006

Kingdom Brass have returned from their historic sell out German tour, completing four concerts in the five day trip.

The band performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls in Germany, and were true ambassadors for Scotland throughout the tour, with various receptions held in the band's honour following the concerts.

Kingdom began the tour in the fantastic Hamburg Musikhalle, one of the most famous German venues, before heading south over the next three days to perform in Rodenbach, Zolling, and finally in the Munich Prinzregententheater to a capacity crowd, completing their tour in style!
added 30th April 2006

Kingdom Brass launched their new CD, entitled "The Flying Scot", to coincide with their tour of Germany.

The title track features principal cornet Lee Bathgate, and celebrates the band's jetsetting ways as they embark on their third European tour in five years.

Many of the pieces on the CD will feature in the band's concert tour of Germany, including "Highland Cathedral" along with piper Jock Mair, who will accompany Kingdom to Germany.
added 30th April 2006

Kingdom Brass performed their final concert before embarking on the band's German tour at the Pathhead Church in Kirkcaldy.

The large crowd in the Church heaped praise on the band and both conductors, Craig Anderson and Bob Ross, as they were given more than their money's worth entertainment wise.

Kingdom performed more or less the same concert which is to be performed to the German audience, and the band enthralled the audience with their playing as Craig and Bob put together a double act which is sure to win many fans in Germany.
added 26th March 2006

Kingdom returned from the 2006 Scottish Championships with another top five placing.

The band's performance of the set testpiece, Peter Graham's 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth' was praised by audience and adjudicators alike. Kingdom have now finished in the top five in Scotland five years from the last six, clearly marking the band as one of Scotland's most consistent performers at the top level.

Praise for the performance must go to the band's two conductors, Craig Anderson and Graham O'Connor, who both put in the time and effort to ensure the band retains it's place at the top of Scottish banding.
added 26th March 2006

Kingdom Brass strengthen their ranks for the Scottish Championships with the signing of six new players in the final days before the transfer window closes.

Making the short hop across the Forth after signing from Unison Kinneil, Davie Frame (pictured) joins the band on 2nd trombone, with Paul Findlay taking a break from contesting to concentrate on further study. Also joining the band to further strengthen the back row cornet section is Dianne Doherty, who moves from repiano with Unison Kinneil to join Bill Webster in Kingdom's 3rd cornet team.

The vacant 2nd euphonium seat is filled by John Hamilton, who makes the step up from Dunfermline Band having recently got back into playing after a break from banding. Returning to the band after a spell away is Gavin Spowart, former principal cornet with Cowdenbeath who fills the vacant front row seat with Helen Webster on maternity leave.

Completing the line up of new talent is two additions to the percussion team, Debbie Wright and Glynn Forrest, who will both make their contesting debut at the Scottish Championships. Debbie and Glynn are both pupils of one of the band's other percussionists, Rebecca Matheson, and are tipped as two of the brightest talents in Scotland at the moment.
added 14th February 2006

A busy recording weekend was the first job of the New Year for Kingdom.

The band needed to be on top form to get their latest recording completed, and didn't disappoint when it came to putting in the hours to get this one 'in the can'.

Soloist Lee Bathgate provided the title track for the new release, 'The Flying Scot', and once again proved what an asset he is to Kingdom. The CD, due to be released before the band's trip to Germany, features music the band will perform on the tour, including some traditional pieces along with pipes and drums.
added 14th February 2006

Kingdom Brass have announced the dates and venues for the tour of Germany in April.

The band flies into Hamburg on April 5th, and performs the first in a series of four concerts in the city the following evening. The band departs from Germany on Monday April 10th.

Full details of the concerts -

Wednesday April 5th - Depart for Germany
Thursday April 6th - Hamburg Concert
Friday April 7th - Rodenbach Concert
Saturday April 8th - Zolling Concert
Sunday April 9th - Munich Concert
Monday April 10th - Return from Germany
added 14th February 2006

Kingdom Brass maintainted their unbeaten record at the FCBA Open contest, with the band's seventh title in succession.

Craig Anderson, the band's new Resident Conductor, opened his account with Kingdom by steering them through the tricky own choice testpiece, "Between The Moon & Mexico" by Philip Sparke. The band also won the march competition with "Viva Birkenshaw" but lost out to Dalmellington in the hymn contest. The bass section of Angus Pearse, Kerry Patrick, Jackie McKenna and Ian Green won the bass sectional prize, with Brian Paterson winning best euphonium, Stuart McKenzie winning best horn and Lee Bathgate lifting the best cornet prize.
added 12th November 2005

Kingdom Brass are pleased to announce the band's new Resident Conductor will be Craig Anderson, who takes charge of the band for the first time at the forthcoming FCBA Open Contest.

Craig takes over the band from Alan Duguid, who is moving to Japan then London to further his studies, and he will be working very closely with Kingdom's new Musical Director, Graham O'Connor, for the forthcoming Scottish Open Contest and next year's Scottish Championships.

Craig is a busy solist and conductor, and a full biopic taken from the Besson website can be found in the conductors section of the website.
added 28th October 2005

Kingdom Brass will be conducted at the Scottish Open 2005 and Scottish Championships 2006 by Graham O'Connor.

The band is looking forward to working with Graham, who brings with him a wealth of conducting experience with a track record right up there with the best, including three Grand Shield wins.

His first visit to the Haldane Hall will be near the end of October 2005 to begin his work on the band's own choice testpiece for the Scottish Open Championships.
added 25th August 2005

Kingdom Brass has just completed a very busy summer season of performances throughout Fife and the central belt.

With an increasingly high profile throughout the UK and Europe, Kingdom Brass is performing further and further afield, with appearances in recent years all over England as well as performances at two European Open competitions in Switzerland. 2006 will see the band perform a series of concerts in Germany.

The band regularly performs many events within the local community, in Fife and the Lothians, and this year has been no exception. Kingdom has performed at several local galas, in Blackburn and Longridge in West Lothian, Dunfermline and Kelty in Fife, as well as festivals in Cupar and South Queensferry and the recent opening of the new Abbeyview Park in Dunfermline, where the band was conducted by Dunfermline Athletic mascot, "Sammy the Tammy" !
added 25th August 2005

The TV programme featuring German ensemble Blechschaden along with Kingdom Brass has aired on German and French TV, with an audience of almost three million people seeing Kingdom's appearance.

A cinema screening precluded the TV showing, with immense media presence, and the response to the TV appearance has been overwhelming.

Bob Ross has visited Scotland again following the showing of the programme to further cement the ties between Kingdom Brass and Blechschaden, the brass group formed from members of the Munich Philharmonic which he conducts. Kingdom Brass will be travelling to Germany in 2006 to perform a series of concerts in the Munich area.
added 25th August 2005

Kingdom Brass competed in the Senior Trophy competition, held in Blackpool's Winter Gardens, gaining a very creditable fifth place.

The very strong field on the day produced a high standard of performance on the set testpiece, Edward Gregson's 'Connotations', and Kingdom under conductor Alan Duguid produced a confident and exciting performance which left the packed audience delighted at the end of the performance.

With the standard of bands so high it was always going to be a tough task to feature in the prizelist, but Kingdom went into the event with confidence after the recent win at the Carnegie Hall.

Adjudicators Brian Buckley and Chris Wormald clearly had a tough task on their hands with so many bands performing well on what is a fairly straightforward testpiece, and the top placings could easily have come from any of dozen bands. Nonetheless Kingdom are delighted with the performance on the day and will return to the competition next year looking to take that extra step (or four) and feature in the prize list at this prestigious event.
added 9th May 2005

Kingdom Brass have won the Fife Brass Band Festival Contest (formerly the Carnegie Invitation Contest), held on Saturday April 23rd 2005, im Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall.

The band's resident conductor, Alan Duguid, produced a polished performance from the band to win by three clear points from runners up Newmilns & Galston. Alan also led Clydebank to victory in section two, and Shotts to win section three, a busy weekend for Kingdom's resident !

Kingdom's principal cornet player, Lee Bathgate, picked up the award for 'best instrumentalist', and the bass section of Angus Pearse, Kerry Patrick, Jackie McKenna and Alan Douglas won the prize for 'best basses'.

The Kingdom programme consisted of four pieces - 'Salute To The Count', 'You Raise Me Up' (featuring cornet soloist Lee Bathgate), 'The Old Rugged Cross' (featuring the trombone quartet of Bill Giles, Paul Findlay, Brian Paterson and Bill Sandell) and the stunning finisher 'Dundonnell' from 'Hymn of the Highlands'. The receptive audience defintely agreed with adjudicator David Horsfield, with the cheers ending Kingdom's performance repeated at the final results.
added 26th April 2005

Kingdom Brass have previewed the TV programme which is to be broadcast on French and German TV in early May.

The programme features Bob Ross and Kingdom's partner ensemble, Blechschaden (made up of members of the Munich Philharmonic), as they tour Fife and Edinburgh, interspersing performances from Blechschaden and Kingdom alongside naration from Bob Ross.

The programme is superbly produced, and will introduce Kingdom to its new European target audience before the band travels to Germany in 2006 for a series of high profile concerts.

With the target audience in the millions, Kingdom are naturally happy with the coverage given to the band with this their first TV appearance. The trip to Germany in 2006 will give Kingdom their third European tour.

Kingdom performed in Switzerland in 2002 and 2003, and also performed on Swiss national radio during those tours.
added 7th April 2005

The Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline provides the next venue for Kingdom, with the newly renamed "Fife Brass Band Festival" (formerly the Carnegie Invitation Contest) the next competition of the year.

Consistently improving results over the past three years has saw Kingdom finish 4th, 3rd, then runners up to Whitburn last year, so the band will be aiming for one better come April 23rd.

A strong field of 30 bands will be appearing at this event, with each band in the lower sections performing a 15 minute concert programme, with top section bands being allowed 20 minutes. Bands are split into their different sections, with the Championship Section competition the highlight of the day.

Alan Duguid will lead the band in front of the home crowd, hoping that the winning trophy can stay in Fife for the first time ever.
added 27th March 2005

Kingdom Brass secured another placing in the top half of the Championship Section at the recent Scottish Championships in Dundee, the band's fourth top five placing in five years, further cementing the band's position as one of Scotland's premier bands.

Ray Farr produced an exciting performance of the testpiece, Wagner's 'Rienzi', which brought huge response from the Audience in the Caird Hall.

A tough draw for the band saw Kingdom play inbetween Unison Kinneil and Kirkintilloch, which is exactly how the results ended up for the three bands, with them filling the 4th to 6th places.

A very positive result for the band in among a tough field, on a testpiece that didn't stretch any band technically so was judged purely on interpretation. Ray Farr's reading of the testpiece drew much praise from the audience, and did more than enough to qualify the band for the Scottish Open competition yet again in November.
added 15th March 2005

Kingdom Brass have now had weeks of preparation for the 2005 Scottish Championships, with the Haldane Hall filled with Wagner on almost a daily basis.

The band have engaged Ray Farr (left) to conduct at the event, which is being held over the weekend of 12th and 13th March, in the Caird Hall, Dundee.

Ray appeared with the band for the first time at the Scottish Open Championships in November 2004, which saw the band placed as the third best Scottish band at the competition. That result meant the band did not have to think twice about bringing Ray back to head up the band's challenge for the Scottish title.

Kingdom had engaged the very experienced Thomas Wyss to conduct this year's Scottish, but a clash with heavy work commitments meant Thomas was unable to conduct, and the band had to engage another professional conductor. Ray was more than happy to step back in, and the band happy to see him back so soon.
added 22nd February 2005

View the Kingdom Brass feature on the Scottish Championships 2005

The band welcomes several new players to the team for the forthcoming Scottish Championships, giving Kingdom their strongest team yet going into the contest.

With 'Rienzi', the Scottish Championships testpiece, needing 5 percussionist, every top section band in the country has had to source extra players. Kingdom welcomes Alan Douglas into the band on percussion, and Alan Duguid, the band's Resident Conductor, also steps in to assist the section.

Returning to the band after a spell away is the very experienced Martin Bamford on Bb bass, adding that extra edge to the already successful team. The band's flugel player, Laura Herriot, has just had her first child, so filling the flugel seat for the Scottish Championships is ex-solo horn Nicky McLaughlin.

Completing the new faces at the band is David Gorman. David, previously with Whitburn and Newtongrange, joins the band on bumper up, with Craig Herriot moving from cornet back onto solo baritone.
added 21st February 2005

Ray Farr will return to Fife and conduct Kingdom Brass on 'Rienzi' at the 2005 Scottish Championships, to be held in Dundee on the weekend of 12th and 13th March 2005.

Ray conducted Kingdom very successfully at the 2004 Scottish Open contest, so the band is hoping that successful first appearance can continue into the regional Championships.

There's a full feature on Ray in the 'Conductors' section of the website.
added 20th February 2005

Kingdom players have swept the boards at the recent FCBA solo and quartet competition.

Solo baritone Craig Herriot won the title of 'Fife Solo Champion', with principal cornet Lee Bathgate runner up. Kingdom's solo trombone, Bill Giles, won third place.

Kingdom's 'Ensemble A', featuring the band's trombone section with percussionist Lynsey Paterson won the 'Best Ensemble' prize, with 'Ensemble B' (baritones & euphoniums) in runners up spot.

The baritone section scooped another prize when Carol Sandell (pictured) won the 'Best Slow Melody' title, with Bill Giles runner up and Kingdom's 4th solo cornet, Gordon Buist, in equal third place with Stuart MacAuley, principal cornet with Clackmannan.
added 4th February 2005