The Kintyre Forum

Out of interest are there any members from Kintyre?

SPOKESPERSON PRAISES ARGYLL AND BUTE MUSICIANS

Argyll and Bute Council's Education spokesperson has praised the Argyll and Bute Schools Concert Band for their outstanding performances in Dunoon and Rothesay.

Councillor Isobel Strong said: "The two concerts were marvellous and the young musicians should all be congratulated on their performances.

"The pupils had to audition to be accepted and then gave up their mid-term weekend to rehearse before putting on a fantastic selection of music ranging from the Scottish ‘Alloway Tales’ to ‘633 Squadron’ and Raiders’ March’.

"John Grant was the Musical Director and Conductor and there were several soloists, some of whom are going on to study music full time. The concerts and the preparation for them was very demanding on the pupils but gave them a great opportunity to develop their musical skills.

"It is a difficult logistical exercise to organise events such as these and although support is given by the Scottish Arts Council it could not be done without the time and expertise of the music instructors in our schools plus the House Staff and staff at Castle Toward and Benmore House.

"Kathryn Wilkie of the Creative Arts in Schools Team should also be thanked for her enthusiasm and hard work on this and other projects such as’ Argyll Rhapsody’ which enhance the lives of our young people."

Given the excellent record of the Campbeltown band - at Scottish and UK levels - I would have thought that a disproportionate number would have come from Kintyre. Was this the case?

Also:
Do such "Argyll & Bute" wide initiatives provide a welcome, extra outlet for the talents of local young people?
Or, do they detract from the focus on excellence in the local setting - ie taking the 'cream' far away for 'super-group' type performances?

I am interested because I sometimes wonder about these 'aggregated' groups - whether for an area / council (eg Glasgow wide), or national. They exist, or are proposed, in other spheres: For example there have been attempts to create a national Gaelic choir; and in there is a Glasgow-wide schools pipe band that occasionally competes, but our Glasgow school is considering setting up its own dedicated pipe band since we contribute the majority of children to the Glasgow-wide one.

So I would be really keen to hear first-hand experience of others.

In previous years roughly a third of the Argyll and Bute Wind Band came from the CGS Concert Band. I only had a quick glance at the list this year and it looked to be a slightly smaller representation, probably around a quarter, but even that's not bad considering we're only one of ten secondaries in the authority and not one of the larger ones at that. And they were up against our own ski trip to Italy which was taking place at the same time!