Whitburn Band is celebrating after winning a major UK competition.
The current Scottish brass band champions won the Grand Shield contest last weekend at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.
Conducted by Professor Nicholas Childs, Whitburn finished top in a field of 20 brass bands from around the UK. All of the bands performed the Edward Gregson piece The World Rejoicing.
The band’s Solo Tenor Horn player Andrew McMillan was also named the best soloist of the whole competition.
Whitburn’s victory comes only a week after the band performed at the European Brass Band Championships, which were held in Malmo, Sweden, where the band finished in tenth place.
Whitburn will be back in action on Saturday, May 27, in a concert with trumpet superstar Mike Lovatt held at the Bellshill Salvation Army Hall.
A star of the John Wilson Orchestra and the BBC Big Band, Mike has performed on the soundtracks of several blockbuster movies including Avengers, James Bond and Harry Potter.
His illustrious career has seen him play with the likes of Quincy Jones, Robbie Williams, Eric Clapton, Michael Bublé and Oasis.
As a result of the band’s victory in Blackpool, Whitburn will now compete at the British Open championships – the most prestigious brass band competition in the world – later this year at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham.
The band also look forward to several other concert appearances, including one in Germany, before competing at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, which will be held at the Royal Albert Hall in London in October.
Whitburn Band Chairman Charlie Farren said: “The band is delighted to have won the Grand Shield and we are now all looking forward to performing in concert with Mike Lovatt, and at the many other events we can look forward to this year.”