Perthshire Brass celebrates victory in the Second Section

Perthshire Brass made our own piece of history with victory in Second Section at the Scottish Brass Band Championships held on Saturday in Perth Concert Hall. Having been named SBBA Third Section Band of the Year last year and promoted to the Second Section, the band were hoping for a positive result this year playing the set work Friendly Takeover by Oliver Wasepi. The band were drawn first to play (which included a verse of the national anthem to open the Scottish Championships) and gave a lively performance which proved to be unmatched and were rewarded with 1st place in the Second Section. This is band's highest ever placing at a Scottish Championships and the first time winning a section title since 1993.

Adjudicators David Barringer MVO MBE and Mark Wilkinson judges praised the performance conducted by Willie McMullan as one that "captured the style and harmonic content" with "good full sounds with secure soloists".

The result includes an invitation to represent Scotland at the National Finals in Cheltenham on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September 2025 and promotion to the First Section of Scottish banding for 2026 - a first for the band.

The announcement of the results was received with an equal mix of surprise and delight. Cornet player Rachel Whiteman commented that she was "I’m absolutely speechless. I love this band!". That sentiment was echoed throughout the ensemble, as Euphonium player George Annan agreed, "We didn’t expect this, but we are over the moon with the result. Another trip to the finals gives us more fundraising to do, especially as we are off to Aschaffenburg again next year, but the band are a hardworking group and we will love every minute of the preparation!".