Talented musicians from Coltness High School have proved they are on song by qualifying for the national finals.
The school have had a long history of excellent school wind bands and the current wind band is no exception, led by music teacher Philip Henderson.
Started up after a period of absence only three years ago, they made their first appearance at the Scottish Concert Band Festival, their first appearance at such an event since the 1980s.
Their programme featuring well-known pop arrangements of ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Queen’ mixed with original wind band works saw them receive a Gold Plus Award from the adjudicators.
This fantastic result sees them qualify for the National Finals in Perth Concert Hall.
This takes place in March 2020 and the pupils are already excited about the prospect of performing in one of Scotland’s most prestigious concert venues.
Coltness High headteacher John McGilp said: “I was very proud to be at the Concert Hall to see the fine performance of our school band.
“I was delighted to get the news late afternoon that we’d attained Gold Plus status and therefore qualified for the National Final in Perth in March 2020.
“Our young people and staff, in particular Mr Henderson, have put in a power of work over the past year or so to get to this stage.
“It is my belief that this is the first time that the school have been represented in this competition since the 1980s and we were the only school from North Lanarkshire competing.
“These two statistics alone are outstanding but to actually qualify for the national final is the icing on the cake.”
