Stewarton Academy's Senior Wind Ensemble picked up another Gold Award when they played at the NCBF Festival Finals in Cardiff today.

The Band were invited to take part in the Finals at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama after picking up a Gold Award at the Regional Festival in Glasgow in November and are delighted to have achieved such a high standard once again.

The award was collected on behalf of the band by Debbie Taylor (percussion), 6th Year pupil and Stewarton Academy's Depute Head Girl.

Directed by Alan Friel, the band played Where The Sun Breaks Through The Mist, by Michael Sweeney, A Quiet Moment, by Philip Sparke, and Encanto, by Robert W. Smith.

In order to receive a Gold Award, the band had to achieve the highest standards across a range of criteria. The NCBF Gold Award criteria includes superlative tone quality, excellent intonation and a superior sense of balance. A Gold Award winning band is also required to respond vigilantly to the conductor, to display rhythmic accuracy and to deliver a highly musical interpretation.

The Festival organisers stress that the Festival is non-competitive and that the adjudication is a measure of the band's success in achieving a particular level of performance - it is not intended as a comparison between participating bands.

The Stewarton Academy Senior Wind Ensemble will be celebrating their success with a night out in Cardiff before travelling home to Stewarton tomorrow.

They will continue to meet for band practice at the school every Tuesday and Thursday at 8.00 am next term when they will be preparing for their annual Summer Concert.

The Stewarton Band Support Group has recently reformed to support Mr Friel with the work he does with all the Stewarton Learning Partnership bands (there is currently a Primary Band and a Junior Band in addition to the Senior Wind Ensemble). Membership of this group is open to all parents of band members (past and present) and others with a legitimate interest in the Stewarton school bands. For information on how to get involved contact sbsgroup@me.com.