A BRASS band is flying the flag for a community that has been decimated over the years by job losses and population decline.
Coal used to be the lifeblood of Dalmellington, as it was for much of Cumnock and the Doon Valley. But its last deep mines, at Minnivey and Pennyvenie, closed in the 1970s, and the story since then – again, as with most communities in the area – has been one of steady population decline, as people move elsewhere in search of work.
However, having been founded in 1864, Dalmellington’s award-winning brass band is still going strong 160 years later, and has long been recognised as one of the best in Scotland.
Karin Lowrie, who is from Cumnock, joined the Dalmellington Band 10 years ago as a tenor horn player and is now their manager.
A music teacher at Irvine Royal Academy, she is responsible for the 45 musicians - aged eight to 60 - who form the junior and senior sections.
The band's story has distinct echoes of the one that inspired the 1996 hit film Brassed Off, starring Ewan McGregor, Pete Postlethwaite and Tara Fitzgerald.
For those who’ve never seen it, Brassed Off is based on the tale of one of the world’s most famous brass bands, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and its struggle to survive the decline of the mining industry and the eventual closure of its pit a decade after the miners’ strike.
But like Grimethorpe, and the fictional Grimley Colliery Band that was at the heart of Brassed Off, the Dalmellington Band survived, and is now one of the mainstays of its community.
"Most of the band members are local and have strong family links to the town,” Karin said
"Many have relatives - parents, grandparents and uncles and aunts - who were also band members.
"If you speak to anyone in the town it is hard to find someone that does not have a connection to the band."
The members practice twice a week and perform at four national competitions each year - three in Scotland and one in England.
The band regularly provides music for concerts, gala days, weddings, church services, opening days, parades, background music and Christmas events.
Karin is responsible for recruitment and preparing the band for concerts and competitions including their musical arrangements.
They play anything from classical to pop arrangements as well as pieces specially composed for brass bands.
The band is highly rated by its peers and competes at the top level in the UK, known as the ‘championship section’.
Over the years it has won every major competition trophy in Scotland, with its roll of honour including three Scottish Championship wins.
And the band is working hard to bring through the next generation too: the Dalmellington Junior Band has previously won the Scottish Youth Brass Band Championship, and represented Scotland at the European Youth Championships in 2014.
In a bid to secure the band’s future success, a Brass Academy was formed in 2016 in Dalmellington to provide free tuition to new members.
Historically, most of the Dalmellington Band’s members were miners, but with almost half a century having passed since the closure of the area’s last pits, that has long since ceased to be the case.
However, Karin says its musicians remain proud of their, and their area’s, coal mining heritage.
Her own grandfather Tom Murdoch, who died recently, was a miner in Auchinleck.
"We are quite big on tradition,” she said, “and we don't forget what happened in the past.
"Everyone in the band has some past connection to the coal mines.
"My grandfather, when he was alive, would talk a lot about his time in the mines, and mum would talk about her memories of the miners’ strike in 1984.
"She was just at school at the time."
Karin is well aware of the threat posed to the community by the ongoing decline in its population, something which is expected to continue for at least the next few years.
But she feels that the band's success is a cause for optimism.
She added: "There are around four of us who left the area to go to university but have since come back here to work.
"A lot of people in the village still have connections to the band or happy memories of the band.
"We try and do as much as possible with the local community to help keep it together and celebrate its achievements."
Karin is confident that things will improve for Dalmellington, and believes the success of the band over the years is proof of that.
She added: "There are some really brilliant young people in Dalmellington who work really hard.
"The village also has a great history and heritage.
"There is plenty of cause for optimism."
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