BRASS players from Johnstone Band have every reason to blow their own trumpet after winning a prestigious trophy at the Scottish Championships.

The band took home the first section title at the annual contest in Perth, which sees brass bands of various abilities from across Scotland come together to have their performances put to the test.

The victory for Johnstone Band means it will now be promoted to the Championship section – the top level of brass banding in the UK.

Not only that, the musicians will also be making a trip to Cheltenham in September to represent Scotland at the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

June Deans, band chairperson, said the hard work put in by members in recent years has now paid off.

She added: “We haven’t been in the Championship section for a number of years now, so it is good to be back there because we are always looking to improve.

“We have worked hard on lots of different aspects of our playing and we did extra preparation this year by going to a contest down in Preston, so it’s nice that paid off.

“I couldn’t believe the smile on my face when we won. I didn’t realise how much I wanted it.”

It wasn’t just the one trophy the band took home either, as Laura Mullen was awarded the Thomas Macaulay Cup for being the best horn in the first section.

And the band was first to be presented with the Andy Smith Cup for the conductor of the winning group in the first section.

Each section, from Championship to fourth, is given a different test piece to perform on the day and a panel of two adjudicators determine which group played it the best.

June, who plays the trombone, added: “Everybody came off the stage thinking we’d played really well and the conductor was delighted.

“Musicality was a big thing for the adjudicators this year, so that was right up our street. We’re glad they recognised plenty of that in our performance.

“We were always hopeful we could win. I mean, there were a couple of bands who had been relegated last year from the Championship section and there’s always an expectation they might win but we came fourth last year, so we knew we had been at a good level.

“It’s a really great feeling to have won.

“Thanks to our conductor Martyn Ramsay and to all of our players for their hard work over the last couple of months.”

The band will now be busy starting to fundraise for the trip south and will also be working hard to prepare for upcoming concerts.

They will be performing in Glasgow on May 11 at the Renfield St Stephen’s Parish Church, alongside the YMCA Glasgow Wind Orchestra.

And, in August, they will hold a brass showcase concert at Johnstone Town Hall.

Anyone who is interested in joining the band, which also plays at gala days and Remembrance services, can find more information online at www.johnstoneband.co.uk.