Sunday in Appleton/Menasha/Fox Cities, WI

Our day started early with an 8:45 am service at Christ The Rock Church. This church has an interesting connection with the Salvation Army having started in the basement of the old building in Appleton. Then, five years ago, the Army bought their current building from Christ The Rock. During the service we collaborated with their praise team during meaningful worship. The message of the morning was that we as Christians need to get serious and recognize that unless we introduce people to the saving grace offered by Christ they will go to hell. It was a thought provoking time together.

Between the 8:45 am service and the 10:45 am service we had a chance to grab a quick cup of coffee and a doughnut. Then we returned to our positions for the second worship service that was virtually identical to the first.

At the conclusion of the service we packed our bus and proceeded to the newly remodeled Salvation Army corps located in Menasha, WI. The Army has owned the building for five years but has just completed a $2 million renovation that includes a fully licensed day care facility, gymnasium/all purpose room and a beautiful new worship center. After a quick set up and boxed lunch we participated as the duty band for the dedication service of the new facility.

As is usually the case, once we were done with the dedication we quickly packed our gear and are now on the way back to territorial headquarters in Des Plaines.

It has been a very full weekend but every event was well planned and prepared for by our new friends in the Fox Cities. Special thanks go out to:

• Majors Jose & Annette Tamayo (Corps Officers)
• Major Jo Langham (Associate Officer)
• Mr. Rob Waugus (Development Director)
• Mr. John Stangel (Kaukauna High School)
• White Heron Chorale
• Christ The Rock Church & Peter Leschke
• Soldiers and Friends of The Fox Cities Salvation Army
• Wisconsin & Upper Michigan Divisional Staff

While we'll be in the rehearsal room Tuesday our next out of town engagement will be a visit to Port Huron, MI on November 14-15, 2009.

Saturday With The CSB In The Fox Cities region of WI

It's been a very long day for the members of the CSB. We left our headquarters this morning at 9:00 am and have just gotten to our hotel (a very nice one) in downtown Appleton, WI where it is about 11:45 pm. Though long, the day has been very good.

The first stop of the day for us was at Kaukauna High School where we were led in a clinic format by our own Bandmaster William Himes. Bandmaster Himes spent a great deal of time describing the instrumentation, scoring and technique of the brass band. The clinic was very well attended and the more than 100 young people and adults were very attentive.

Following the clinic we proceeded to Lawrence Memorial Chapel on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton where we rehearsed with the White Heron Chorale, our hosts for the evening. The theme for the evening was "Grateful Hearts & Voices" and included several solo items from both the White Heron Chorale and the CSB. Full details of the concert will follow for those who really want to know. But, the evening of music was a delightful blend of classical choral and brass band music of many genres.

The White Heron Chorale is conducted by Dr. Paul Nesheim. Their assistant conductor is John Stangel and their accompanist is Susan Neebel.

An interesting twist to the evening was the inclusion of 13 high school vocalists in the White Heron Chorale. The Chorale includes these "Master Singers" as part of their tradition in their annual fall concert.

At the conclusion of the concert the CSB proceeded to Christ the Rock church to set up for participation in two worship services that will take place in the morning. Once set up we returned to our hotel to complete our day. So, as I said earlier, it was a good day...

For those of you who are interested, here's a listing of the items that were performed in the evening concert:

• "Now Thank We All Our God" - White Heron Chorale/CSB (Cruger/Rutter, arr. Himes)
• "Deo Dicamus Gratias" - White Heron Chorale (Homilius)
• "Alles was Odem Hat" - White Heron Chorale (Bach)
• "All Things Bright and Beautiful" - White Heron Chorale Ensemble (Silvey)
• "Clear Skies" - CSB; Peggy Thomas, soloist (Ball)
• "Song For Lotta" - CSB; Brett Tolcher, soloist (Sanderstrom)
• "Dakota Dawn" - White Heron Chorale; Toni Kuo Weijola, soloist (Fissinger)
• "I Often Dance" - White Heron Chorale (Nesheim)
• "A Lincoln Reflection" - White Heron Chorale/CSB; David Been, soloist (Himes)
• "Melodies of Dvorak" - CSB (Dvorak, arr. Steadman-Allen)

• INTERMISSION

• "Concertante for Cornets" - CSB (Bulla)
• "Prelude to Peace" - White Heron Chorale High School Master Singers (Stroope)
• "I Love You Truly" - White Heron Chorale Barbershop Quartet (Jacobs-Bond)
• "Laughing Song" - White Heron Chorale; Suzanne Bunker Jordheim, flutist (Dickau)
• "Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good to Me" - CSB (arr. Alexander)
• "Come, You Who Are Filled" - White Heron Chorale; Jennifer Hodges Bryan, oboist (Hal)
• "What A Wonderful World" - White Heron Chorale; Mary Schmidt, soprano; Bob Williams, bass
• "The Promise of Living" - White Heron Chorale/CSB (Copland)
• "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" - White Heron Chorale/CSB (Steffe, arr. Wilhousky)

CSB To Visit Fox Valley, WI Area October 24-25, 2009

For those of you who are wondering, the CSB will be in the Fox Valley area of Wisconsin that includes communities such as Appleton and Menasha. The following link is to a local article regarding our visit and it contains pretty much all you would want to know about our visit.

Hopefully, we'll see a few of you there. If you are there, be sure to come and say hello to me!

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20091022/APC0101/910220527/1979

Start of 2009-10 Season

It's been 85 days since the CSB last gathered together at the retirement of our Executive Officer following the service of appointments and commissioning of new officers. In those 85 days CSB members have been all over the globe vacationing and ministering with other ministries other than the CSB.

But, this evening, we will gather together again. We have one rehearsal this evening prior to being on duty for the public welcome of the cadets on Friday evening. The meeting will be at Mayfair Community Church at 7:00 pm on Friday, September 11, 2009. Those who are unable to attend in person are welcome to watch the service live via the Internet by going to http://www.salvationarmymedia.org.

Those interested in personnel changes in the band may want to know that Alan Nelson (cornet), James Beardsley (cornet) and Jim Olson (trombone) have resigned their chairs for this season. These are in addition to the retirement of Lt. Colonel Mickey McLaren, our previous Executive Officer.

Territorial administration have appointed Lt. Colonel Richard Vander Weele as our new Executive Officer. In addition, Lt. Colonel Merle Heatwole and Captain John Pook will be taking up positions in the cornet section of the band. For now, the trombone vacancy will remain vacant.

CSB 2009 European Tour Fun Facts

Our 2009 European tour has come to an end and I thought I'd take a shot at a few fun facts to list for you. OK... You'll have to decide if these are fun facts or not. But they are facts.

• # of days: 11
• # in travel party: 38
• # bus miles traveled per person: 2,017
• # air miles traveled per person: 9,347
• # of miles traveled in total: 431,832
• # of countries visited: 4
• # cities visited: 10
• # of outdoor concerts: 3
• # of indoor concerts: 8
• # of workshops: 1
• # of worship services conducted: 1
• # of bus drivers: 1
• # of currencies used: 5
• # of ferry rides: 1
• # of bags checked (each way): 76
• # of loaves of bread consumed: too many
• # of diet cokes consumed: never enough

Day 11 - Solingen, Germany to Dusseldorf, Germany to Copenhagen, Denmark to Chicago, IL

I know you've heard plenty about our early starts during this tour but today we began earlier than any other day. We needed to leave our hotel at 5:00 am in order to catch our first flight at 7:20 am. That meant that most of our alarms were going off about four hours after arriving at the hotel.

Everyone was on time and we loaded our Swedish EKS coach for the very last time. We proceeded to Dusseldorf, Germany airport where we said goodbye to our excellent coach driver, Bo. He met us on our arrival in Bergen, Norway and chauffeured us every kilometer of the tour. He was a real help and benefit to us as a driver but also as a friend and adviser.

After saying goodbye to Bo we checked in at the Lufthansa desk for our flight to Copenhagen, Denmark. There were a couple of glitches at check in but nothing too serious. One bandsman was mysteriously missing from the system. They were He able to take care of it but was warned his luggage would not likely make it. A couple of others were only checked in to Copenhagen. They were able to finally straighten that out in Copenhagen.

Frankly, given the size of the aircraft to Copenhagen it won't be surprising if some our bags arrive later. But they may have caught up with us in Copenhagen during our six plus hour layover. If luggage is going to be delayed it's always better to happen when going home. As long we get all of our stuff by commissioning next weekend we'll probably be OK.

During the extended layover most grabbed breakfast and/or lunch. Some took good long naps. A few ventured into the city for a short visit and others shopped in the numerous shops at the airport. Most were anxious for the departure that means returning to spouses, children, parents and other loved ones.

Our flight from Copenhagen to Chicago, O'Hare departed pretty close to schedule. It seems that everyone has their own theory on how to best deal with the anticipated jet lag. Some think that going this direction that you should try to sleep as much as possible. Others, including me, think you try to stay awake as much as possible. Admittedly, given the shortness of our night staying awake is easier said than done unless you are one of those who can't sleep on a plane under any circumstance.

We arrived at O'Hare pretty much on time and to the best of my knowledge all of the equipment has made it. I'll have to check with the quartermaster tomorrow to verify that.

It was a blessing to travel so far in so short a period of time without serious issues. But, it's always great to be home.
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Day 10 - Dresden, Germany to Solingen, Germany

As has often been the case on this tour the day started early for us. We packed our gear and had a quick breakfast at the corps before saying goodbye to our Dresden hosts, Majors Jim & Judy Garrington. Jim and Judy are actually Central Territory officers and it was really great to spend some time visiting and seeing the work they are doing in Germany. Next month will mark their 23rd year of service in Germany.

We then loaded back on the bus and began what turned out to be an eight and a half hour journey to our last stop on the tour, Solingen, Germany. We had hoped to be able to visit the cathedral in Cologne. Our local hosts in both Berlin and Dresden advised that it would not be possible and they were right.

After our late afternoon arrival in Solingen we had a quick cup of coffee with the members of the German Staff Band under the leadership of Bandmaster Heinrich Schmidt.

Following coffee we had a quick rehearsal of three massed band items for the evening concert. The three massed items included "Precious Fountain" (Himes), "Milestone" (Himes) and "Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral" (Wagner, arr - Himes).

The two bands joined together in a beautiful fellowship dinner buffet at the corps just prior to the concert.

The concert at Luther Church was extremely well attended by a very enthusiastic audience. In addition to our repertoire the German Staff Band played "The Kingdom Triumphant", "They Could Not" and "Godspell". From my chair it was a welcome relief after ten days on tour to hear this fine band.

Following the concert we began the arduous task of packing our equipment for the trip back to Chicago. In the confusion we neglected to tell our bus driver we were to join the German Staff Band at the corps for fellowship. We discovered the error to late and the Bandmaster had to call and extend our apologies to Bandmaster Schmidt. As it turned out we didn't arrive at the hotel until nearly midnight and we have a 5:00 am departure for the airport in Dusseldorf.

The playing part of the tour has ended and will begin the journey home soon. God has been good providing safe travel, good health and ministry opportunities.
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