Thursday, November 29, 2007

December For The CSB

In my last post I indicated that the CSB won't be together again until January 8, 2008. It occurs to me that some of you may be wondering why the long layoff and what are we doing in the interim?

As many of you may realize, the CSB is a secondary obligation for members. In addition to the regular day jobs we hold we are expected to be active in our local Salvation Army church or as we call it, corps. For most of us that means that in addition to playing in the CSB we are playing in our local church brass band. Many of us are also sing in church choirs, lead Bible study groups, participate on church boards and a myriad of other church related activities.

Once upon a time the CSB was very busy during the month of December. However, when Bandmaster Himes took the band 30 years ago he quickly realized that the activities of the CSB in December were interfering with the ability of the bandsmen and women to keep up with the service required of them in their local Salvation Army churches during the busiest time of the year for the Salvation Army. So, he began to reduce the activities of the band to the point that we are today where we play our annual Thanksgiving concert on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and then don't return to the CSB until after the first of the new year.

This break allows CSB members to participate in local Salvation Army Christmas activities that vary widely. You may find us visiting residents in local nursing homes, standing on a street corner at the familiar Salvation Army kettle, visiting inmates at a local correctional facility, participating in toy shop and food basket distribution centers and many other activities. But, don't look for us in our CSB uniforms. We'll just be blending in with the many volunteers the Salvation Army relies on at this time of year.

Could you be one of those volunteers? Should you be one of those volunteers? If you could/should, don't hesitate... call your local Salvation Army office today and get involved!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Our 100th Anniversary Celebration

Well, as I've been telling you the CSB celebrated 100 years of service over this past weekend. Actually, we've been celebrating it all year long but Saturday night and Sunday marked the culmination. Sunday afternoon was our last engagement for the calendar year and since the band was formed in 1907 when we next meet together on January 8, 2008 we'll be beginning our second century rather than celebrating the first one.

On Saturday we had a banquet that included the current CSB, our guests and a number of alumni. The banquet was quite informal with only a short program. Each member of the alumni in attendance were presented with a framed litho of CSB album covers that have been created through the years. Current CSB members had received their own copies of this at the rehearsal on Friday night. It is a unique gift to commemorate the event.

Our Executive Officer, Lt. Colonel McLaren presented a special edition of the litho to both Bandmaster William Himes and Colonel Ernest Miller, the only two men living who have been CSB Bandmasters. Music at the banquet consisted of the current band and alumni joining together to sing two items.

We all then headed over to Edman Chapel for the concert. The hall holds just under 2,400 people and I'd estimate there were between 2,100 and 2,200 present with only the worst seats in the house vacant. I'll list the program items for the evening at the end of this posting but the evening went well and the audience was very responsive. Chris & Carol Jaudes were perfect guest artists for the occasion.

At the conclusion of the program it was time to pack things up so that we could get them to the Norridge Citadel Corps for a worship service on Sunday morning and a concert with the Alumni Band on Sunday afternoon.

The Alumni Band served as the duty band at the worship service and Commissioner Robert Thomson, himself a former member of the band, brought the message.

Following lunch the chapel was transformed to accommodate both the current band and the alumni band. The current band led off the afternoon concert with a few items. The Alumni Band followed under the joint direction of Bill Himes and Ernest Miller. One of the highlights of the concert was the playing of the cornet solo "Happy Day" done by four soloists, Bill Scarlett, Randy Cox, Tom Gabrielson and Peggy Thomas. Following the Alumni Band solo items the two bands combined for several massed band items. The day and celebration concluded with the singing of "Rock of Ages" and the playing of "Rousseau" both under the baton of Colonel Miller.

All in all it was a blessed weekend and I'm sure my description of it hasn't done it justice. I guess it really was just something you needed to experience for yourself.

For my part it was great to get to see so many alumni that I've played with down over the years and to meet some that played before even my time. I think we were all challenged by what is yet to come.

OK... as promised for the brass band geeks out there here is the concert program from Saturday night that includes several pieces that were written specifically for the celebration:

"Milestone" (Himes)
"Celebration" (Thomson/Himes)* - CSB Chorus
"Festival of Thanksgiving" (Downie)*
"Clear Skies" (Ball) - Chris Jaudes, soloist
1 Corinthians 13 - Carol Jaudes
"This Day" (Alexander) - Carol Jaudes, soloist
"Accentuate the Positive" (Mercer & Arlen) - Carol Jaudes, soloist
"Green Hornet" (Hirt/arr. Gates) - Chris Jaudes, soloist
"Post Bellum Rhapsody" (Leidzen)
"Hallelujah!" (Curnow)*
"Celebration" (Thomson/Himes)* - Sing-Along
"Onward Christian Soldiers" (Winch/arr. Freeh) - Chris Jaudes, soloist
"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" (Dorsey/arr. Broughton)* - Chris Jaudes, soloist
"Artist of My Soul" (Vale/arr. Himes) - Carol Jaudes, soloist
"To Worlds Unknown" (Bulla)*
"Ashokan Farewell" (Unger/arr. Fernie)
"Three Kings Swing" (Himes)
"Choral Benediction" (Himes) - CSB Chorus & Alumni

*Commissioned especially for the CSB 100th Anniversary

If you attended any of the events of the weekend, why not leave a comment or two about your own impressions?

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The 'Big Day'

Today starts the CSB 100th anniversary celebration. We had a rehearsal last evening at Edman Chapel that provided a sound check in the hall was well as an opportunity to go through accompaniments with Chris Jaudes and Carol Dilley Jaudes. I think you can expect the CSB, Chris and Carol to be on top of their game tonight. I sure hope so.

This afternoon there will be an Alumni Band rehearsal at the Norridge Citadel Corps. Then, this evening the concert starts at 7:00 pm. We're expecting the house to be pretty full (~2,400)... but we've expected that before and haven't quite gotten there. But we have distributed plenty of tickets.

After the concert we'll pack our gear for transportation to Norridge where there will be an 11:00 am worship service and a 2:30 concert tomorrow.

Remember to say hi if you're at any of our events. Plus, if you are there, feel free to leave comments of your observations here on this blog.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Next stop... Edman Chapel, Wheaton, IL

The CSB celebrates 100 years of service this weekend. To be honest, I'm not sure what we call this weekend. When I was younger it was always the CSB Thanksgiving Concert. Then it became the Thanksgiving Festival. In recent years it's been called Sounds of the Seasons. (At least I think it was a plural 'seasons'.)

But this year it's been commonly referred to as our 100th Anniversary Celebration. I guess you can call it whatever you'd like. A rose by any other name..... Oh wait... there's no way I should be quoting Shakespeare on this blog!

The bottom line is that we will be doing some special things to observe 100 years of service. We will have our traditional Saturday evening concert. On Sunday morning we will have a worship service where alumni of the band will provide the music. Sunday afternoon will be another concert featuring both the current CSB and members from the past.

Special guest artists on Saturday evening will be Chris Jaudes (trumpet soloist) and Carol Dilley (vocal soloist). On Sunday Colonel Ernest Miller, former bandmaster, will take part in the Alumni Festival and Commissioner Robert E Thomson will speak in both the worship service and Alumni Festival.

Full details for the weekend can be found at our website but I'll summarize them here:

Saturday, November 24, 2007 - 7:00 pm
Concert
Edman Chapel
Washington & Franklin Streets
Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL
(NOT A FUNCTION OF WHEATON COLLEGE)

Sunday, November 25, 2007
Worship Service (11:00 am)
Alumni Festival (2:30 pm)
The Salvation Army
Norridge Citadel
8354 W Foster
Norridge, IL 60706

All events are free and open to the public but free will offerings will be taken. Free tickets for Saturday night have all been distributed by you do have a chance at being seated just before the concert begins if you show up without a ticket. Tickets are not required for the Sunday events.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Moline, IL & Davenport, IA

The CSB has successfully returned from a quick visit to Moline, IL & Davenport, IA.

An early Saturday morning departure got the band to Davenport in plenty of time to march in the Festival of Trees Parade that stepped off at 11:00 am. Although the parade stepped off at 11:00, we were the next last unit in the parade (only Santa Claus followed us) so we didn't get started until nearly noon. The parade route was about 18 blocks and there were people lined up to watch the entire route. We were greeted with applause and waves from people of all ages including most of the children who had painted the tips of their noses red presumably for this occasion. We were blessed with moderate temperatures (mid 40s) and dry air. If you have to march in a Christmas parade, this was certainly the way to do it. The weather was fine and the route wasn't too long.

Following the parade we proceeded to a wonderful lunch followed by a concert to celebrate the kick off of the Quad Cities Red Kettle Campaign where they have established a goal of raising $576,000 between now and Christmas. WQAD Morning Show Anchor Jim Mertens was introduced as the honorary chairman of the campaign.

Twelve of the younger members of the band then had the opportunity to assist the Red Kettle Campaign by playing at Salvation Army Kettle stands at the entrance to the i wireless arena in Moline, IL. They played traditional Christmas carols for patrons arriving for a Holiday Pops concert and provided them with the opportunity to make a donation to the campaign.

On Sunday morning the band conducted and participated in a united worship service at the Davenport, IA Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC). In addition to the men from the ARC the service was attended by Salvation Army members from the Quad Cities area as well as other brass band enthusiasts who had found us over the weekend.

Following the worship service we headed back to our headquarters in Des Plaines, IL. This week we'll be putting the finishing touches on preparations for the 100th anniversary celebration weekend scheduled for this weekend in Wheaton, IL on Saturday evening and at Norridge, IL on Sunday. Watch this space for more information about that later in the week.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Heading to the Quad Cities

While the CSB is busy getting ready for and looking forward to the celebration of our 100th anniversary over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend we have one just as important event coming up this weekend. It will be our privilege to travel this weekend to Moline, IL/Davenport, IA two of the four cities we lovingly refer to as the Quad Cities here in the Midwest. We could play a trivia game to see if anyone knows the other two cities... but I'm not that fun of a guy. So, I'll just tell you that the other two cities that cluster around the banks of the Mississippi River are Bettendorf, IA and Rock Island, IL. In reality, there are five cities that also includes East Moline, IL. Five cities make up the Quad Cities? Why not? After all, there are eleven schools in the Big Ten...

But enough of the geography lesson already!

We'll depart early on Saturday morning so that we can arrive in time to march in the Festival of Trees Parade that kicks off in Davenport at 11:00 am. Then on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 pm we'll do a Christmas Kick-Off Concert in the Mississippi River Room at River Center Complex. Three caroling teams from the band will be on duty at kettle stands at the i wireless Center from 6:00 pm until 7:00 pm as patrons gather for the Holiday Pops concert. Then on Sunday morning at 10:30 am we'll participate in a worship service at the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center in Davenport.

All of these events including the worship service are open to the public. If you're able to be there, we'd like to see you. Be sure to stop by and say hello!

I'll have more to report next week after our visit.

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Rapid City, SD - October 20-21, 2008

The Chicago Staff Band had the privilege of traveling to Rapid City, SD to help celebrate 100 years of Salvation Army service in Rapid City and the Black Hills area. Our hosts for the weekend were Majors Robert and Audrey McClintock who have been serving in this beautiful area of the country for the last six years.

We flew out of O'Hare on a direct flight to Rapid City. The flight was delayed leaving O'Hare so of course it was late getting into Rapid City. One of our members didn't get her bag on our arrival in Rapid City and in fact it didn't catch up to her until late Monday night... that's another whole story. But we got there in plenty of time to grab a quick lunch and then head out to see Mount Rushmore before returning to the civic center to set up, take a quick formal photograph and then run through a few things.

Saturday night we played a concert at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. It was a beautiful hall and they had a very good crowd especially considering the population of the city is about 67,000 people. Plus, there was a three day dog show taking place in the same venue... just for competition. Here's a link to the Black Hills FOX News web report of the concert.

Sunday morning there was a community wide worship service back in the same venue. The services celebrated God's faithfulness through the 100 years in Rapid City.

Following the service we had a quick lunch, headed back to the airport and flew back to Chicago via Denver.

It was a great weekend and we were richer for being allowed to take part in this celebration of service in Rapid City. Special thanks go out to Majors Dawn & Merle Heatwole (divisional leaders), Majors McClintock (corps officers), Majors Mike & Judith Mills (Sioux Falls corps officers) and Bob & Connie Herbert (equipment truck driver & spouse)!

Back on the air...

After a year of not doing much blogging about the activities of the Chicago Staff Band it is time to get back to it. Rather than hosting it on Salvation Army servers I decided it would be easier to deal with if I just put it out here on blogspot.com.

So, hopefully those of you who are interested in what the Chicago Staff Band is up to will create a new bookmark or include this blog in your RSS feed. And, I hope to hear your comments too!

Stay tuned for more from "The Band With A Sacred Message".

Disclaimer

The views, comments, statements and opinions expressed on this Web site do not necessarily represent the official position of The Salvation Army.