Recording Session

On Tuesday night the CSB had a recording session. We recorded "Precious Lord" (Dorsey, arr. Broughton, soloist - Ben Kinzie) and "Voluntary on Old Hundredth" (Purcell, arr. Curnow).

Now, before you get excited about a new recording you should understand how recording with the CSB works. Our rehearsal room doubles as our recording studio. So, when we have something ready to record, we simply record it. But what we record could possibly sit in the sound vault for months or in the worst case years before it makes it to a recording you can actually get your hands on.

So, don't hold your breath on this one. But we did get some recording done last night.

Saturday Night in Champaign, IL

As promised the CSB was in concert this evening in Champaign, IL.

We drove down from Chicago this afternoon in time to have a short rehearsal that included members of the University of Illinois British Brass Band. We collaborated on two items... "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (Bach arr. Leidzen) and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (Sousa arr. Himes). Bandmaster Himes had the baton for the Bach piece and Dr. Peter Griffin of the University of Illinois conducted the Sousa piece. It was a lot of fun to get to know these very fine musicians from the University of Illinois.

Following the rehearsal we enjoyed dinner provided by our hosts at Faith United Methodist Church.

Then, at 7:00 pm it was time for the concert that included the following items:

• "Milestone" (Himes)
• "Post Bellum Rhapsody" (Leidzen)
• "Glory To His Name" (Ball) - Beth Cooper, soloist
• "I Will Call Upon The Lord" (O'Shields)
• "He Leadeth Me" (Kellner)
• "Onward Christian Soldiers" (Fernie)
• "Rigaudon" (Campra, arr. Himes) - Dr. Michael Hammer, soloist
• "Hallelujah!" (Curnow)
• "I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked" (O'Hara, arr. Graham) - Brett Tolcher, soloist
• "Somebody Prayed For Me" (Cloninger/Sterling) - Heidi Strand, soloist
• "Jesu, Joy Of Man's Desiring" (Bach, arr. Leidzen)
• "Festival of Thanksgiving" (Downie)
• "The Stars and Stripes Forever" (Sousa, arr. Himes)
• "Choral Benediction" (Himes)

In addition to these items Major John Turner, commanding officer of the Salvation Army in Champaign took opportunity to thank the community for their wonderful support during the 2007 Christmas effort. Mick Shay read the scripture and Alan Nelson (a 1966 alumnus of the University of Illinois and the Marching Illini) gave a personal testimony.

The concert marked the debut of both Beth Cooper and Brett Tolcher as soloists with the band.

After a night of sleep we will return to Faith United Methodist Church tomorrow morning to participate in a 10:30 am worship service.

Late Breaking News - Champaign, IL

At rehearsal on Tuesday evening it was confirmed that we will be combining with 23 members of the University of Illinois British Brass Band (Dr. Peter J. Griffin, conductor) for two selections on the Saturday night program in Champaign.

Some of you may want to know what the two numbers will be... but you'll either have to come to the concert to find out or watch for my blog entry after the weekend. We do know what they are since we've rehearsed them. We'll also be rehearsing with the U of I band upon our arrival in Champaign on Saturday night.

So, perhaps there's one more reason for you to come out to the concert on Saturday if you're in the area. Hope to see you there.

Going to Champaign, IL

For those of you following our calendar, the CSB will be in Champaign, IL this weekend. We did get our rehearsal in last Tuesday and with any luck at all we'll get in another tomorrow night. We had a February thaw yesterday and got rid of a ton of snow. It's not all gone yet but it's good to have gotten rid of some of it.

It's kind of nice to have today off for President's Day. Will make for a short week before we leave on Saturday.

Here's what I know at this point about our visit in Champaign:

Saturday, February 23 - Concert - Faith United Methodist Church

Sunday, February 24 - Worship Service - Faith United Methodist Church

Both are open to the public. The address information for the church that I have is:
Faith United Methodis Church
1719 S Prospect
Champaign, IL 61820

If you make it to either, please be sure to say hello.

Dodged the bullet...

It looks like the snow advisory for today has been cancelled and it's pretty certain we'll be back rehearsing this evening. Back to normal.... Good thing too since we're in Champaign, IL a week from Saturday.

Looking better...

Well, the weather report is shaping up and it's likely we'll get a rehearsal in tomorrow night. Stay tuned for more information. Here's the current weather forecast for tomorrow...


Feb 12 Tomorrow
Periods of snow. Cold. High around 20F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.
Feb 12 Tomorrow night
Becoming partly cloudy later with any flurries or snow showers ending by midnight. Low 8F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 50%.

Need your prayers...

The CSB has had to cancel rehearsals the last two Tuesday evenings due to either bad weather or the prediction of bad weather. As an "old timer" it was nice to have the two evenings at home, but we do have work to do for our upcoming engagements. So, say a prayer that we won't have horrid weather this Tuesday night.

Thanks.

CSB Visit to Kansas City

On January 26-27, 2008 the CSB was honored to visit both Kansas City, MO and Kansas City, KS. We flew into Kansas City on Saturday morning in plenty of time to proceed to an afternoon rehearsal with the Kansas City Symphony at the Lyric Theater.

That evening the concert at the Lyric Theater began with solo items by the CSB ("Hallelujah", "To Worlds Unknown", "Ashokan Farewell" and "Onward! Christian Soldiers"). Midway through this segment we were joined by young local Salvation Army musicians who were featured soloists playing "American Celebration".

Following the CSB segment the Kansas City Symphony under the baton of Maestro Damon Gupton performed "Overture to Nabucco" (Verdi), "Pavane, opus 50" (Faure) and "Overture to Orpheus in the Underworld" (Offenbach).

The CSB and Kansas City Symphony then joined forces performing the following:

• Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare
• Olympic Fanfare and Theme
• 1812 Overture
• We Shall Overcome
• Stars and Stripes Forever

At the conclusion of the evening the CSB closed with it's traditional "Choral Benediction".

On Sunday, the band participated in a morning worship service and afternoon dedication service at the Salvation Army's brand new Kansas City, Kansas Harbor Light Village (6723 Estate Avenue). Both services were well attended to the point that overflow closed circuit television rooms were used.

Following the dedication service we headed back to the Kansas City airport for our flight back to Chicago. We'd had a wonderful weekend of making music with a fantastic symphony orchestra and celebrating new opportunities that will be made possible by the opening of the new center in Kansas City, Kansas.