UK Tour Days 9-10 (June 4-5)

This entry is being written on Monday, June 6 but it's about Saturday and Sunday, June 4-5, 2011 and the events of the celebration of the ISB's 120th anniversary celebration. It is going to be difficult to put into words all that happened and took place in those two days packed with celebration and worship. But, I'll give it a try.

First, it was another early start for the CSB. We were scheduled to be at the Royal Albert Hall with the other seven participating staff bands of the world at 7:30 am. That meant a 6:00 am call at the Chelmsford Corps. For most of us that meant our alarms once again sounded at 4:45 or 5:00 am at the latest. We all made it to the Army hall on time only to be missing a coach driver. The coach had been parked next to the hall overnight. So, the coach was there but it had no driver to unlock it and the trailer that carried our equipment.

Who else would come to our rescue but our tour leader, Simon Gash. Simon quickly phoned the driver who responded immediately to the call and we loaded quickly for our departure into London.

The drive took us past a number of well known London sites including the Olympic Village being constructed for the 2012 Summer Games, the London Eye, Big Ben and Parliament to name a few. For those in the band who had never been to London those sites caused the excitement to build.

Upon arrival at the Royal Albert Hall there was a coach queue caused by eight staff bands (most with trailers) attempting to arrive simultaneously. But, the queue moved quickly and we soon had all of our gear in a dressing room that we were honored to share with the Japan Staff Band. We were barely settled when we were asked to report to the stage for seating. Each of our sections were seated stage right with our USA cousins the New York Staff Band to our right. To our right were the members of the Amsterdam Staff Band, the Japan Staff Band, the Melbourne Staff Band, the German Staff Band and finally the Canadian Staff Band. In front of all of us were the birthday men/women of the International Staff Band. It was tight but we all fit! To be truthful for a few minutes it was doubtful we would and the special events coordinator predicted it wouldn't work. But in the spirit of the Army we worked together to make it work.

The morning consisted of rehearsing at least parts of each piece we were scheduled to play at the festival that evening. The play list included:

• Fanfare, Prelude and Fugue on Sine Nomine (Graham) - Conductor: Stephen Cobb
• Nothing Do I Bring (Broughton) - Conductor: Hajime Suzuki
• Dancebeat (Sharman) - Conductor: Ken Waterworth
• Stand Up and Bless the Lord (arr. Himes) - Conductor: Heinrich Schmidt
• Pursuing Horizons (Bright) - Conductor: Stephen Cobb
• So Glad (Himes) - Conductor: William Himes
• My Simple Prayer (Lovatt-Cooper, arr. Downie) - Conductor: Olaf Ritman
• In Quiet Pastures (Steadman-Allen) - Conductor: John Lam
• The Call of the Righteous (Condon) - Conductor: Ron Waiksnoris
• St Clements (Blyth) - Conductor: Stephen Cobb
• Celebration (Condon) - Conductor: Stephen Cobb

With all of the above massed band numbers to be rehearsed it's obvious that we had to just touch on a few of them. It was particularly challenging to put together "Pursuing Horizons" because it is written for 3 massed bands. So, the ISB was one band and the other seven were divided into two groups. We'd all rehearsed individually and Saturday morning we barely had time to put it all together. But thanks to each band and the skill of Stephen Cobb it all came together more quickly than expected. In fact, even though we started a bit late the rehearsal ended a few minutes early.

Following the rehearsal the bands were provided a lovely lunch in two seatings. During lunch the CSB presented each band with a plague commemorating the event by displaying each group's name, their current epaulet and a detailed listing of each participant. In addition to the plaque, we provided adequate printed copies for each participant to receive one.

Following lunch it was time for the individual bands to present 20 minute mini concerts in the Royal Albert Hall. Twenty minutes of music, five minutes to get on the stage and five minutes to get off the stage by eight bands yielded a four hour program. Amazingly, that schedule was also adhered to! The eight bands presented in alphabetical order on the following schedule:

• 2:00 pm Amsterdam Staff Band
• 2:30 pm Canadian Staff Band
• 3:00 pm Chicago Staff Band (that's us!)
• 3:30 pm German Staff Band
• 4:00 pm International Staff Band
• 4:30 pm Japan Staff Band
• 5:00 pm Melbourne Staff Band
• 5:30 pm New York Staff Band

Following the New York Staff Band concert there was a one hour interval/intermission for everyone to get ready for the 7:00 pm concert. At 7:00 PM the massed band pieces listed above were to be played. In addition, the ISB and ISS performed the following solo items:

• King of Heaven (Downie) - ISB
• Jesus Loves Me (Bowes) - ISS
• Pardon, Power and Praise (Downie) - ISS
• Scottish Folk Variants (Bulla) - ISB, soloist - Derick Kane

Those gathered in the Albert Hall were wildly enthusiastic as the ISB marched the other seven staff bands into the auditorium and remained that way throughout the evening. Bill Flinn from the Pasadena Tabernacle Corps provided the narration for the evening. Lt. Colonel David Hinton brought the invocation and Commissioner John Matear brought the scripture reading.

The bands were pleased that General Linda Bond and the Chief of Staff and Commissioner Sue Swanson were present for the evening.

At the conclusion of the evening as the bands finished playing "Celebration" pyrotechnics lit up the Royal Albert Hall all the way round. It was a fitting ending to a splendid birthday party that also contained a fair bit of ministry to those in attendance.

While the above description is fairly detailed there is no way to explain the excitement, fun and impact the day had on the participants and those attending. It truly is one of those things that to fully understand required you being present personally.

Following the concert the bands returned to hotels for some much needed rest before returning to the Westminster Central Hall for worship. The Westminster Central Hall is home to a Methodist Congregation that opened it's doors to the Army for a combined Salvation Army/Methodist worship service that included participation from the UK Territorial Youth Band, the ISS and General Linda Bond who preached the word from Psalm 51.

The music at this worship service was superb and General Bond called on us to be a holy people and to understand that it truly is possible to be clean. The message was clear and powerful and brought an altar response from several in attendance.

A quick lunch followed the worship services before the bands formed up in marching position near Admiralty Arch for the parade to the grounds of Buckingham Palace. Again, the bands had been divided into groups for playing on the march. As we marched, The Mall was filled with cheering people. On arrival at Buckingham Palace the ISB moved to one side and marched each of us into place inside the gates of Buckingham Palace where we stood for a short 30 minute concert. Although the Queen was not in residence we were again supported by General Bond, the Chief of Staff and Commissioner Sue Swanson, other Salvation Army dignitaries and members of the Royal Family household staff.

The concert concluded with the playing of "God Save the Queen". Each band then departed the Palace grounds but first played their way past a saluting General Bond as we made our way to Wellington Barracks where we were able to break formation and had a time of fellowship and photo opportunities.

While there, it began to rain so we made our way back to Westminster Central Hall where we changed clothes and took part in a lovely reception. At Westminster Central Hall there was a lot of eating, memento sharing and speeches of thanks given. And, at about 7:00 pm it all came to a conclusion and the individual bands returned to their hotels.

As I said at the beginning of this post there is no way to really put into words what happened in London this past weekend. You truly did have to be there to fully understand. But, there is no doubt that for the participants and those in attendance it was a once in a lifetime event and I'm sure it was a life changing event for many. It truly was a God honoring weekend and a pleasure and privilege to participate in and attend.

Thank you seems so inadequate to say to the organizing folks but it's probably the best thing to say to all who put it all together. A special shout out goes to Simon Gash from the UKI Territorial Headquarters who was assigned as our tour leader. Simon always kept us on schedule, watched out for us and served as our liaison with our local tour hosts. It was really great to get to meet and get to know him. Thanks Simon!

And, that concludes our UK tour of 2011 and participation in ISB 120. Relatively early this morning, most of the band made their way to London Heathrow Airport and as I write this most, if not all, should be home.

Soli Deo Gloria - glory to God alone!