CSB Secretary's Corner

Visit To South Bend, IN

2012-01-29T16:28:00.002-06:00

The Chicago Staff Band has just returned from a weekend visit to South Bend, IN where we were privileged to participate in the grand opening weekend of the Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center. This is the third Kroc Center the band has been invited to visit.

While the weekend was packed full of activities, the CSB took part in a Saturday evening concert with the Notre Dame Symphonic Winds as well as being on duty for the Sunday morning worship and dedication service. The Saturday night concert was a reunion of sorts because the two ensembles played together at Notre Dame University just two years ago.

For this evening the CSB led off with a solo set. At the intermission, the Symphonic Winds took the stage for their solo items. The two bands then combined to conclude the gala evening.

On Sunday morning the building was packed for worship, dedication of the building and the formal ribbon cutting that marked the opening of the center for members to begin using the facility.

It was a great weekend celebrating this magnificent facility that is expected to make a real difference in the lives of the people of South Bend and St. Joseph County.

For those that are interested, the Saturday evening concert play list follows:

Chicago Staff Band
Kroc Fanfare (Merten)
Virtuosity (Baker/arr. Peberdy, soloist - Beth Cooper)
Fusion (Cordner)
Blessed Assurance (Himes, soloist - Brett Tolcher)
My Simple Prayer (Little/Lovatt-Cooper)
My Unchanging Friend (Bosanko, soloist - Shaun Thomas)
Nimrod (Elgar/arr. Goffin)
Harlequin (Broughton)

Piano Offertory (Meghan Pierson)
Transition Music - Notre Dame's New Orleans Brass Band

Notre Dame Symphonic Winds
Celebration Fanfare (Reineke)
Alleluia! Laudamus Te (Reed)
Irish Blessing (Bliery/arr. Dwyer)
God Bless the USA (arr. Dye, soloist - Ryan Belock)
When The Saints Go Marching In (arr. Merton, featuring members of the New Orleans Brass Band)

Notre Dame Symphonic Winds and Chicago Staff Band
Light Walk (Gott)
Amazing Grace (arr. Himes)
The Stars & Stripes Forever (Sousa)
Choral Benediction (Himes)

Sounds of the Seasons 2011

2011-11-27T16:23:00.002-06:00

The annual Sounds of the Seasons concert featuring the Chicago Staff Band and our special guests Boston Brass (http://www.bostonbrass.com) was held in Edman Chapel on the campus of Wheaton College last evening. A near capacity crowd gathered in spite of rainy weather to hear the combined efforts of the two ensembles.

Bandmaster Himes began the program with Bruce Broughton's "Harlequin". Following a welcome and invocation by Executive Officer Lt. Colonel Richard Vander Weele the Chicago Staff Band continued the program with:

"Psalm of Thanks" (Sharman)
"Marcia" from Serenade, Op. 11 (Wiren/arr. Froden)

Boston Brass were then welcomed to the stage for a package that concluded with a CSB/Boston Brass collaboration of "Wayside Festival" (DeJonge/trs. Himes). While more information is available on the Boston Brass web site, their members include Jose Sibaja (trumpet), Jeff Conner (trumpet), Chris Castellanos (horn), Lance LaDuke (trombone/euphonium) and Andrew Hitz (tuba).

The CSB Chorus followed the Boston Brass package with:

"Every Time I Feel The Spirit" (arr. Schrader)
"My Simple Prayer" (arr. Lovatt-Cooper/trs. Downie)

The CSB finished the first half of the concert with "Sirocco" (Graham).

Admission to the concert was free but an offering was taken to offset expenses. Dr. Rudolf Zuiderveld favored those gathered with an organ offertory "Now Thank We All Our God - March Triomphale" (Karg-Elert).

Following an intermission the CSB returned to the stage presenting"

"Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare" (Strauss/arr. Himes)
"Wade In The Water" (Ballantine)

The members of Boston Brass joined the CSB as soloists in the world premier of a William Himes arrangement of solos originally written by Erik Leidzen. Portions of "Wondrous Day", "Tucker", "The Old Rustic Bridge", "Song of the Brother", "Concertino for Trombone", "A Never Failing Friend" and "Songs in the Heart" were combined into an arrangement titled "Leidzen Montage" that featured all five members of Boston Brass as soloists.

Prior to the scripture reading for the evening presented by Commissioner Paul Seiler the band presented "Soli Deo Gloria" (Himes).

Boston Brass returned to the stage for their final package of the evening that included "Frosty the Snowman" and three dances from Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite".

For their final solo item of the evening, the CSB presented "Paean" (Bright) before being joined by members of Boston Brass for a rousing rendition of America's national march, "The Stars And Stripes Forever" (Sousa/arr. Himes).

The evening concluded with the CSB Chorus singing "Silent Night".

The evening was a fitting conclusion to our season of Thanksgiving and a beginning to Advent 2011.

If you missed this concert, you won't want to miss next year's Sounds of the Seasons concert scheduled for Saturday, November 24, 2012. Put it on your calendar now! Hope to see you there.

Quincy, IL - November 12-13, 2011

2011-11-10T13:25:00.002-06:00

I've been remiss and not provided details regarding our visit to Quincy, IL that is coming up this weekend. We will indeed be returning to Quincy where the Salvation Army has recently opened a new Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center.

Our schedule for the weekend includes:

Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Concert at 7:00 pm
Sunday, November 13, 2011 - Worship Service at 10:00 am

The Saturday evening concert will feature euphonium soloist, Master Gunnery Sergeant Phillip Franke. Master Gunnery Sergeant Fanke is the principal euphonium in "The President's Own" United States Marine Band and a graduate of Quincy, IL High School. The concert on Saturday evening will require purchase of a ticket.

For ticket information please contact the Salvation Army at 217.231.5626 or visit the Kroc Center located at 405 Vermont Street in Quincy.

2011-10-15T23:57:00.002-05:00

Today we embarked on our first weekend out since completing our season in June at our commissioning and ordination services in Indiana. About noon we boarded the bus for a short two and a half hour bus ride to Fond du Lac, WI where Envoys Beverly and Doug Peterson are the corps administrators. The Peterson's have only been in Fond du Lac for seven weeks but they've done a great job building on what was left behind.

We shared the concert with the South Shore Chorale led by Corey Schneider. This was a fine vocal ensemble that really added a nice change of pace to the concert.

In addition, the program was compered by local radio hosts Heather and Nick.

The concert was held in Goodrich Little Theater and it was mostly full. Not bad for a town of less than 50,000 people. In addition to the concert, the Salvation Army announced a goal of raising $150,000 during their Christmas campaign.

It was good to see at least three former members of the Chicago Staff Band in attendance. Major Robert Thomson, Stan Kelley and Bill Luhn were all present. If there were others, I'm sorry I missed you. Drop me a note and I promise to make it right.

The concert for the evening included:

Psalm of Thanks (Sharman)
My Unchanging Friend (Bosanko) - Shaun Thomas, soloist
Ballad (Himes) - Tim Meyer, soloist
Harlequin (Broughton)

The Bartered Bride (Smetana) - South Shore Chorale
In Remembrance (Daley) - South Shore Chorale
The Road Home (Paulus) - South Shore Chorale
Animal Crackers (Set 1; Whitacre) - South Shore Chorale

Make Me a Blessing (Graham)
Paean (Bright)
Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare (Strauss/arr. Himes)
Wade In The Water (Ballantine)
Soli Deo Gloria (Himes)

Masquerade (Webber) - South Shore Chorale
Ave Verum (Mozart) - South Shore Chorale & CSB
Battle Hymn of the Republic (arr. Wilhousky) - South Shore Chorale & CSB

Sirocco (Graham)
Choral Benediction (Himes)

Following the concert we traveled to Cornerstone Worship Center to set up there. We will be participating in their worship service on Sunday morning before heading back home.

All in all, it was a blessed day.

CSB to Visit Fond du Lac, WI

2011-10-03T11:22:00.003-05:00

I've just posted the details we've received about our upcoming visit to Fond du Lac, WI. You can see these details directly by clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/nSOCoq Or, you could visit our web page at http://sar.my/csb and click on "schedule". Or, feel free to contact the Salvation Army in Fond du Lac for more details.

Hopefully, we'll see some of you in Fond du Lac!

A New Season

2011-09-28T13:30:00.003-05:00

We began our new 2011-12 CSB season in rehearsal on Tuesday, September 6, 2011.

For this season there has been minimal changes in personnel. In the Eb horn section, Colonel Merle Heatwole has left the band. Colonel Heatwole received a change of appointment in the middle of the 2010-11 season when he was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Central Territory. However, he graciously agreed to finish the season with the band. Replacing him in the horn section is Major John Aren, an officer stationed at the Chicago Northside Adult Rehabilitation Center.

Our bass trombonist, Mike Hanton, has also left the band. Mike along with his wife and children have answered God's call to become Salvation Army officers and have entered the College for Officer Training in Chicago. Jim Olson who had been a member of our baritone section is replacing Mike on bass trombone.

With Jim Olson moving to bass trombone, his position in the baritone section is Captain Jeffrey Carr, an officer stationed at the Metropolitan Divisional Headquarters in Chicago.

Mark Pierson, who has served faithfully in the tuba section for a number of years has had to leave the band due to a change in his work schedule. Mark is being replaced by Scott Thomas, a soldier of the Norridge Citadel Corps.

Finally, Brett Tolcher is now the principal trombonist assisted by Ron Shoults.

You can see from the above that we've only had three bandsmen leave the band after what was a very full 2010-11 season and we're very pleased that is the case. We're looking forward to our continued ministry in the 2011-12 season ahead.

An updated roster and schedule have been posted on our web site located at http://sar.my/csb

New CSB URLs

2011-06-27T23:50:00.003-05:00

Four new shorter URLs for the Chicago Staff Band have been created. Feel free to use these or even bookmark them for future reference.

CSB on Facebook: http://sar.my/csbfacebook

CSB on Twitter: http://sar.my/csbtwit

This blog: http://sar.my/csbsecretary

Our web page: http://sar.my/csb

Hopefully these URLs will make us easier to find on the net.

Gospel Arts Festival and Commissioning - Live Stream

2011-06-10T08:36:00.002-05:00

The Chicago Staff Band will be participating in the Central Territory's Gospel Arts Festival and Commissioning activities this weekend in Merrillville, IN. We hope to see many of you there, but if you're not able to be present you still have the opportunity to watch the events online. Here's a schedule of events and all times listed are Central Daylight Time (CDT):

Friday, June 10
7:30pm - Sing to the Lord a New Song - of Worship (CSB on duty)

Saturday, June 11

9:00 am - Sing to the Lord a New Song - of Praise 1 (CSB not on duty)

11:00 am - Sing to the Lord a New Song - of Praise 2 (CSB not on duty)

12:30 pm - CSB Lunch Concert in Celebrity Ballroom (not streamed)

7:00 pm - Sing to the Lord a New Song - of Proclamation (CSB on duty)

Sunday, June 12

9:30 am - Commissioning & Ordination Service (CSB not on duty)

2:15 pm - Service of Appointments (CSB on duty)

To watch the live stream visit http://www.salvationarmymedia.org or http://www.salvationarmymedia.org/live.html

There is information at the above link on use of either an iOS (iPod Touch, iPad, iPhone) device or a Roku box for watching the live stream.

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

2011-06-06T15:26:00.004-05:00

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!

UK Tour - Day 8 (June 3)

2011-06-03T18:06:00.001-05:00

The eighth day of the tour started off very early with most of our alarms going off between 4:00 and 4:30 am so that we could make the drive from Consett to Chelmsford and arrive in time for a lunch time concert in the Chelmsford Cathedral. We apologized to our hosts for such an early 5:30 am departure and made our way south, arriving at Chelmsford right about noon. It was a mostly quiet ride as most the band tried to get some much needed sleep.

On arrival at the Cathedral we set up quickly, consumed a lunch provided at the Cathedral and got ready for the 1:30 pm concert. The Cathedral was filled with a very enthusiastic crowd. Some of the musical items presented included "Ein Feste Burg", "Ave Verum", "So Glad", "Dance Like David", "Marching Onward" and other items.

We were free to explore the Chelmsford city center until dinner at the corps. We then returned to the Cathedral for the 7:30 pm concert. It appeared that only the cheap seats remained unsold. We were honored with the presence of the deputy mayor who presented the band with the shield of the city. It was interesting to note the motto of the city of Chelmsford is "many minds, one heart." The program for the evening consisted of basically an "A" program but program "B" soloists were used. This meant that Beth Cooper, Shaun Thomas and Mike Hanton were featured. Mick Shay provided his personal word of witness.

Following the concert we packed our equipment before heading to host homes for another short night of sleep. It will be yet another early call in order to get to the Royal Albert Hall in London for rehearsal with the other 7 bands taking part in the ISB120 celebration tomorrow.

UK Tour - Day 7 (June 2)

2011-06-03T02:38:00.001-05:00

Our Thursday started with a relatively short two hour drive from Leeds to County Durham. The first stop was at the County Hall where we were warmly received first by our hosts from the Consett Corps and then by the Chairman of the Durham County Council, Dennis Morgan. During the reception with the Chairman he presented us with the county crest and with a march titled "The Bowburn March" by Ray Farr. Ray Farr has Salvation Army ties and is currently the head of the brass department at Durham University. The march was written to pay tribute to the bravery and the courageous spirit of the people of Bowburn who have toiled beneath the earth and incorporates the hymn tune "Gresford" often referred to as "The Miner's Hymn".

While we were in the reception a team from the Consett Corps kindly loaded our instruments in another vehicle and took them to the Durham Cathedral. At the conclusion of the reception we were taken to Durham City where the coach got as close to the Cathedral as possible. It was a short but beautiful walk over the river and up the hill to the site of the magnificent Cathedral that was completed in 1133. We had about an hour to explore the area around the Cathedral and Durham City before our concert. Some shopped, others visited the European market and others examined the magnificent architecture.

At 1:00 pm we gathered at the Cathedral for a concert. Our local hosts expected 50-100 people to be present but nearly 600 showed up and stayed for our mini 45 minute concert. As is always the case in a building like this the acoustics included a significant reverberation but this Cathedral provided a remarkable amount of clarity as well. Included in the concert was "Soli Deo Gloria", "Precious Lord" and other selections chosen from our tour repertoire.

Following the concert, Cathedral guides provided us with an abbreviated tour. For the less refined that may be unimpressed with the architecture and history you would want to know that we saw the hall in the Cathedral used for Hogwarts in the "Harry Potter" films. But, having now been to the Cathedral and having learned more about it, it is extremely impressive.

We then returned to the coach for the 30 minute ride to Consett where the corps provided a meal of mince and dumplings. Following dinner we received a presentation on the history of the Consett Corps Band which was the first corps band in the Salvation Army world. At the completion of that presentation it was time to walk to the Empire Theater down the street from the Army hall for final concert preparations. The concert was sold out and approximately 500 were in attendance in a lovely theater setting. The "A" program was presented.

In just 7 hours or so the band was able to present our gospel message through music to about 1,100 people in County Durham! Well done and thank you Consett Corps.

Tomorrow is our last solo tour day before meeting up with the other 7 staff bands at ISB120 and we have a 5:30 am departure. To be truthful, we are weary so please pray for us as we strive to live up to our mission as "the band with a sacred mission."

UK Tour - Day 6 (June 1)

2011-06-02T03:27:00.001-05:00

The sixth day of our tour found us making the trip from Norwich to Leeds. The actual trip was uneventful although delayed by a major accident on the A17. In spite of the delay we arrive at Leeds in time for a wonderful cooked lunch before departing for a civic reception with The Lord Mayor of Leeds (Rev'd Councillor Alan Taylor). Prior to meeting The Lord Mayor the Sergeant-at-Mace took the time to explain the Government structure of Leeds and answer questions. Leeds is the third largest government in England with London and Birmingham being 1 and 2 respectively. The Lord Mayor was very gracious in his remarks to the band and took additional time to pose in a group photograph with us.

Following the reception we proceeded to Morley Town Hall to prepare for the evening concert. We were keenly aware of the brass band tradition of the area and the fact that the Black Dyke Band has used Morley Town Hall for recording on a number of occasions. Their conductor, Dr. Nicholas Childs, was in attendance and greeted several members of our band prior to the concert.

The very responsive Morley Town Hall was nearly full and in addition to friends from the UK we met people from the USA who have traveled to the UK in order to be part of the ISB120 celebrations including a young man from Virginia and the divisional music director from the Kansas & Western Missouri Division in our own USA Central Territory. Personally I was able to meet a Salvation Army officer that was in Zambia while my parents served for a short term there in retirement.

The "B" program was presented and included "Let Everything Praise" and "Artist of My Soul" (Heidi Strand, soloist). Alberto Rapley provided his personal testimony.

Following the concert we loaded our equipment for transport and storage at the Morley Corps in preparation for our morning departure. We then retired to host homes for the remainder of the evening.

A big thank you goes out to our official hosts at the Leeds Central Corps and the other Salvationists from Morley and elsewhere in the Yorkshire Division.

Tomorrow we head to our most northerly destination of the tour, Consett in County Durham.

UK Tour - Day 5 (May 31)

2011-06-01T04:49:00.004-05:00

Today marks the time in tour where we wake up, travel to a new place, play a concert, go to bed and then begin the cycle over again. That will be or schedule until we arrive back in London on Saturday. But we will get to see a bit of the countryside from inside a coach and will meet many fantastic people along the way.

We loaded the coach and trailer in Reading this morning and headed to Norwich where we were to be hosted at the Norwich Citadel Corps. The Norwich Citadel is corps number 304 in the Salvation Army world and has a longstanding brass band tradition. Their band has been in our territory no fewer than three times and the Norridge Citadel Band visited Norwich a few years ago. So, there are some connections between our home territory and Norwich.

Upon arrival we set up quickly before heading out to find lunch on our own. The band found everything to eat including roast beef sandwiches, sausages, fish and chips, cornish pasties and Subway. One of those is not an indigenous dish!

Following lunch we took a brief tour of Norwich on the coach as we made our way to a boat tour of the Broads, Britain's magical waterland. The Broads are a series of lakes and rivers joined together into a delightful and beautiful waterway. We were treated to a 1 1/2 hour tour out of Wroxham.

At the conclusion of the tour we were treated to a lovely carvery dinner before returning to the Army hall for final concert preparations. One of our young percussionists wasn't feeling well and it was necessary for him to miss the concert. It was nothing serious (he's fine this morning) but it was very helpful to have a member of the Norwich Citadel Band fill in for him for the concert.

The hall was nearly full and we used our "A" program with Mike Hanton performing "Swing Low". We also included the congregational song "Zephaniah's Song".

It was a good day in Norwich and we are grateful for all the provisions made on our behalf. After a short night of sleep we are headed further north to Leeds tomorrow.

UK Tour - Day 4 (May 30)

2011-05-31T04:04:00.001-05:00

Following a good night of rest at our billets from the Reading Central Corps the band assembled at the hall for a mid morning departure on a day trip to Windsor. En route we were taken past Ascot Race Course as well as driven through Runnymede, the site where the Magna Carta was signed by King John in 1215.

We drove through Windsor Great Park and saw the 2.64 mile straight path that links Windsor Castle with Snow Hill. The coach then left us in Windsor for the remainder of the morning and early afternoon and we were free to explore and have lunch on our own. Most witnessed the 11:00 am guard change at the castle and many took a tour inside.

At 3:00 pm we boarded the coach for the return ride to the Army hall for a quick rehearsal before dinner. A 7:00 pm we presented our "B" concert to a full house that included Bandmaster Stephen Cobb and a number of the host for ISB120, the International Staff Band.

In response to a local request we added "Stand Up and Bless the Lord" as a congregational song just before the interval. During the concert Laura Brooksbank shared her personal testimony.

Following the concert we quickly packed our equipment in preparation for our departure from Reading Central on Tuesday. Although short, our visit to Reading will be remembered fondly.

UK Tour - A & B Programs

2011-05-29T18:20:00.002-05:00

In an earlier post I indicated that we have an A and a B program that serve as the basis for deciding what we are playing in any given concert. The two programs could be called A and 1 in order to avoid any connotation that would indicate that B is an inferior program to A. But it's only an internal reference anyway so why bother?

But some of you band geeks may want to know what is the basic content of the two programs. So, rather that me tell you the exact content of every concert we do on this tour, let me just share with you the content of the two programs:

PROGRAM A

INTRADA ON MONKLAND (Bulla)

JUBILANCE (Himes), soloist - Peggy Thomas

VICTORY FOR ME (Heaton)

I HEAR A VOICE A PRAY-IN’ (Bright)

HE LEADETH ME (Kellner) or GRACE (Hayes)

WALK WITH ME(Steadman-Allan), soloist Brett Tolcher

Testimony

PURCELL VARIATIONS (Downie)

INTERMISSION

VIENNA FANFARE (Strauss/arr. Himes)

SO GLAD (Himes), soloist - Tim Meyer or SWING LOW (Fernie), soloist - Mike Hanton

SOLI DEO GLORIA (Himes)

Scripture

MVT 4 SYMPHONY NUMBER 3 (Giannini, arr. Himes)

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER (Sousa, arr. Himes)

CHORAL BENEDICTION (Himes)

PROGRAM B

HALLELUJAH (Curnow)

CONCERTINO FOR FLUGEL (Himes), soloist - Beth Cooper

SEIZE THE DAY (Graham) or LET EVERYTHING PRAISE (Cordner)

I HEAR A VOICE A-PRAYIN’ (Bright)

NEAR TO THE HEART (McAfee, arr. Lucas) or MY SIMPLE PRAYER (Little, arr. Lovatt-Cooper, adapted Kane

PRECIOUS LORD (Broughton), soloist - Ben Kinzie

Testimony

TO WORLDS UNKNOWN (Bulla)

INTERMISSION

VIENNA FANFARE (Strauss, arr. Himes)

WE’LL ALL SHOUT HALLELUJAH (Audoire), soloist - Shaun Thomas

YOU RAISE ME UP (Lovland & Graham, arr. Gates) or ARTIST OF MY SOUL (Vale, arr. Himes), soloist- Heidi Strand

THIS I KNOW (Himes)

Scripture

MVT 4 SYMPHONY NUMBER 3 (Giannini, arr. Himes)

STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER (Sousa, arr. Himes)

CHORAL BENEDICTION (Himes)

So, there you have it. But if you come to one of our concerts, please don't hold us to these program layouts. They are almost certainly adjusted each time we play.

Hope to see you there.

UK Tour - Day 3 (May 29)

2011-05-29T18:00:00.002-05:00

On Sunday morning we began preparing to leave Boscombe by checking out of our hotel. However, it wouldn't be time to actually leave until after we participated in the morning worship service at the Boscombe Corps. The meeting was a fairly traditional Salvation Army service that included participation of the Boscombe Junior Band, Singing Company and Songsters. As impressive as these sections were, the congregational singing was just as thrilling.

During the service, Kristin Caddy gave a personal witness and our Executive Officer brought the message of the morning titled "It's Up To Us" using the same scripture reference (Matthew 5:1-16) that Kristin used in her testimony. However, each had their own unique points to make and Lt. Colonel Vander Weele reminded us that Jesus taught us that we can be blessed, that we should rejoice because of our great reward and that we are to let our light shine. Kristin spoke of her own desire to be more intentional as a result of studying this same passage.

At the conclusion of the service heartfelt gratitude was expressed by both the Boscombe Corps and the Chicago Staff Band for the wonderful time of fellowship we both had experience over the previous 48 hours. And then , the Boscombe Songsters sang a beautiful blessing for us titled "May It Be" from "The Lord of the Rings". It was absolutely beautiful.

A big thank you goes out to the Boscombe Corps and their team that made all of the fine arrangements for us.

Following the service it was time to pack up, have a quick lunch and begin the short 1.75 hour drive to our next stop, Reading Central Corps. We arrived at Reading Central a bit ahead of schedule and that gave us plenty of opportunity to set up and review details for the evening service.

The evening service was again a traditional Sunday evening Salvation Army meeting. The Reading Central Corps Band played "Torchbearers" while we marched into the hall. Shaun Thomas provided his personal witness, the Reading Central Corps Band played, the Reading Central Songsters sang and Lt. Colonel Vander Weele conducted a testimony meeting that many participated in by sharing their own personal witness.

At the conclusion of the witness period, Lt Colonel Vander Weele brought his second message of the day titled "Sinner or Saint - Christ for Me" in which he reminded us that based on Romans 8:1-14 God loved us whether we were sinners or believers. Regardless, He loves us. In the message he gave his own personal witness regarding when he made his own personal decision to become a Christ follower. As in the morning, the invitation was given for men and women to respond to the call of God.

Following the meeting, we met billets that will be hosting us for the two nights we are in Reading. We are looking forward to another good day tomorrow.

UK Tour Day 2 (May 28)

2011-05-28T20:02:00.001-05:00

We started our first full tour day with a full English breakfast buffet at the hotel in Boscombe. Following breakfast we proceeded to the Pine Walk Bandstand in Bournemouth. The bandstand is located alongside a stream and walking paths through a lovely park. The first official piece presented was the march Petone Citadel. Many people stopped to listen to variety of music that was split into two mini programs with a 15 minute break between the two sets.

It was a pleasant surprise to see Lt Colonel Susan Bukiewicz, one of our divisional leaders, at the concert who is in the UK attending the ICO.

Following the concert we loaded our equipment before having lunch on the bus or on Boscombe Pier en route to Christchurch for an afternoon of sightseeing. The Christchurch Priory is over 900 years old. As we approached the Priory the church bells began to ring and a bride and groom were provided a surprise first greeting as they exited the church. The look on the brides face was priceless as 30+ plus people all in identical jackets applauded them. After a few pictures they were soon whisked away in a white Rolls Royce.

We then returned to the Boscombe Army hall for a quick sound check before enjoying a delicious dinner.

Tonight's concert consisted of our "A" program and I will provide details of our "A" and "B" programs in a later post. For now, just understand that we have two basic concert programs that serve as the basis of our tour concerts. We tend to alternate them and customize as needed. Tonight we had only one customization and that was inclusion of "Chassidic Dance" by Howard Evans who is the Bandmaster of the Boscombe Corps Band. Bandmaster Evans was asked to conduct the piece.

In addition, we played "Purcell Variations" and were pleased to have Kenneth Downie who composed the piece in attendance.

It was interesting to learn that although we are here to help celebrate the 120th anniversary of the ISB the Boscombe Band, our hosts for the weekend, are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year.

All in all it's been a day of blessing and we are looking forward to worshipping with our Salvation Army friends tomorrow in Boscombe (am) and Reading (pm).

UK Tour Day 1

2011-05-27T18:05:00.002-05:00

The first day of our tour really began last evening with a departure from ORD to LHR. We departed on time and actually ended up arriving about an hour early. Unfortunately one of our bandsmen lost a few key articles of clothing from his suitcase en route. It will be a major inconvenience for him until he gets some things replaced.

We were met at the airport by Major Melvyn Ackroyd, Dr Stephen Cobb and Martin Tiplady. Major Ackroyd is appointed along with his wife as chaplain at LHR and he assisted in getting us through border control and customs. Martin has been working on the details of all of the UK touring bands and of course Dr Cobb is the bandmaster of the International Staff Band.

Once we were settled, Major Ackroyd went off to find me who had come in on a separate flight from the band that had been delayed. Once I was collected you can imagine the royal welcome I received from my colleagues who had been waiting patiently on the coach.

Next we headed off on the drive to Bournemouth after buckling our seat belts as required by law. The drive was uneventful and we went straight to the Boscombe Corps to set up for a brief rehearsal. It wasn't brief enough and we missed our opportunity for a cup of tea or coffee before checking in at the hotel where most got a little well deserved rest and several others took self guided walking tours of the area.

The English Channel is walking distance from the hotel and from the beach you can see the Isle of Wight which is very impressive.

Following our rest we returned to the Boscombe Corps for fellowship and food with members of the Boscombe Corps Band. The fish and chips were perfect as was the dessert. It's always enjoyable to meet Salvation Army bandsmen wherever we are and the members of the Boscombe Band are no exception to that. They were great hosts tonight.

It was great to see Bandmaster Howard Evans. Many of us got to know a him 6 years ago when he, his wife and two daughters were special guests at Central Music Institute. After his brief remarks we've returned to the hotel to rest and prepare for a good full day tomorrow.

Please keep us all in your prayers.

Until next time...

Counting Down

2011-05-25T16:55:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, we leave tomorrow evening on a UK tour that will conclude at the celebration of the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band. The blog has been quiet because a) I've been very busy and b) we've worked hard to keep perspective on this season. We've had many fine ministry opportunities this season and we have tried to focus on each one of those in turn. But, now we are on the threshold of the beginning of the tour and I must begin to write again.

The United Kingdom and Ireland Territory have really worked hard on each aspect of this event. I'll do my best to keep you informed of what is going on along the way, but for now I guess I should just publish our schedule. So, here goes:

Thursday evening, May 26

Depart Chicago O'Hare Airport

Friday, May 27

Arrive London Heathrow

Proceed to Bournemouth

Saturday, May 28

10:30 am Concert at Pine Walk Bandstand

7:00 pm Concert at The Salvation Army Boscombe Corps

Sunday, May 29

11:00 am Worship Service at The Salvation Army Boscombe Corps

Afternoon - Travel to Reading

6:00 pm Worship Service at The Salvation Army Reading Central Corps

Monday, May 30

7:00 pm Concert at Reading Central Corps

Tuesday, May 31

7:30 pm Concert at Norwich Citadel Corps

Wednesday, June 1

2:00 pm Civic Reception with Lord Mayor of Leeds

7:30 pm Concert at Morley Town Hall (Leeds)

Thursday, June 2

10:30 am Civic Reception at County Hall, Durham City

1:15 pm Informal Concert at Durham Cathedral

7:30 pm Concert at Empire Theatre (Consett)

Friday, June 3

1:00 pm Concert at Chelmsford Cathedral (45 minutes)

7:30 pm Concert in Chelmsford Cathedral

Saturday, June 4

2:00 pm Mini Concert at Royal Albert Hall (London)

7:00 pm "Brass Spectacular" Concert at Royal Albert Hall (Celebrating the 120th anniversary of the International Staff Band with seven other staff bands)

Sunday, June 5

2:15 pm March from Admiralty Arch to Buckingham Palace (London) (with seven other staff bands)

2:35 pm Concert in Buckingham Palace Forecourt (with seven other staff bands)

3:05 pm March from Buckingham Palace to Wellington Barracks (passing in review of General Linda Bond)

Monday, June 6

Return to Chicago

There are a number of other activities on our schedule but the above are public.

Please keep the ministry of the band in your prayers and watch here for updates as we go along!

2011-04-11T08:39:00.002-05:00

The Chicago Staff Band will be in Elkhart, IN April 16-17, 2011. Plans for the weekend include a Saturday evening concert, open to the public, at the RV/MH Hall of Fame and Sunday morning worship at the First Presbyterian Church.

For more information please contact the Salvation Army in Elkhart at: 574.970.0088

Saturday, April 16

Public Concert at RV/MH Hall of Fame - 7:00 pm
(A volunteer recognition event will precede the concert at 6:30 pm)
21565 Executive Parkway
Elkhart, IN 46514

Sunday, April 17 (Palm Sunday)

First Presbyterian Church - 11:00 am service
200 E Beardsley
Elkhart, IN 46514
www.presby.net

Peoria, IL Visit Schedule

2011-03-19T08:41:00.002-05:00

The Chicago Staff Band will visit Peoria, IL March 19-20, 2011. On Saturday afternoon we will be conducting a band school with Salvation Army young people from the Salvation Army's Heartland Division. On Saturday evening there will be a public concert at 7:00 pm in Dingeldine Music Center on the campus of Bradley University.

Sunday morning we will participate in two worship services at Bethany Baptist Church.

The details for the public events follow. For more information contact the Salvation Army at: 309.655.7220

Saturday, March 19

7:00 pm Concert (open to the public)
Dingeldine Music Center
Bradley University
1417 W Baker Avenue
Peoria, IL 61606

Sunday, March 20

8:15 am and 11:00 am worship services
Bethany Baptist Church
7422 N Heinz Lane
Edwards, IL 61528
www.bethanycentral.org

Upcoming Events

2011-02-24T10:18:00.004-06:00

We've just published as many details as we have on our schedule web page for our upcoming visits to Peoria, IL (March 2011), Elkhart, IN (April 2011) and the UK/ISB 120 (May/June 2011).

You can find our web site at:

http://www.usc.salvationarmy.org/csb.

From there you can click on "schedule" on the right hand side. Or, you can click on this link that will take you directly there: http://bit.ly/fikopb

I will be posting these details here in the blog in the next few days.

CSB Visit to Ottawa, IL - February 19-20,2011

2011-02-20T08:18:00.002-06:00

The Chicago Staff Band traveled just 85 miles to Ottawa, IL on Saturday, February 19, 2011 for a Saturday evening concert and Sunday morning worship. With a population of just over 18,000 people it is a city of two rivers because it is where the Fox River and Illinois River meet.

The Salvation Army in Ottawa is led by Captains Quentin and Mary Boyle who had made arrangements for the events of the weekend to be hosted by the 1st Presbyterian Church in Ottawa that is pastored by John Walker.

Following the relatively short bus ride we quickly adapted to the tight space available in the sanctuary and had a quick sound check. Following the sound check dinner was hosted by the Church prior to the start of the concert. A good sized crowd gathered in the sanctuary for the 7:00 pm concert.

Following the concert some of us were hosted by members of the Church and others were housed at a hotel. We are looking forward to worship this morning where our own Executive Officer, Lt. Colonel Richard Vander Weele, will bring the message of the morning from Psalm 23, continuing the theme already started by Pastor Walker at the church.

Special thanks go out to Pastor Walker and the people of the 1st Presbyterian Church, Captains Boyle and the Ottawa Salvation Army, Major James Frye (Heartland Division Music Coordinator) and Major Evie Diaz (Heartland Divisional Commander) for their support of this weekend.

A listing of the concert program follows.

Hallelujah! (Curnow)
Invocation - Captain Quentin Boyle
Trumpet Call (Downie) - Beth Cooper, cornet soloist
Victory For Me! (Heaton)
I Hear a Voice A-Prayin' (Bright) - CSB Chorus
Grace (Hayes) - CSB Chorus
We'll All Shout Hallelujah (Audoire) - Shaun Thomas, euphonium soloist
To Worlds Unknown (Bulla)
Offering/Intermission
Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare (Strauss/arr Himes)
Chassidic Dance (Evans)
Walk With Me (Steadman-Allen) - Brett Tolcher, trombone soloist
Scripture - Lt. Colonel Richard Vander Weele
Unshakeable Kingdom (Gaither, Gaither & Smith) - Heidi Smith, vocal soloist
Symphony No. 3, Movement 4 (Giannini/arr Himes)
Prayer - Captain Mary Boyle
Choral Benediction - CSB Chorus

CSB To Visit Ottawa, IL

2011-02-13T18:03:00.002-06:00

The Chicago Staff Band will visit Ottawa, IL on February 19-20, 2011. On Saturday evening at 7:00 pm there will be a concert and we will participate in Sunday morning worship at 10:00 am as well. Both the concert and worship service will take place at the First Presbyterian Church in Ottawa located at:

114 E Jefferson St
Ottawa, IL

View Larger Map

For more information contact the Salvation Army in Ottawa, IL at (815) 433-0798.

Oak Creek, WI - This Weekend

2011-01-19T14:47:00.002-06:00

I'm happy to report that the CSB will be visiting the Salvation Army in Oak Creek, WI this weekend. The events of the weekend include a concert at 6:30 pm on Saturday evening. In addition to the band, the Milwaukee Choristers (web page or Facebook) will be featured in this concert.

On Sunday morning the band will participate in the morning worship service at 10:30 am.

Both the worship service and concert will take place at the Salvation Army in Oak Creek located at:
8853 South Howell Avenue
Oak Creek, Wisconsin 53154

For more information call the Salvation Army at 414.762.3993

View Larger Map

Sounds of the Season 2010

2010-12-03T14:42:00.002-06:00

I guess that an entry about our annual Thanksgiving concert, known as "Sounds of the Seasons" in suburban Chicago is long overdue!

The concert was again at Edman Chapel on the campus of Wheaton College. Our special guests for the evening included euphonium soloist, Derick Kane and the Salvation Story Steel Orchestra from the The Salvation Army Red Shield Center, Chicago Englewood.

Derick has a long resume as a euphonium soloist and since 1976 has been the principal euphonium in the Salvation Army International Staff Band. The Salvation Story Steel Orchestra has the goal of providing an opportunity for Englewood youth to do something wonderful while building capacity into their lives. Both Derick and the steel orchestra played magnificently and received standing ovations from our audience.

The devotional thought for the evening was brought by Colonel Néstor Nüesch, second in charge of the Salvation Army Central Territory and the benediction was pronounced by Lt. Colonel Ralph Bukiewicz who is in charge of the Salvation Army work in metropolitan Chicago.

As has become our tradition, the concert concluded with our "Choral Benediction" that included the CSB Chorus augmented by many CSB Alumni that were present for the evening.

The hall was nearly full with the only real remaining space being in the balcony. The band is grateful to all who gathered for the evening and especially grateful to nearly 150 sponsors and patrons of the concert.

For those who are interested here was the program for the evening:

CSB
Intrada on ‘Monkland’ (Bulla)
Seize the Day (Graham)

Derick Kane
Canaan’s Land (Graham)

CSB Chorus
I Hear A Voice A-Prayin’ (Bright)
Neart To The Heart of God (McAfee/arr. Lucas)

Derick Kane
Donegal Bay (Lovatt-Cooper)

CSB
Victory For Me! (Heaton)
Symphony No. 3, Mvt. 4 – Allegro con brio (Giannini/arr. Himes)

Salvation Story Steel Orchestra
Jump for Joy (Lyons & Lewis/arr. Irvine)

CSB
Crusaders (Goffin)

Derick Kane
The Better World (Bearcroft)

Salvation Story Steel Band
Flight of the Bumble Bee (Rimsky-Korsakov/arr. Mast)
Caribbean Sing-Along (arr. Himes)

CSB
Give Thanks (Smith/arr. Pearce)
Let Everything Praise (Cordner)

Derick Kane
Christmas Dance (Kane)
Glorious Ventures (Graham)

CSB & Congregation
Joy To The World (arr. Himes)

CSB & CSB Alumni Chorus
Choral Benediction (Himes)

Location Correction!

2010-11-04T09:53:00.002-05:00

In my last post I gave you some incorrect information when I indicated we would be at the same church in Jackson, MI on Saturday, November 6 and Sunday, November 7.

On Saturday night at 7:00 pm we will be in concert at:

First United Methodist Church
275 W Michigan Avenue
Jackson, MI

On Sunday morning we will participate in the 9:00 am and 11:15 am worship services at:

Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church
120 E Main St
Spring Arbor, MI 49283

I apologize for any confusion I may have created in my last post.

Upcoming Visit to Jackson, MI

2010-11-01T19:29:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, November 6 and Sunday, November 7 the Chicago Staff Band will be visiting Jackson, MI. On Saturday evening at 7:00 pm we will be in concert at the First United Methodist Church located at 275 W Michigan Avenue, Jackson, MI.

On Sunday we will participate in both 9:00 am and 11:00 am worship services at the same church.

For more information visit the Jackson, MI Salvation Army web site at: JacksonTSA

Grand Rapids Kroc Center This Weekend!

2010-10-21T17:02:00.002-05:00

The Chicago Staff Band is honored to be participating this weekend at the grand opening weekend of the Grand Rapids Kroc Center. We will be doing a concert on Saturday night and participating in the worship service on Sunday morning.

For full information on all of the events of the weekend visit:

http://www.grkroccenter.org/

A quote from their web site says:

7:15 pm: The Salvation Army Chicago Staff Band Concert
The Salvation Army Chicago Staff Band will perform a free concert to an audience of 400 in the Worship & Performing Arts Center. Doors open 6:15PM. Tickets are required to attend and seating is limited.

The worship service on Sunday morning begins at 10:00 am.

The address of the Kroc Center is:
2500 S. Division Street
Grand Rapids, MI

ISB 120 Tickets

2010-10-05T08:21:00.003-05:00

While the CSB has a full schedule for 2010-11 that will take place before our participation at ISB 120, there is no doubt that ISB 120 is generating a lot of interest. Because of that interest, I'm writing this entry that basically repeats information being distributed by the ISB. Over this past weekend, I received the following in an e-mail. You may have also received this and if you did, I apologize for repeating it.

"There are just 7 days to go before tickets for ISB120 (the 8 staff band spectacular) go on general sale, on Saturday 9th October 2010 at 9am.

If you're ordering your tickets by post, best post your letter today!
The Royal Albert Hall address is; Kensington Gore, LONDON, SW7 2AP.

The box office will be open from 9am on Saturday 9th October 2010 for personal callers. The box office telephone number is 020 7589 8212 and the Royal Albert Hall website is http://www.facebook.com/l/eed2aeaNFn34JJAYXf0_blLUKgA;www.royalalberthall.com

Don't forget, you only need one ticket for this event.
During the course of the afternoon, each staff band will be giving an individual concert and, following an interval, all 8 staff bands will appear on stage together, wow!"

So, if you're going to be in London and want tickets, Saturday, October 9 is the date. You can receive your own information on the event in at least 3 ways.

Visit http://www.isb120.com/ and sign up at the bottom of the page to get the newsletter.
Follow isb120 on Twitter. If you aren't on Twitter but want to see what's going on visit http://twitter.com/isb120.
Check out the Facebook event called ISB120. If you're not on Facebook, the event page is public and can be accessed at http://bit.ly/caNl6f .

CSB Retreat Up Next

2010-09-16T22:20:00.002-05:00

After a quick start last week where we had one rehearsal and were on duty for the public welcome of the cadets we are off to our annual rehearsal retreat tomorrow night. We'll read through a bunch of repertoire and spend some quality time together.

For those who are interested I've just updated both our roster and schedule on the web site. The roster can be found at http://ow.ly/2FAFp . The schedule is at http://ow.ly/2FAFK

See you on the other side of the retreat!

Visit to Indianapolis, IN - May 22-23, 2010

2010-05-23T18:53:00.001-05:00

The Chicago Staff Band has just returned from a visit to the Indianapolis, Indiana area. This visit is the last out of town weekend for the 2009-10 season. We still have two rehearsals, a recording session and the Congress weekend left before we take our summer break.

We started out on Saturday morning heading through Indiana on I-65. Getting out of Chicago was a breeze which is unusual. But, after having had lunch we felt right at home as our bus encountered a significant traffic jam as we approached Indianapolis.

Both the Saturday night concert and Sunday morning worship services were held at the Mount Comfort United Methodist Church in Greenfield, IN. Ernie Alder, a member of the Methodist congregation, has ties to the Salvation Army and had initiated the invitation for the band to return to the Indianapolis area.

Upon arrival we had a quick sound check followed by a home cooked dinner. Ample time remained for us to finish our final concert preparations. A nice responsive audience gathered for the 7:00 pm concert. At the conclusion of the concert we recognized the service of our travel coordinator, Major Robert Doliber, who will be leaving the band at the conclusion of the season when he will be taking an overseas appointment.

On Sunday morning the band and other area Salvationists gathered with our new Methodist friends for worship at 9:00 am. Our Executive Officer, Lt. Colonel Richard Vander Weele brought the message of the morning as we celebrated Pentecost Sunday together. An ensemble was called upon to open the 11:17 am contemporary worship service before we boarded the bus for a relatively quick and painless return to THQ.

Our appreciation goes out to the Salvation Army’s Indiana Division and the people of the Mount Comfort United Methodist Church. Special thanks go to Majors Vicki and Dick Amick, Captain Marcos Ramirez, Ernie Alder and Pastor C. Reid Walker.

Now, for those who are interested, here’s the Saturday night concert play list:

Montclair Citadel (Bulla)
Welcome & Prayer
Concertino for Flugel and Band (Himes/Beth Cooper, soloist)
Sirocco (Graham)
Soon and Very Soon (Crouch/Karl Strand, soloist)
Then Will the Very Rocks Cry Out (arr. Hayes)
Concertino for Trombone (David, arr. Condon/Matthew Luhn, soloist)
Let Everything Praise (Cordner)
Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good to Me (arr. Alexander)
INTERMISSION
El Es El Senor (Jones)
Slavonic Dance No. 8, Opus 46 (Dvorak)
Through My Savior’s Merit (Condon)
Cause for Celebration (Himes)
The Stars and Stripes Forever (Sousa, arr. Himes)
Closing Prayer
Choral Benediction (Himes)

CSB to Visit Indianapolis, IN

2010-05-11T20:03:00.002-05:00

I've been asked several times for information about our visit to Indianapolis scheduled for May 22-23, 2010. I'm pleased to be able to provide the following:

Saturday, May 22
7:00 pm Concert
Mt. Comfort United Methodist Church
3179 N. 600 W.
Greenfield, IN 46140

Sunday, May 23
9:00 am Worship Service
Mt. Comfort United Methodist Church
3179 N. 600 W.
Greenfield, IN 46140

An ensemble will also present a few numbers at the beginning of the 11:00 am Contemporary Service at the Mt. Comfort United Methodist Church.

If you're anywhere near Indianapolis, I hope to see you there. Be sure to say hello!

Iowa City, IA - April 24 & 25, 2010

2010-04-26T21:06:00.003-05:00

As mentioned previously the CSB traveled to Iowa City, IA on Saturday, April 24, 2010. We made our way west on I-88 and then I-80 in a light rain that seemed to be turning the Midwest green as we went.

We arrived at Parkview Church in time to set up and have a short rehearsal with Joyful Noize, the youth gospel choir of the Salvation Army in Iowa City. Next up was a very short rehearsal with the Eastern Iowa Brass Band under the baton of Casey Thomas.

Following those rehearsals and sound checks we were treated to a fantastic meal cooked by one of the Salvation Army soldiers from the Iowa City Corps. The meal was provided to both bands and a number of special guests. It was amazing that after this meal either band was able to play any notes at all. It was truly spectacular.

But eating was not the reason we’d been invited to Iowa City. So, at 7:00 pm we entered the stage for the evening concert. We led off the evening with a short set that included Joyful Noize singing “The Spirit of the Lord” to our accompaniment. Following that set and recognition of local Salvation Army volunteers the Eastern Iowa Brass Band took the stage for a solo set.

The format then called for each band to present more solo items before we formed a single band to conclude the evening but not before a beautiful presentation from Ordained 2 Praise a dance troupe from the Iowa City Salvation Army.

While it was a late night, the evening was worthwhile for all participants and I believe the audience as well. A complete listing of the program items will follow at the end of this posting for those who are interested.

On Sunday morning the band joined with the Iowa City Corps for both Sunday School and worship. Sunday School was led by our own Captain John Pook and the band chorus sang along with an instrumental ensemble. But, the most exciting part of the entire weekend was the opportunity to celebrate with the Iowa City Corps as they made new church members that included 31 children and adults.

Following the worship service that included preaching by Colonel Carol Seiler we boarded the bus to head back east to Chicagoland having been thoroughly blessed to have been in Iowa City. Our thanks go out to Captains Terry & Jennifer Smith, the Eastern lIowa Brass Band, Casey Thomas, Joyful Noize, Ordained 2 Praise, Set The Atmosphere and all of the wonderful people we met in Iowa City. We’ll look forward to the next invitation if we’re fortunate enough to get one!

Now… here’s what the band geeks are looking for:

CSB
El Es Él Senor (Jones)
Concertino For Flugel and Band Mvt I & III (Himes) – Beth Cooper, soloist
The Spirit of the Lord (Funk/arr. Thomas) – Joyful Noize
Time and Eternity (Bosanko) – Peggy Thomas & Shaun Thomas, soloists
Sirocco (Graham)

EIBB
The Contestor (Powell)
Mr. Sandman (arr. Baker)
I Am The Resurrection from Requiem (Rutter/arr. Thomas)
A Gaelic Blessing (Rutter/arr. Thomas)
American Overture (Jenkins)

CSB
Concertino for Trombone Mvt II & III (David/arr. Condon) Matthew Luhn, soloist
Cause For Celebration (Himes)
The High Council (Steadman-Allen)

INTERMISSION

EIBB
Blue Rondo A La Turk (arr. Edwards)

Ordained 2 Praise – dance troupe

Massed Bands
Light Walk (Gott) Casey Thomas, conductor/Paul Waech, soloist
Amazing Grace (arr. Himes)
The Stars and Stripes Forever (Sousa/arr. Himes)

CSB
Choral Benediction

Iowa City Next Week - April 24-25, 2010

2010-04-18T21:35:00.002-05:00

That's right! The Chicago Staff Band will be returning to visit the Iowa City, IA Salvation Army next Saturday and Sunday. If I'm not mistaken, it's been nearly five years since our last visit to Iowa City.

On Saturday evening we will be sharing a concert with the Easter Iowa Brass Band (http://easterniowabrassband.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Eastern-Iowa-Brass-Band/101390641311), Casey Thomas - director. We played with this fine band the last time we were in Iowa City and are looking forward to being with them again. The format will include solo items from both bands as well as a few massed band items.

On Sunday morning we will be worshiping with the Salvation Army at the Robert A Lee Recreational Center. The schedule for the weekend is:

Saturday, April 24:
7:00 pm Concert
Parkview Church (http://www.parkviewchurch.org)

Sunday, April 25:
9:30 am Sunday School (Robert A Lee Recreational Center)
10:30 am Worship Service (Robert A Lee Recreational Center)

For more information contact the Salvation Army in Iowa City (http://www.icsalvationarmy.org) at 319.337.3725

As always, if you're able to join us don't forget to come and say hello.

Report on London, ON Visit

2010-03-21T18:14:00.001-05:00

We're on a long bus ride back to THQ from London, ON. By the time we get there we will have travelled about 842 miles in total. This is considerably longer than a regular CSB weekend trip on a bus. It started on Friday evening when we left THQ at 5:30 pm. We drove as far as Lansing, MI where we stayed overnight before continuing on Saturday to cross the Blue Water Bridge that connects Port Huron, MI and Sarnia, ON.

The northbound border crossing was very uneventful and caused us to be more than an hour ahead of schedule. Just north of Sarnia we made a lunch stop with some members heading to Tim Horton's and others having a sandwich at Subway. Special thanks go out to our longtime driver, Ed, who made it possible for us to visit these two places for lunch.

We arrived at the Salvation Army's London Citadel Corps in plenty of time. In fact, we were so early that some of us headed over to a local mall to simply kill some time before joining musicians who had gathered at the corps for workshops led by Bill Himes. Bill concluded the workshops with a “Praise and Meditation Time” that included all of those who had been present for the entire afternoon and the members of the CSB.

A quick sound check by the CSB was followed by a lovely dinner at the corps. We were joined at dinner by a number of corps members and the fellowship of believers commenced.

At 7:30 we began the evening concert at the London Citadel Corps. The hall was packed and the audience was receptive and responsive. Of course, being from the USA we had to endure a little bit of harassment about the 2010 Winter Olympics gold medal game between the USA and Canada.

Following the concert we retired for the evening to homes of members of the London Citadel Corps. Those hosts made sure we were well taken care of and returned us to the corps in plenty of time to prepare for a blessed time of worship.

One last meal and we were ready to get on the bus and head back to THQ in Des Plaines. When we reached the southbound border we were delayed only about 30 minutes as we cleared immigration after crossing the same bridge connecting the two countries.

As a veteran of the CSB this trip felt more like an “old fashioned” band trip. Today we often play concerts in venues built for concerts. On Saturday night our concert was in the Army hall. On Sundays we are often found worshipping in churches different from our own. But this weekend, from start to finish we were in a functioning and healthy Salvation Army corps. The only thing missing was a Saturday afternoon or evening wrap-up. But then because of distance, that wasn't possible for this trip.

Congratulations and thanks go out to all of the folks at the London Citadel Corps for taking such good care of us. Special thanks to Majors Braund, BM John Lam, Allan Bolam, Allan Weatherall, Gillian Weatherall and the LC kitchen crew. This was a visit we will remember for a long time.

Now... for all of you band geeks, here's the repertoire for the Saturday evening concert. My apologies in advance for not including the composers and arrangers in this list.

Saturday Concert

PRAISE HIM

CONCERTINO FOR FLUGEL HORN AND BAND - Mvts 1 & 3 (soloist – Beth Cooper)

SIROCCO

Vocal - SOON AND VERY SOON (soloist – Karl Strand)

Vocal - THEN WILL THE VERY ROCKS CRY OUT

Testimony Captain John Pook

THE GUARDIAN (soloist – Brett Tolcher)

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

INTERMISSION

I BELIEVE

CONCERTANTE FOR CORNETS AND BAND

LORD, LORD YOU SURE BEEN GOOD TO ME

Vocal - THROUGH MY SAVIOR’S MERIT

FOR TIME AND ETERNITY (soloists – Peggy Thomas; Shaun Thomas)

Scripture - Lt. Colonel Vander Weele

VITAE AETERNUM

STARS AND LEAFS FOREVER

Correction! CSB in London, ON March 20-21, 2010

2010-03-15T13:25:00.001-05:00

For those of you who have been paying attention my last posting incorrectly trumpeted the dates we are going to be in London, ON as March 22-23. My bad... it really is this coming weekend which is March 20-21, 2010.

Sorry.

CSB To Visit London, Ontario - March 20-21 2010

2010-03-09T16:20:00.003-06:00

It may come as a bit of a surprise to you that I am writing about an event before it occurs rather than after it occurs. Of course I won't be able to provide our playlist in advance but it occurs to me that some of you might like to know details about upcoming concerts and worship services in advance so that you can pray for our ministry and/or support it with your attendance.

On March 20-21 we will be visiting our friends north of the border for a Saturday evening concert and Sunday morning worship service. Bandmaster Himes will be conducting a brass workshop on Saturday afternoon before the full band arrives.

For those interested in more details I'll paste information below from the http://www.londoncitadel.ca/ web site.

The London Citadel Band is pleased to present the famous Chicago Staff Band in Concert at London Citadel on March 20 & 21st.

Saturday, March 20th:

1:30 - 4:30: Brass Workshop - (by reservation only) with Bandmaster Bill Himes. First
come first serve basis as space is limited. The cost of $20.00 includes the
workshop, dinner and concert admission. To register please call the Corps
Office at 472-2500.

7:30 pm: Concert by the Chicago Staff Band.
General admission is $10.00 at the door.

Sunday, March 21st:

The Chicago Staff Band will conduct the morning Worship at London
Citadel.

Please invite your friends to come and share in this special weekend.

Our Des Moines, IA Visit - February 20, 2010

2010-02-20T23:35:00.002-06:00

Our day started at THQ in Des Plaines at about 10:30 am where we boarded our the bus that would take us across the state of Illinois and half way across Iowa to Des Moines, IA. The Salvation Army in Des Moines invited us to come and provide a Saturday evening concert at the First Baptist Church of Greater Des Moines.

We arrived in time to set up before having a quick sandwich for dinner and make our concert preparations. A nice responsive crowd was on hand for the concert that included the items listed below. We'll be back at First Baptist in the morning to participate in the worship service at 9:30 am.

El Es Él Señor (Dean Jones)
Blessed Assurance (Stephen Bulla/Ben Kinzie – soloist)
Sirocco (Peter Graham)
Soon & Very Soon (Andrae Crouch/Karl Strand – soloist)
Then Will The Very Rocks Cry Out (arr. Hayes)
The Guardian (Peter Graham/Brett Tolcher – soloist)
Cause For Celebration (William Himes)
Concertante For Cornets and Band (Stephen Bulla)
Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good To Me (arr. Alexander)
He Leadeth Me (Kellner)
Vitae Aeternum (Paul Lovatt-Cooper)
The Stars & Stripes Forever (John Philip Sousa, arr. Himes)
Choral Benediction (William Himes)

Special thanks to Major David Corliss, Arvid Huisman and the many officers of the Western Division for their support of this weekend.

Visit To South Bend, IN - January 23-24, 2010

2010-01-31T17:08:00.000-06:00

This blog entry is at least a week overdue. The CSB received a late invitation to South Bend, IN after a cancellation occurred on our calendar.

South Bend is of course the location of Notre Dame University and it will be the home of a new Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center. It is also the place where the Salvation Army and the Notre Dame Marching Band have entered into a partnership called BandLINK. The joint goal is to teach important life lessons through music.

Under the direct supervision of Matt Merten (brass) and Sam Sanchez (percussion), both from the University, and approximately 20 student mentors from the University Marching Band, BandLINK students are provided private and group instruction four times a week.

Over 40 students, 3rd-7th grades, have benefited from this program that was conceived by Colonel Dennis Phillips of the Salvation Army and Dr. Kenneth Dye, professor of music and director of bands at Notre Dame.

Saturday evening, January 23, was a collaboration concert including the Notre Dame Symphonic Winds, the Chicago Staff Band and kids from the BandLINK program. The program was marked by two standing ovations. The first followed the performance of the BandLINK students who played “American Celebration” accompanied by the Chicago Staff Band. The second followed the playing of “Onward Christian Soldiers”. This piece was performed by both the Notre Dame Symphonic Winds and the Chicago Staff Band under the baton of Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC.

Following the marvelous collaboration concert the CSB headed to 1st Presbyterian Church to set up for worship where we gathered on Sunday morning to participate in the weekly service that included Presbyterians and Salvationists from South Bend.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend of music ministry and Majors Bob and Collette Webster are to be congratulated for hosting the band and for all they are doing in the community of South Bend.

For those who absolutely must know, here’s the concert music outline from the collaboration concert:

Notre Dame Symphonic Winds

• Star-Spangled Banner (Francis Scott Key)
• Hands Across The Sea (John Phillip Sousa)
• Fandango (Joseph Turrin) – Anthony Parrish/Andrew Thomas, soloists
• Andante And Tranquillo (Samuel Barber/arr. Saucedo)
• I’ll Fly Away – What A Friend We Have In Jesus (traditional/arr. Merten)
• Notre Dame Victory March (J & M Sheaar, Casasanta)

Chicago Staff Band

• El Es El Senor (Jones)
• Symphonette (Bulla)
• He Leadeth Me (Kellner)
• Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good To Me (arr. Alexander)
• American Celebration (Himes)

Notre Dame Symphonic Winds & Chicago Staff Band

• Cause For Celebration (Himes)
• Amazing Grace (Himes)
• Seventy-Six Trombones (Wilson/arr. Dye)
• Nicaea (Himes)
• Onward Christian Soldiers (Sullivan)
• The Stars And Stripes Forever (Sousa)

Sounds of the Seasons 2009 - Program

2009-11-29T20:17:00.003-06:00

As promised, I am providing the details of last evenings CSB concert. I will attempt to provide the program notes as well. So, unless you are a band geek, you might want to skip this post altogether.

Festival Prelude - "Praise Him" (Stephen Bulla)

A scintillating opener based on a well known gospel song of Fanny Crosby (1820-1915):
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!

Welcome & Prayer - Lt. Colonel Richard Vander Weele

Transcription - "Melodies of Dvorak" (arr. Steadman-Allen)

The music of the Czech composer Antonin Dvorad contains a wealth of lovely melody. Some of the best known, such as the Slavonic Dances are included. The closing section is a kaleidoscopic panorama in which tune succeeds tune in a rising tide, reaching full flood in a brilliant finish.

CSB Chorus - "He Leadeth Me" (Paul Kellner)

Trombone Solo (Herb Bruce) - "Scherzo for Trombone and Band" (James Cheyne)

In the composer's words, this exciting work was "written as a portrait of Herb Bruce, illustrating various aspects of his playing, his technique and his soloistic excursions." In fact it is a tour de force for trombone, requiring fluid lyricism and virtuoso technique.

Trombone Solo (Herb Bruce) - "Song to Lotta" (Jan Sandestrom, arr. Himes)

The composer wrote this haunting melody for a close friend's daughter, Lotta, then a little girl, who had begun studying trombone. It was presented on her birthday with her father accompanying on piano.

CSB Chorus - "Soon and Very Soon" (Karl Strand, soloist; arr. Jack Schrader)

CSB Chorus - "Then Will the Very Rocks Cry Out" (arr. Mark Hayes)

Trombone Solo (Herb Bruce) - "Let The Beauty of Jesus" (William Broughton)

A brief but beautiful ballad based on a chorus of Albert Orsborn (1886-1967) the sixth General of The Salvation Army:
Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me,
All His wonderful passion and purity,
Oh, Thou Spirit divine, all my nature refine,
Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.

Meditation - "The Blessing" (William Himes)

This music was written as a processional for the wedding of the composer's son and is based on the groom's favorite hymn, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," by Robert Robinson (1735-90). Hence the music expresses solemnity, tenderness and majesty, building to the seeping grandeur of the bridal entry to coincide with the hymn text, "Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for they courts above"

Offering & Intermission

"Concertante for Cornets and Band (Stephen Bulla)

Written especially for the Salvation Army's Southern Territorial Band, this section features uses as its principal them Hans Leo Hassler's (1564-1612) Passion Chorale.

Sing-Along - "Be Thou My Vision" (arr. William Himes)

Dedicated to Commissioner Andrew S. Miller, leader and friend

Trombone Solo (Herb Bruce) - Trombonology (Tommy Dorsey, arr. Larch)

This big band classic and showpiece for trombone was written by Tommy Dorsey in 1947.

Trombone Solo (Herb Bruce) - Nessun Dorma (Giacomo Puccini, arr. Cheyne)

Nessun dorma ("None shall sleep") is from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot" and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera.

Scripture - Commissioner Barry C. Swanson

Overture - "Vitae Aeternum" (Paul Lovatt-Cooper)

A fresh new work which incorporates three Salvation Army songs on the theme of faith and the assurance of eternal life: "God came in Jesus to live among us," "I will praise you, Lord" and "Holy Spirit! Promised presence fall on me."

Encore! - "Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good to Me" (Herb Bruce, soloist, Eric Alexander)

Take an old spiritual, set it to a blues progression and mix in a contagious Dixieland street beat, and the result is this delightful jazz feature.

Closing Prayer - Commissioner Sue Swanson

CSB Chorus and Alumni - "Choral Benediction" (William Himes)

Sounds of the Seasons 2009

2009-11-29T17:30:00.004-06:00

"Sounds of the Seasons" is the title the CSB has given to the annual concert we sponsor on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. In the "old days" we simply called it the Thanksgiving Concert. But in the "old days", it was actually held on Thanksgiving evening. The name change doesn't really do that much for me but I'm sure glad that we don't do it on Thanksgiving anymore!

As has been the case for many years the concert is held on the campus of Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois at Edman Chapel. This was our first concert in Edman Chapel since the college completed renovations to the building. While probably not visible to most of the audience it was nice to have nearby warm up space, real backstage facilities for men and women and a remodeled loading dock.

The guest artist for the concert last evening was trombone soloist, Herb Bruce. To quote from the program "Herb Bruce is a trombone phenomenon who has performed internationally with such greats as Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, Wayne Newton, Sammy Davis, Jr., Burt Bacharach, Liza Minelli, Amy Grant, Al Hirt, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Bernadette Peters and the Temptations. He has several recording credits on movie and television soundtracks and on countless CDs, including the acclaimed Spiritual to the 'Bone recordings in which he played top trombone. Herb has performed with premier Salvation Army brass bands around the world and this is his first appearance with the Chicago Staff Band." While that's all the "formal stuff" let me just say that he's a great trombone player and a fantastic guy to work with.

I'd estimate that there were about 1,900 people present for the concert and they were very receptive to each musical presentation.

Bandmaster Himes shared the fact that 28 years prior, to the day, his son had been born on the same day as a CSB Thanksgiving concert. After wishing his son a happy birthday, the band played "The Blessing", the processional Bill Himes originally wrote for his son's wedding.

An amusing offertory presentation included an ensemble from the CSB playing "White Christmas" in a style reminiscent of Lawrence Welk accompanied by several bubble blowing young people that had been selected from the audience.

There were too many other highlights of the evening to recall them all here. And, in the interest of time, the full listing of program items will be included in a second posting to immediately follow this one.

Before I do that, I want to thank all of you who were able to be in attendance and we look forward to seeing you again at our concert next year on the Saturday following Thanksgiving which is November 27, 2010.

CSB Visit to Port Huron, MI

2009-11-16T18:40:00.003-06:00

The CSB had a great visit to Port Huron, MI this past weekend. We were invited to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Salvation Army in Port Huron.

After a six hour coach ride from THQ to Port Huron we set up in the relatively new performing arts center of Port Huron High School. Following a short rehearsal we went across the street to the Salvation Army Citadel where we had dinner with those gathered for the festivities of the weekend.

The 7:00 pm concert was very well attended by a very receptive crowd. Many friends from all over the state of Michigan came to hear the band and to support the Salvation Army in Port Huron. Details of the concert will follow at the end of this post.

On Saturday evening most of the band were housed with host families from the corps and many reported enjoying that additional opportunity for fellowship. Sunday morning we returned to the Salvation Army and attended Sunday School that featured the Port Huron Youth Band, a 125th retrospective video and words of reflection from Bandmaster Himes who graduated from Port Huron High School before going to the University of Michigan. Bandmaster Himes recalled the value that the Port Huron Corps has always had for their young people and what that has resulted in down through the years.

At 10:45 we joined in worship with the Corps providing song accompaniments and special music. The message of the morning was provided by Colonel Steve Hedgren who is currently the Chief Secretary of the Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory. Colonels Steve & Judy Hedgren served as the corps officers of the Port Huron Corps 25 years ago during the celebration of the 100th anniversary.

We quickly packed our bus, grabbed some lunch on the run provided by the corps and headed back to THQ in Des Plaines. While many hours were spent on the bus we were blessed to have been involved in a meaningful celebration of faithful service. Thanks, Port Huron.

The remainder of this post lists our concert play list for the Saturday evening concert. If you're not a band geek, I won't be offended if you stop reading now.

• Festival Prelude – “Praise Him” (Bulla)
• Flugel/Cornet Solo – “Blessed Assurance”, soloist – Ben Kinzie (Bulla)
• Trombone Solo – “The Guardian”, soloist – Brett Tolcher (Graham)
• CSB Chorus – “Then Will The Very Rocks Cry Out” (arr. Hayes)
• CSB Chorus – “Soon And Very Soon”, soloist – Karl Strand (arr. Schrader)
• “Lord, Lord, You Sure Been Good To Me” (Alexander)
• Transcription – “Melodies of Dvorak” (Steadman-Allen)
• Offertory – “Round-up” (Cordner)
• “Concertante For Cornets & Band” (Bulla)
• Euphonium Solo “Rhapsody For Euphonium and Band”, soloist – Jeremy Rowland (Curnow)
• Hymn Setting – “Amazing Grace” (Himes)
• CSB Chorus – “Fairest Lord Jesus” (Phillips)
• Overture – “Vitae Aeternum” (Lovatt-Cooper)
• CSB Chorus – “Choral Benediction” (Himes)

Schedule for Port Huron, MI Visit

2009-11-11T07:50:00.002-06:00

If you follow our schedule you probably realize that we will be in Port Huron, MI this coming weekend, November 14-15. We will be there to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Salvation Army being in Port Huron.

If you are interested and in the area here is what we will be doing:

Saturday, November 14
7:00 pm Concert
Port Huron Performing Arts Center
1925 Lapeer Avenue
Port Huron, MI

Sunday, November 15
10:45 am Worship Service
The Salvation Army
2000 Court Street
Port Huron, MI

For ticket or other information please contact the Salvation Army in Port Huron at (810) 984-2679.

As always, if you're at either the concert or the worship service be sure to come up and say hello.

Sunday in Appleton/Menasha/Fox Cities, WI

2009-10-25T15:56:00.002-05:00

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

2009-10-24T23:43:00.003-05:00

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

2009-10-22T15:35:00.003-05:00

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

2009-09-08T08:45:00.003-05:00

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

2009-06-08T18:18:00.011-05:00

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

2009-06-07T19:02:00.001-05:00

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.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

Day 10 - Dresden, Germany to Solingen, Germany

2009-06-07T03:37:00.001-05:00

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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Day 9 - Dresden, Germany

2009-06-05T16:57:00.002-05:00

This was one of those days where we didn't have to travel. We haven't had too many of those days and this on was really welcome. It was a leisurely morning with breakfast at the Dresden Corps pretty much whenever you wanted it between 7:00 am and 10:00 am. Then, we all met at the corps to see what kind of sightseeing we could do from the coach.

Some of you may realize that President Obama chose to be in Dresden today, too. That meant we were a little bit limited in the places we could visit. Although the corps tried there was just no way we were going to be let anywhere close to the area where he was going to be. Of course the area he was in was some of the most interesting places. But Major Jim Garrington was able to direct our coach driver so that we did get to see quite a bit. Some of it was only from the bus but we did manage to get off of the bus and walk along the Elbe River. We were on the opposite bank from where the President was and we ran into plenty of security details. At one point we were stopped by some mounted policemen. They eventually allowed us to pass but we only went another 100 yards or so before the next contingent of police turned us back. There were others allowed through but I guess our group drew too much attention.

It was interesting to see the police presence in town. I heard that as many as 4,000 police were in town and they were very visible. To our knowledge there were no security issues. Even on the plaza we played at across later in the day all of the man hole covers and sewage grates were sealed with appeared to be yellow lane marker tape.

After our tour we returned to the corps for lunch and then changed into our uniforms for an afternoon outdoor concert. The location of the concert had to be changed at the last minute but it worked out fine with many people passing by to hear us and to talk to German Salvationists who accompanied us. The bandmaster of the Berlin band even took the baton for one number.

Prior to the evening concert at Annenkirche we were treated to a lovely dinner in a city restaurant. The evening concert went well and we were very well received.

We've now returned to our rooms and we will depart bright and early in the morning. As I said in my Twitter it was another blessed day.

Good night

Day 8 - Copenhagen, Denmark to Dresden, Germany via Berlin, Germany

2009-06-04T13:34:00.001-05:00

This morning we had to have our bags down for the coach at 7:40. It's 19:52 and we are back on the bus continuing our journey to Dresden.

In between we have had a unique day. First, this is the one day on tour that we haven't played at all. Our instruments have been locked under the coach all day.

It took us two hours to drive from Copenhagen, Denmark to Gedser, Denmark. Upon arriving in Gedser our excellent bus driver, Bosse, checked us in for the ferry ride to Rostock, Germany.

We had to wait about an hour for the ferry which pulled in, unloaded quickly and then loaded us back just as quickly. After the coach was parked we had to go upstairs on the ferry for the hour and forty-five minute crossing. During the crossing we had a chance to relax, have lunch, shop and enjoy the out of doors.

At the appointed time we all returned to the bus and the ferry unloaded in Germany just as quickly as it had in Denmark.

Because we lost our equipment truck all of our instruments were packed under the bus. Our personal luggage was packed in the back seats of the bus. That meant we lost quite a few seats.

To remedy that our German hosts sent a mini van to meet us in Rostock. We were able to put all of our suitcases into the mini van and they have gone directly to Dresden while we proceeded to Berlin.

We arrived in Berlin around 16:45 and were met by the DCs wife and the corps officer. The corps officer acted as our tour guide taking us to see the Brandenberg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the balcony JFK spoke his famous line and the Reichstag. These were many places I never imagined being able to visit prior to the ending of the Cold War in 1989.

Following the tour we went to the Army where we had a really nice dinner.

Now we are back on the bus again heading another 2.5 hours down the road to Dresden where we will be on duty tomorrow. It just happens that our visit coincides with a visit by President Obama. Could be interesting.

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Day 7 - Copenhagen, Denmark

2009-06-03T16:12:00.003-05:00

Well, it's almost unbelievable that we've been on this tour for 7 days. We left Chicago a week ago tonight and since we left we've visited 3 countries and have been pretty busy.

Today was a little bit easier on us than yesterday. There was absolutely no schedule for us until 12:45 pm when we were to meet for lunch. A few of us slept, others walked on their own or on prescribed tours and others took a tour on the canals. Personally, the canal tour was a really good way to see a lot of the city in one hour without expending tons of energy. I even got to see the back side of the little mermaid statue. I didn't expect to see her at all. I'd read that she was going on loan to an exhibition in China but apparently that isn't until 2010. Erik Silfverberg was right when he told me she's not much to look at. I'm glad that I did get to see her but more glad that I didn't go to extra effort to see her.

Once our free morning concluded we proceeded to the Copenhagen Temple Corps for a traditional Danish smörgåsbord. OK... since smörgåsbord is actually a Swedish word maybe it wasn't a traditional Danish meal. But it was good.

We then had ample time to set up the Temple for the evening concert before heading to a plaza for an outdoor afternoon concert. The afternoon concert was held right outside Royal Copenhagen, the purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark since 1775. The building we were in front of was not quite that old but I believe it was built in the late 1800s. In a city that was chartered in 1254 that building is almost "a baby".

There were literally hundreds of people passing by the spot where we were playing. Many stopped to listen. It was actually a beautiful day for an outside concert. The wind was blowing but the sun was shining and the temperature was pleasant. Our Executive Officer spoke to one American couple who asked if we had just been in Sweden? When he replied yes, they said they'd heard us at our outdoor concert in Stockholm and were now hearing us in Copenhagen. They wouldn't really qualify as groupies since their next stop is Rome and ours is Dresden.

During the concert Erik Silfverberg honored us by conducting two of his march compositions.

After a short break we had dinner with much of the territorial staff and then proceeded back to the Temple Corps for our concert. All but the "cheap seats" on the far sides of the balcony were full and the audience was very generous in their appreciation of our efforts.

This marks the end of the road for us and Mike Dickens from Sweden. Mike has been hauling our equipment in his truck for us since we arrived in Oslo, Norway. Not only has he taken care of transporting our equipment he has been handling the borrowed percussion equipment we've been using. He's been a big help to us in a lot of other ways as well since he knows Scandinavia very well. We'll miss Mike as we head to Germany and he returns to his regular full time job.

This marks the end of our time in Denmark and we were truly blessed to be here. Stay tuned for more tomorrow.

Day 6 - Stockholm, Sweden to Ystad, Sweden to Copenhagen, Denmark

2009-06-02T17:45:00.003-05:00

Today turned into a bit of a marathon kind of day. We woke up in Stockholm at the Salvation Army conference center and we checked into the hotel in Copenhagen around midnight. In between we traveled something like 762 km/473 miles (according to Google Maps). For those of you back in Chicago, it's possible to fly from Chicago to Copenhagen in less time than it took us to drive from Stockholm. That just gives you an idea of the distance we covered today... it's really not a complaint.

We stopped at Holmgrens (http://www.holmgrensbil.se/) automobile dealership in Jönköping for lunch. Other than the occasional free hot dog lunch some of us get from car dealers from time to time (and the one guy that actually works in a dealership) I doubt many of us have eaten lunch at a car dealer. But this was no ordinary car dealer. They carry 5 manufacuturers or so and one of the executives is a Salvationist. So, he'd made arrangements for a very nice lunch which they called "flaming love". At least that was how it translated. It was a good lunch but it looked more like mashed potatoes and some kind of bacon meat course. Very nice and welcome stop about half way between Stockholm and Ystad.

We got back on the coach to drive the rest of the way to Ystad a nice little town on the water front. We first went to the corps to change into our uniforms and have a snack before going to the Maria Church where we played our last concert in Sweden. The Maria church has some parts of it that were built in the 1200's. In other words very old and very ornate. A number of burials have taken place in the floor of the church. Now those of you that follow Brian Allan know what he meant when he said it was cool.

The crowd was good although not as large as in other places. But they were very receptive. Then we returned to the corps for supper before saying goodbye to our host Lars-Otto Ljungholm. He was staying overnight in Ystad before making his way (via train?) back to Stockholm.

In Ystad we picked up our host for the Danish part of the tour, Erik Silfverberg. Most Salvation Army bandsmen will have played his music from their earliest days.

The trip from Ystad to Copenhagen was just over an hour and very uneventful. For those who wonder about such things Sweden and Denmark are connected via a bridge and a tunnel. We took the bridge. We've checked into the hotel and after a good night of rest will be ready to see something of Copenhagen tomorrow.

Day 5 - Stockholm, Sweden

2009-06-01T17:04:00.002-05:00

Having recovered from our Fun Night at Stockholm South Corps last night our day today began with our latest sleep so far. We didn't have to leave the Salvation Army conference center until 9:00 am and even then we were going into Stockholm for a little free time on our own.

There were a number of options for us when we arrived. Some of us went to museums, others went to old town (Gamla Stan) and most shopped at least a little. After a sunny morning free we met for lunch together before proceeding to change clothes on our bus in preparation for an outdoor afternoon concert in Stortoget. The concert was in front of the Nobel Museum -Stockholm is the home of the Nobel prizes after all. The city is absolutely beautiful but to be honest by the time the concert started it was really hot and we were in direct sunlight. We did our best and there were tons of people passing through the plaza we were playing on.

The concert started at 2:15. At 3:00 pm on the first Monday of the month they test the emergency sirens. So, we had to take a short break between numbers at that point. We thought they were done testing so we began. We thought wrong. But other than that little thing everything went well.

Once the concert was over we packed up and went to the Stockholm Temple Corps where we set up and touched on a few things for the evening concert. The Stockholm Temple Corps is reported to be the oldest and longest corps building in use by the Salvation Army in the world. It opened in 1887 and is really kind of neat. If this claim is incorrect I'm sure I'll be corrected. But the stairwells are somewhat treacherous. No harm was done but they are definitely not ADA compliant.

Following a light meal we did perform a full concert to a fairly full house. The main floor of the hall was pretty full and there were people in the balconies.

Leaving for the evening we headed back to the conference center. Our time in Stockholm is over as we head out tomorrow. The people here have been very welcoming and have worked hard on our behalf. It really has been a great time.

On a more somber note we were saddened to hear of the disappearance of the Air France jet over the Atlantic overnight. The families of those on board are in our prayers.

Day 4 - Jonkoping, Sweden to Stockholm, Sweden

2009-05-31T19:43:00.001-05:00

We started our day today by conducting a workshop on music in our worship services at 9:00 am at the Jonkoping Corps. This workshop was part of the Swedish Wind Band Festival activities. The festival was one of the catalysts for this tour of northern Europe. The 30 or so attendees at this early Sunday morning workshop consisted of a mix of Salvtionists and others. Together we explored the biblical expectation of music in our worship of God.

After the workshop we put what we learned into practice as we joined together for worship and instruction from the Word. Although we worshiped in two languages our hearts were united in one Savior. It was truly a blessed time together and a number of people found their way to the altar of prayer at the conclusion of the sermon by our Executive Officer, Lt. Colonel Mickey McLaren.

Coincidentally, after 10 years of service as the CSB Executive Officer today marked the last time he will preach in worship services before his retirement at the end of June. As he had done so often in the past he was effective and faithful to the Word as he brought the message.

Interestingly, Jonkoping is the home of Ulla Olson who is married to our own Jim Olson. (When Jim gave his witness this morning he gave a portion of it in Swedish.) Alan Nelson, Mick Shay and Nathan Hellstrom all met Swedish family members in Jonkoping.

A quick (and always ample) lunch at the corps reminds me that we really have been eating a lot on this tour. Then we said our goodbyes to the friends we'd made in our short 24 hours in Jonkoping before boarding the coach bus for a 3.5 hour ride to Stockholm, Sweden where we will be until Tuesday morning.

Upon arrival at Stockholm South Corps we began in earnest preparartions for Fun Night. We weren't quite sure what to expect. Turned out we were played into the hall by their band playing "The Witness". We then proceeded to play a mini concert.

At the place where the interval would normally be the South band rolled in snacks and soft drinks inviting all gathered to enjoy food and fellowship.

Following the snacks teams from both our bands competed in several skill competitions. These included tossing coins into a bonnet, reassembling an instrument and speed playing of Star Lake. There were other events too. Some of them may make their way to Facebook or YouTube videos. The CSB were presented with fine competition parting gifts.

The Bandmaster of the South Band is Lars-Otto Ljungholm. He is also our tour conducter and organizer. Tonight was the night the corps chose to say goodbye to the Llungholm family who will shortly relocate to Texas. It was an honor to witness this farewell. It was obvious the Ljungholms are loved and will truly be missed. But it's a blessing to hear of how God has his hand in the situation.

Following Fun Night we packed our gear and headed to an American iconic restaurant, McDonald's for dinner. Gotta admit it tasted good. But I also have to admit we've eaten really well everywhere.

We've now checked into the Salvation Army Conference Center. Bandsmen are busy settling in and touching base with loved ones back home.

It's been a blessed day.
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Day 3 - Oslo, Norway to Jonkoping, Sweden

2009-05-31T06:56:00.000-05:00

Our Saturday began bright and early with a 7:30 am departure from the Oslo Temple Corps. We said goodbye to the friends we'd made in Norway during our 40 hour visit to this lovely country.

The drive that followed took us into Sweden through terrain that was much more like what we are used to in Illinois and Wisconsin. The mountains of Norway were left behind.

Upon arrival in Jonkoping, Sweden the band ate lunch while the Bandmaster was swept off to a clinic on writing for brass band. It gave the band time to check and have an hour or so to explore the street fair taking place just outside the hotel.

A quick sound check at the beautiful Pentacostal Church was followed by a light snack and a preconcert by the Jonkoping Corps Band. Their band played very well.

When they were done the stage was turned over us and we played to a very enthusiastic audience numbering 700 or more. We've learned that the rhythmic clapping at the end of the concert is a call for one more musical item. It just sort of grows out of the regular applause and gradually falls into a unison rhythm.

After the concert we returned to our hotel following a meal, of course. Some of us went to hear the very fine Navy Band of Sweden while others explored Jonkoping.

Another fine day concluded... almost. It turned out that the street fair taking place right outside of the hotel continued on at full volume until about 1:00 am. So, we all got to participate in that. But we're none the worse for wear.

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Day 2 - Bergen, Norway to Oslo, Norway

2009-05-29T17:10:00.002-05:00

First, I have to apologize about the formatting on my last two posts. Those look a mess. I was using my cell phone to post those and had no idea the formatting would look like that! I'm not going to fix it but will try to do some things to make it better the next time I am doing it from my phone.

Today was an early start needing to leave Bergen, Norway at 7:30 am. We got away very close to schedule and began what is a beautiful drive across Norway going from west to east, coast to coast. The scenery really was incredible and a tribute to the majesty of God especially for us flatlanders from the Midwest of the USA. Snow capped mountains, streams, fjords and water falls were absolutely gorgeous.

To start and end the journey you must go through tunnels to get through the mountains. Some of these are quite long... one took about 20 minutes to drive through.

By the way, I don't think that I've mentioned we have a fantastic coach driver named Bo who is from Sweden. He couldn't be better. Some of you who have been over with other groups have undoubtedly met him. I know he was talking about having had the Southern Territorial Songsters last year.

About half way through the day we stopped to do a mini concert for some school children and adults from the Tuv/Hemsedal area. The children in the school in Tuv raise funds annually to help support the Salvation Army in St Petersburg, Russia. So, since we were passing through we played a concert for them and were provided lunch at the Fossheim Hotel. For most of us it was the first time having "rump roast of local moose". It was a very fancy meal and for those of us, myself included, that could get past the thought of eating Bullwinkle meat it was very tasty. The dessert was a fantastic assortment of berries and some kind of dairy dessert. Very nice.

We continued on our trip across the country and arrived at Oslo Temple about 30 minutes later than we were expected. We hastily unloaded our gear, grabbed a quick bite to eat (light meal before a concert), set up the platform and prepared for the concert.

The Oslo Temple Band marched us into the hall while playing Temple 119, a new composition by their bandmaster to commemorate their 119th anniversary. Once we were in, they played "The Star Spangled Banner" followed by the Norwegian national anthem. We then resumed the concert and the rest is history. The hall was full once again and it was a very receptive crowd. I think we played better than last night but will leave it to others to tell you how well we actually did.

Following the concert we met our hosts for the night that were mostly from the Oslo Temple Corps. I am writing from my hosts home and have seen several others connecting with home via the Internet tonight.

There's been some confusion about our departure time in the morning. Hopefully, that will work out OK. I'm sure there will be some there at our announced time of 6:30 and others won't get there until our hosts were told which is 7:30.

It has been too short of a time in Norway and we will leave tomorrow. Lovely place to visit... maybe the next time we'll have more time.

Good night.

Day 1 - Chicago to Bergen, Norway

2009-05-28T17:44:00.001-05:00

I've gotten to the end of one of those days that never seems to end.
I'll try to finish this post but may fall asleep mid sentence.

We left Chicago last night at about 10 Chicago time. Actually we left
quite a bit later than 10 but it was scheduled for 10. As I wrote
before the flight was uneventful. We did arrive late into Copenhagen.
In Copenhagen we had to clear security again but they don't make you
take off your shoes. No water allowed through though. One of our
members chose to chug her water rather than surrender her bottle.
You'll have to guess her identity.

Then, we cleared immigration into the EU. No problems there.

Once on the plane we could see them loading our suitcases. Notice I
said suitcases. When we arrived in Bergen, Norway (no immigration even
though we're not in the EU) all but six of our suitcases were there
but almost none of our instruments made it. Our Travel Coordinator was
able to determine that the missing should arrive on a flight at 5:38
PM. We had a 7:30 concert.

The band went on to the corps for a really delicious meal and those
who had bags changed into uniform for the night. Major Doliber and
Major Hagen (from Norway) waited at the airport for the missing items.

They finally arrived at the corps around 6:45. Everyone quickly
changed while the Bandmaster and percussionists went on ahead to set
up. Once there they discovered no arrangements had been made here for
music stands. But, our Norwegian hosts went to work and found some
from somewhere. By 7:55 we were playing... only 25 minutes late.

Under the circumstances I think the band played pretty well. The
lighting at the church made seeing the music a little difficult. But,
there were several hundred present to hear the concert and I think
they were satisfied. I think after a good sleep, showers and less
stress from the schedule we'll do better than we did tonight.

At the conclusion of the night Bergen Salvation Army presented us with
a plate for the band room wall.

About a third of the band are in private homes tonight. The rest are
at two different hostels - one Army owned, one not.

I have to leave at 6:30 am to get to our 7:30 am departure for our
drive across Norway. So, I think I'll sign off for now. Band geeks
will have to wait for me to post our repertoire another day.

Approaching Copenhagen, Denmark

2009-05-28T06:39:00.001-05:00

As I write this it is 5:40 am Chicago time which makes it 12:40 pm in
Copenhagen. We have a very short connection to make in Copenhagen to
get to our first concert venue of Bergen, Norway.

We were late leaving Chicago so that SAS could get the last of the
connection bags loaded. That will put us into Copenhagen a little bit
late and I hope they'll delay our departure for our connection bags as
well.

The night flight was pretty uneventful and it appeared most of us got
at least some sleep. Personally I think I got about 4 hours thanks to
my eye shades, ear plugs, Tylenol PM and Benjamin Button. The coach
entertainment system was pretty cool - touch screen and all. Food was
good (dinner - beef; lunch - ham sandwich). Snacks were available in
the galley all night long but I didn't get there.

If you are reading this we must have landed and I must have found a
signal for my Blackberry. Stay tuned for more. I won't detail every
meal over the next 10 days! Promise.

Waiting to Board

2009-05-27T21:06:00.001-05:00

The entire band has checked in and cleared security at O'Hare airport.
Most if not all of us are at the gate waiting to board SK944 to
Copenhagen. Apparently the flight is over sold by 50 seats. No
stretching out tonight.

We're all hoping for sleep. Shouldn't be a problem for me.

See you from Copenhagen if I have time to write. We only have 50
minutes scheduled to make our connection to Bergen, Norway.

2009-05-27T13:29:00.003-05:00

I'm at the office today trying to finish up things before being gone for 7 business days. But, I just got a note from someone in Europe that would indicate that tickets for our concert in Dresden, Germany are being sold on E-bay. My German is very rusty (over 30 years of non-use) but I'm pretty sure that is what you will find on this link.

http://cgi.ebay.de/Chicago-Staff-Band-5-6-09-19-30-Annenkirche-Dresden_W0QQitemZ180362107446QQcmdZViewItemQQptZFestivals_Konzerte_1?hash=item29fe6b5a36&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Tour Itinerary

2009-05-03T17:48:00.003-05:00

As some of you know, the next thing up for the CSB is a tour of Scandinavia & Germany. We'll be in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. I've finally been able to post the public appearance schedule for the tour ( http://tinyurl.com/d6c8a6 )on our web site.

Pekin, IL - Part 2 (Sunday)

2009-04-19T13:37:00.000-05:00

The CSB is on the bus heading back to THQ and from there home after a great visit to Pekin, IL. Captains Mount seem to be on top of things and it appears that the Salvation Army is wll supported in Pekin, a town of about 35,000 people. As stated last night, the concert on Saturday was well attended at the 1^st Church of the Nazarene with about 450 in attendance.

This morning, we were on duty at the first (i.e. 8:15 am) service at the United Methodist Church. That too was well attended. (Prior to the service the church provided the members of the band with a hot breakfast at 7:15.)

Due to space limitations only an ensemble from the band actually played but the full chorus was able to sing. The children's message “The Instruments of the Band” didn't go exactly to plan since no brave child could be found to learn to play a horn in one easy lesson. However, the point was well made anyway.

Following that service we loaded up and headed to the Salvation Army, arriving just at the tail end of their Sunday School opening. Following that opening some members of the band attended Sunday School classes and others set up the ensemble which was again on duty given the size of the platform. The Mounts gave the worship service over to us and our Executive Officer spoke on the “Stones of Israel” reminding us significant incidents in the New Testament. At the end, each in attendance were given the opportunity to receive a white stone signifying our innocence obtained by the blood of Jesus Christ.

It's always good to report that the Salvation Army hall was full. While there were a few visitors from DHQ in nearby Peoria, for the most part the hall was full of people from Pekin. That bodes well for the future of the Salvation Army in Pekin.

All in all it was a good weekend but given the hour of rising this morning it's a very quiet bus at the moment as people catch up on their Sunday afternoon nap. Once this is posted I will try uploading some photographs on our Chicago Staff Band Facebook page. If you're not a fan of that page, why not become one?

OK... Band Geeks... here's the line up from the program last evening that I promised. If you're not a band geek I'll see you next time.

Dance Like David
Jubilance (soloist, Peggy Thomas)
Good Old Way
Soon & Very Soon (vocal item)
He Leadeth Me (vocal item)
Testimoy (Sang Kim)
Glorious Ventures (soloist, Jeremy Rowland)
Memory (soloist, Kory Strand)
Symphonette
Intermission
Southmount (Heartland Divisional Band, Captain Peter Mount conducting)
Concert Piece (soloist, Brett Tolcher)
You Raise Me Up (soloist, Heidi Strand)
Devotional Thought (Lt. Colonel Mickey McLaren)
Vitae Aeternum
Nicaea (combined/massed bands)
Cairo Red Shield (combined/massed bands)
Choral Benediction

CSB Visits Pekin, IL

2009-04-18T23:01:00.003-05:00

The Chicago Staff Band left Territorial Headquarters shortly after noon today to travel the 175 miles to Pekin, IL where we'd been invited by Salvation Army commanding officers Captains Peter and Catherine Mount. Upon arrival we did a quick set up followed by sectional photos to be used on our upcoming European visit. Then we returned to the stage and had a rehearsal with the Heartland Brass who are in their inaugural season. Bandmaster Himes took us through "Nicaea" and Captain James Frye, bandmaster of the Heartland Brass conducted the classic "Cairo Red Shield".

Following rehearsal it was time for a quick bite to eat and then the concert to a nearly full hall of 400-450 people gathered to hear the CSB and Heartland Brass. Ninety percent of the people indicated it was their first Salvation Army band concert. Hopefully it won't be their last!

The people were warm and receptive but you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out what we played. I neglected to bring my cue sheet with me...

Off to post a few photos on our Facebook page before I get some sleep. It's an early call (7:15) at the United Methodist Church in Pekin tomorrow.

2009-04-15T15:08:00.002-05:00

This weekend the CSB is headed to Pekin, IL. Here are the details:

Saturday, April 18

7:00 pm - Concert at First Church of the Nazarene
3514 E Broadway
Pekin, IL

Sunday, April 19

8:15 am - Worship Service at United Methodist Church
1315 Court Street
Pekin, IL

11:00 am - Worship Service at Salvation Army
243 Derby Street
Pekin, IL

Hope to see some of you there!

National Social Services Conference

2009-03-14T23:27:00.002-05:00

Tonight, the CSB was on the program for the welcome banquet at the National Social Services Conference in Chicago, IL. We shared the program with the Bill Booth Theater Company and the Metro Prep Band who brought down the house.

I'm putting pictures up on our Facebook page at the moment and then heading to bed. I'm tired!

We'll be on duty at the conference worship service in the morning as well.

It's A Birthday!

2009-03-06T08:24:00.002-06:00

No... It's not a birthday for the CSB. We celebrated our 100th last year, all year. Rather, March 6, 2009 - 80 years ago today - is the birthday of my father, Harold Shoults. Read no further if you're not interested but it's not purely personal. There is a CSB connection.

As a young Salvation Army officer my dad was appointed to the CSB in the 1950s. During the fifties and sixties he was the euphonium soloist in the band. By the time I joined the band in 1972 he'd yielded the solo work to his younger brother Art but he was the deputy bandmaster. His last stint with the band was in the 80s (I think) when he served as the Executive Officer for a period.

While he was the Executive Officer I remember a trip to Panama. At least I think it was Panama - after this many years some of the trips blend together. We were short a 2nd trombone player for the trip so my dad offerred to play 2nd and Bill Himes took him up on it. That was the only time he and I played in the same section in the CSB. I think his only regret of doing that was the march we had to do!

My dad gave me the only real music lessons I ever had outside of music camps. He started me and a bunch of other kids and adults at the Kansas City Blue Valley Corps on fluteophones after we'd learned theory basics. Then he moved me to cornet before finally letting me try the trombone at age 11. He's given most of his grandchildren lessons at one time or another as well. Two of his three children and four of his eight grandchildren have been members of the CSB.

More than teaching me to play he taught me the value of ministry through music.

On his 80th birthday his general health is quite good. His hearing and sight aren't what they used to be, but they're good enough. He's a big help to my mom in their home and teaches a weekly bible study in his subdivision.

We're not that unique when it comes to having multiple generations who have been part of the CSB. There's an entire article about it on the Central Connection - Get Connected site. But, since this is my blog and Harold's my dad I get the privilege of thanking him publicly for all he has done for me and wishing him a very happy birthday today!

My brother from Texas is flying in today and we'll celebrate at dinner tonight as a family.

Most Recent Recording

2009-02-25T11:18:00.002-06:00

Those of you who know the CSB will already know that we record our Thanksgiving Festival live and then release that to the public. It's been out for some time now and there is a web page that allows you to hear three clips from it. I think the page also has a link for purchasing your very own copy of the recording.

To preview it, click here.

Christmas in February?

2009-02-24T20:52:00.002-06:00

Some call today Fat Tuesday and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. But, the CSB is in our rehearsal room/studio playing Christmas music. Truth is that unlike most Salvation Army Bands the CSB doesn't ever play very much Christmas music.

For the last 25-30 years the CSB has taken a break in our season immediately following our Thanksgiving Concert held the Saturday following Thanksgiving. On occasion we've played a Christmas piece in that concert but that's about it.

In my 30+ years in the band I think we've produced 2 full Christmas recordings. That's about it.

I should explain that taking a break at Christmas is intentional for us. As a composite group made up of members from various Salvation Army churches we feel it is important to support the front line work of the Salvation Army. So, in December we tell our members to go and
do the work with their local Salvation Army church. Believe me, we're plenty busy without doing anything with the Staff Band.

What are we doing tonight? Well, we're asked to contribute to a recording produced to use as Christmas gifts for advisory personnel and many others. So, tonight was a night to record a little for that. You'll have to wait for the recording to be released to find out what we recorded.

Merry Christmas ~ in February.

--
Sent from my mobile device

Sunday - Springfield, IL

2009-02-22T15:11:00.002-06:00

We're back on our bus heading to THQ. I think we got away a few minutes late but my GPS says we will get in at 4:42 which is ahead of our ETA of 5:00 pm. Of course that depends on traffic and if we make a stop to get a drink. A drink stop always takes at least 20 minutes.

This morning we had a good worship service at First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, IL. This is the church Abraham Lincoln and his family attended for a time. You can read more about that at the church web site, www.lincolnschurch.org.

As usual we played some prelude music, accompanied hymns, played an offertory etc. It was a good service and we were joined by Salvationists from the Springfield, IL corps. They had met at the corps for Sunday School from 9:00 am - 10:00 am and then came over to the church for the worship service.

Many thanks to Majors Logan and all who made the arrangements for our overnight housing as well as lunch at the ARC.

Saturday in Jacksonville, IL

2009-02-21T21:49:00.002-06:00

We've just boarded the bus following our concert at Illinois College in Jacksonville, IL.

Upon arriving at THQ this morning we were challenged by an unplowed parking lot following a 4.4 inch snowfall in Des Plaines. We found a way to park our cars, waited for a former bandsman to snowblow a spot big enough for the bus and then waited as the plow finally cleared the ramp leading to the THQ garage. The bus was quickly loaded, we all boarded and found the bus was stuck on the ramp. After the entire band got off of the bus, the driver (a new one for us) was able to get enough traction to get out of the parking lot.

The ride down was uneventful with a quick lunch stop in Bloomington, IL. After lunch we discovered that the new bus we are on has both satellite TV and WiFi. Nice perk!

The concert tonight at Illinois College was part of their fine arts series. Bandmaster Himes had been commissioned to write a piece commemorating the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. The piece included band accompaniment for choir which required rehearsal with the Illinois College Concert Choir supplemented by select members of the MacMurray College Choir and the Jacksonville High School Concert Choir. Following rehearsal we had a pasta dinner and prepared for the evening concert.

The concert went well, but I suspect readers may be more interested in text from the world premier of "A Lincoln Reflection " by William Himes.

We Sing of you, O Abraham

We sing of you, O Abraham,
In your own words - and ours,
The keeper of a nation's dreams,
You shine among the stars.

When nation, warring 'gainst itself,
Was put to awful test,
It fell to you to lead us through
This hell to find our best.

You faced the conflict of the age -
Momentous destiny!
And fought the battle to the end
For all men to be free.

In addition to this original text by Bandmaster Himes excerpts from Lincoln himself from "My Childhood's Home" and the "Second Inaugural Address" are included in the piece before the following final original text from Himes.

We sing of you, O Abraham,
The son of Heartland plain.
For it is true, the likes of you
Won't come this way again.

And though you left us all too soon,
Cut down by evil fate,
You are the man, the monument,
A life we celebrate.

O Abraham! We mourned you then -
We mourn you to this day.
Your words still burn within our hearts
And never fade away.

A flickering torch,
A single flame,
You lit our destiny
And we will never, never be the same.

The piece, commissioned by the Jacksonville Area Lincoln Bicentennial Commission resulted in a standing ovation.

For those interested, the concert included:

"The Good Old Way" (Broughton)
"Slavische Fantasie" (Hohne/Graham, Beth Cooper, soloist)
"This I Know" (Camsey, Brett Tolcer, soloist)
"Symphonette" (Bulla)
"A Lincoln Reflection" (Himes)
"Rigaudon" (Campra, Dr. Rudolph Zuiderveld, organ soloist)
Intermission
"Dance Like David" (Mackereth)
"Celestial Morn" (Condon, Joshua Turner, soloist)
"Soon and Very Soon" (Crouch, Karl Strand soloist)
"He Leadeth Me" (Gilmore/Kellner)
"American Civil War Fantasy (Bilik)
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" (Sousa)
"Choral Benediction" (Himes)

Heading the 45 minutes back to Springfield, IL where we will spend the night with billets before participating in a Sunday morning worship service at the First Presbyterian Church (Lincoln's Church).

We Are on Twitter!

2009-02-20T14:17:00.002-06:00

A second post in a single day? Wellll... don't get used to it. But I did want you to know that I've also set up a Twitter account. Come on over and follow csbtwit.

I've put a gadget up that will post my tweets in the side bar of this blog too.

--
Sent from my mobile device

And they're off...

2009-02-20T09:26:00.002-06:00

First an apology to those of you who follow this blog. I have been sorely negligent in updating it but will make every effort to fix that going forward. There really has been a lot of CSB stuff going on. I just haven't taken the time to get here to tell you about it.

Rather than go back and catch up on everything that has happened since I was last here let me just tell you that we had a great Thanksgiving Festival with the Lakeside Singers and (although I was not there) a great weekend in Lansing, MI in January.

Since I last wrote our 2nd baritone opening was filled by Nathan Hellstrom from the Rockford Temple Corps. That fills out the roster completely.

We leave tomorrow for a visit to Illinois College in Jacksonsville, IL on Saturday night and Sunday worship at the First Presbyterian Church in Springfield, IL. First Presbyterian Church is also known as "Lincoln's Church" so it's especially appropriate we are there in the February that marks the 200th anniversary of our 16th president. Here's a link to our schedule.

Weather looks a little "iffy" for the weekend so keep us in your prayers and definitely come and say hello.

On the way home...

2008-11-16T13:31:00.002-06:00

We had two nice worship services at the Covenant Church in Manistee and after lunch with members of the church we are on the bus heading home in what is sometimes significant snow. I for one am glad that our bus driver Ed is taking care of the driving. It's not horrible, but after a weekend like we've had I'm thankful to not be behind the wheel.

Congratulations to Major Langham and her crew on a great weekend. We pray that our time together will be useful to the Salvation Army in Manistee.

I promised in my posting last night to provide the band geeks out there with our play list from the concert. If you're not interested in that, stop reading because that's all that's left.

"Fanfare of Praise"
"The Good Old Way"
"Joshua Swings The Battle" (Ben Kinzie, soloist)
"The Wonder of it All" (vocal selection)
"Soon and Very Soon" (vocal selection, Karl Strand, soloist)
"Concert Piece For Trombone" (Brett Tolcher, soloist)
"Journey Into Freedom"
"Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring"
INTERMISSION
"Bringing In The Sheaves"
"The Great Adventure" (Shaun Thomas, soloist)
"He's Always Been Faithful" (Heidi Strand, soloist)
Scripture (Lt. Colonel Mickey McLaren)
"Renaissance"
"Manhattan"
"Choral Benediction"

On the road again...

2008-11-15T22:31:00.002-06:00

The CSB travelled today to Manistee, MI. Manistee is about 6 hours drive from our headquarters in Des Plaines, IL. It's on the western coast of the Michigan lower peninsula... that means it's on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. The 2000 census lists the population of Manistee at 6,586. So, it's definitely, "small town America". Just to prove that, Midwest Living Magazine voted it "One Of The Top 100 Best Small-Town Getaways" for 2007. And having been here it's easy to see why. The country is beautiful and the people are what you would expect from the middle of America.

Now, our visit coincides with the opening of deer season here in Michigan. Perhaps that explains the number of "unaccompanied" ladies in the concert this evening.

Major Jo Langham is the Salvation Army officer in charge of our work in Manistee. She has done a really fantastic job of promotion and accommodation for this visit. And, it paid off... there was a really nice crowd at Guardian Angels Church this evening. After that concert we moved our stuff over to the Faith Covenant Church and set up for two worship services (8:30 am & 11:00 am) tomorrow.

Major Langham has been assisted in the efforts for the weekend by Salvation Army officers from Alma, MI, Luddington, MI and Cadillac, MI. Many of us know these officers from their time at the College for Officer Training in Chicago and it was good to get to visit with them again.

Well, it's late and in order to be ready for that 8:30 am service tomorrow we have to leave at 7:45. So, I'd best sign off. I'll write more later and won't forget to post the concert items from this evening when I do.

Good night!

Worship Arts Retreat

2008-10-19T15:44:00.002-05:00

I've just gotten home from the Central Territory Worship Arts Retreat held at Wonderland Camp and Conference Center. The CSB was on duty Friday night through Sunday at noon. The theme of the weekend was Worship Warriors and it featured times of praise, worship, instruction from the word and a host of workshops aimed at increasing our effectiveness of worship. The CSB functioned as the duty band for plenary sessions as well as providing assistance to the many guest clinicians that were present for the weekend.

Speaking of clinicians there were many gathered from all over including Major Kevin Metcalf, Graeme Press, Neil Smith, Rich Swingle, Bernie Dake, Peter Baird, Greg Payton, David Andrews, Marie-Ange Hayden, William Himes, Peggy Thomas and Martyn Thomas. From the list, you can guess that there was no lack of quality in the instruction given.

Sprinkled in the middle of the plenary sessions each delegate participated in a small group Bible study of the Psalms of Ascent (Psalm 121-134) led by members of the CSB and Bill Booth Theater Company.

In addition to the CSB the weekend was supported by members of the Bill Booth Theater Company, The Singing Company and even Resource Connection.

On Sunday morning our new territorial leaders Commissioners Barry and Sue Swanson spoke to us during a pair of worship services.

The weekend was a great time of refreshment, reminder and instruction for those involved in and partially responsible for worship in our corps. Unfortunately, my observation is that the event wasn't nearly as well attended as it probably should have been. I suppose a "glass half empty" guy might observe that perhaps worship isn't the priority it should be in the territory. On the other hand, a "glass half full" person might assume that worship is in such good shape in the territory that it wasn't necessary for more people to attend.

Whatever the case, the Lord blessed those who were there with His presence and I believe corps that were represented stand to benefit in the days ahead.

For the band geeks that read my writings I suppose I should tell you some of the items we played either as prelude music or during the plenary sessions. (Non band geeks need not read further.) These are in addition to a number of song accompaniments we did either alone or together with the Singing Company.

Manhattan
Joshua Swings the Battle (soloist: Ben Kinzie)
Exeter Temple
When I Remember (soloist: Beth Cooper)
Renaissance
In Christ Alone
Garments of Peace (soloist: Peggy Thomas)

Summer Break Ends

2008-09-10T11:30:00.002-05:00

The break the CSB has from the end of our Commissioning Weekend until just after Labor Day in the USA is now over. We returned to the band room on September 2 and have had two rehearsals to get ready for the Public Welcome of the Cadets (this Friday at the Mayfair Community Church - 7:30 pm) and the retirement service of our territorial leaders, Commissioners Ken & Joy Baillie (this Saturday at the Norridge Citadel Corps - 10:00 am). Two rehearsals are probably not enough but they will have to do.

Personnel changes in the band for this season have been pretty minimal. Leaving the band after many years of service are Mary Kim (solo horn), Bob Ferrantelli (trombone) and Ev Jordan (eb bass). Mary Kim is now Cadet Mary Kim and we will participate in her public welcome as a Cadet on Friday night.

To fill these gaps Meredith Flinn joins the horn section having relocated to the area from Pasadena, CA to attend school at Trinity International University. Sang Kim, a former member of the trombone section has found it possible to return. After all is said and done and the Bandmaster shifted things around, we have only a single 2nd baritone opening which will remain open for the time being.

That pretty much brings you up to speed on where we are. More to come about our weekend events after they're over.

Porter County, IN

2008-05-18T13:38:00.003-05:00

We've just boarded our bus in Porter County, IN that will take us back to territorial headquarters following a concert last night in Porter County and a worship service at the Porter County Salvation Army this morning.

The concert last evening was held at Liberty Bible Church. It was a little unusual in that it started at 6:00 pm which is earlier than our normal start time. Because Porter County is so close to home (under 2 hours drive time) we didn't need to leave until after lunch. That gave us time to take care of some things at home we don't normally tend to on CSB weekends away. For my part that meant mowing and trimming the yard and having lunch with my son and wife.

The concert last night included the following:

In Good Company
Glory To His Name (B. Cooper, soloist)
Walk In The Light
Soon & Very Soon (K. Strand, soloist)
How Blest Are Those
Testimony (M. Thomas)
Glorious Fountain (S. Thomas, soloist)
Journey Into Freedom
Voluntary on Old 100th
Day of Wonders (cornet feature)
Pilgrim Song
Come to Jesus (M. Hanton, soloist)
Scripture (M. McLaren)
Sing Praises
Choral Benediction

The concert did feature our first public performance of Eric Ball's "Journey Into Freedom". An honest assessment of the performance from my chair would be "that and better will do".

This morning we joined with Salvationists and friends of the Porter County Corps for a worship service. We attempted to blend into their regular pattern of worship, trying to supplement with our own musical offerings. This congregation is small but the spirit was nevertheless present. Our Executive Officer spoke to us about "Your Future" using Luke 16:19-31 as his text.

The bus is very quiet at the moment in large part due to the sumptuous brunch we were provided before beginning our journey back home.

This was the last weekend away for the CSB this season. We will be on duty the Sunday of our territorial Youth Congress and Commissioning. But that will be a Sunday only. In addition, we're scheduled to do some recording on Tuesday evening.

I'll write reflections on the season as a whole soon. Thanks for reading!

Minnesota Twin Cities Report

2008-04-29T11:28:00.003-05:00

It's been over a week since the CSB was in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN but I really haven't had much time to write to share with you my impressions of the weekend. Hopefully life will get more reasonably paced so I can write more frequently, but I'm not real hopeful.

At any rate we did have a wonderful weekend in the Twin Cities. Our departure on Saturday morning wasn't super early for a change. But since we were flying we all had to leave in time to be able to park, ride the shuttle to the terminal and check in. It was a minor miracle I guess that both going and coming we were a few minutes ahead of the published airline schedule. The flights were uneventful and we were blessed with safe travel.

Bob and Connie trucked our equipment to and from Minnesota and that always makes our air travel a lot less complicated. They always do a great job for us when called upon. It is a real blessing to have them along on any trip that we take with them.

Upon arrival we set up and had a quick lunch before working with the members of the Northern Youth Band. Our time with them consisted of a short massed band rehearsal followed by sectionals. It was fun for me to sit between and work with Nate and Jake in the massed setting. I've met Nate at CMI before but it was my first time meeting Jake. Then we had fun working through the tricky bits in a short sectional that followed. You'll see in the program items I will list below that the CSB and Northern Youth Band combined for a couple of items Saturday evening.

Saturday evening the Trinity Baptist Church was full for an evening concert. It was great to see a lot of people we have known over the years and to make new friends as well. A copy of the play list for Saturday night is listed below but the newest players from the Lakewood Temple Corps were featured in "American Celebration" and the Northern Youth Band played "Righteousness, Peace and Joy". Also, Saturday marked the debut of Shaun Thomas playing "Glorious Fountain" a cornet solo played on his euphonium.

Following Saturday evening we made the long trek to Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie to set up for two services on Sunday morning. This church has seven worship services over the weekend and it had been arranged for us to participate in two of their traditional worship services. It was a little tricky because they were in two different locations so we had to move quickly from one service to another.

After a wonderful morning of worship at Wooddale we had a lovely lunch before heading back to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and our flight home. This weekend was surely a wonderful and blessed opportunity of service and worship.

For the band geeks that are still reading, here is the play list from Saturday night. I apologize to the composers for not listing them... hopefully they will understand.

"In Good Company"
"Post Bellum Rhapsody"
"Glory To His Name" (Beth Cooper, soloist)
Vocal selections - "I Will Call Upon The Lord" & "Celebration"
Testimony - Josh Turner
"Ashokan Farewell"
"American Celebration" (featuring the Lakewood Temple beginners)
"To World's Unknown"
"Northern Brass"
"Righteousness, Peace & Joy" (solo item by Northern Youth Band)
"Walk In The Light"
"Glorious Fountain" (Shaun Thomas, soloist)
"Artist of My Soul" (Heidi Strand, soloist)
Scripture - Lt. Colonel McLaren
"Precious Fountain" (CSB & Northern Youth Band)
"ARC Centennial" (CSB & Northern Youth Band)
"O Boundless Salvation" (Congregation, CSB & Northern Youth Band)
"Choral Benediction"

This Weekend in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN

2008-04-16T08:11:00.002-05:00

It's been a bit busy and I've had little time to blog. Sorry about that...

At any rate, the CSB will be in the Twin Cities this weekend. Here's the information I have that some of you may be interested in. If you're in the area, we'd love to see you.

Saturday, April 19

Concert at Trinity Baptist Church
2220 Edgerton Street
Maplewood, MN 55117
6:30 pm

Sunday, April 20

Worship services at Wooddale Church
6630 Shady Oak Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
9:00 am and 10:15 am

Lansing, MI Concert

2008-03-29T22:51:00.002-05:00

The CSB travelled by bus to Lansing, MI earlier today. The events of the weekend included a concert this evening and will conclude with a worship service tomorrow morning. The concert this evening was well attended at the beautiful South Church in Lansing. This venue came highly recommended to us by Bandmaster Himes who had been there when Lansing hosted the Melbourne Staff Band about 18 months ago. He was correct... the facility is beautiful and a good place to play.

So far we have been well hosted by Majors Robert and Alice Scott who are the Capital Area commanders for the Salvation Army. In addition to many from the local area it was great to see a number of people who travelled to Lansing from Detroit, Flint, Port Huron, Kalamazoo and Mt Clemens. I've probably missed a few other places.

The concert this evening was presented compliments of Dart Bank and for that we and the Salvation Army in the Capital Area are grateful.

Tomorrow (Sunday, March 30) we will participate in a 10:30 am worship service at Peoples Church in East Lansing before we take the bus back home.

For those who are still reading the program for the evening follows:

Milestone
Pilgrim Song
Glory To His Name (Beth Cooper, soloist)
Band Chorus: Celebration & How Blest Are Those
I Walked Today (Brett Tolcher, soloist)
Testimony (Mary Kim)
Ashoken Farewell
Post Bellum Rhapsody
Northern Brass
Festival of Thanksgiving
Artist of My Soul (Heidi Strand, soloist)
Scripture (Lt. Colonel Mickey McLaren)
Onward Christian Soldiers
Stars and Stripes Forever
Choral Benediction

Holy Week

2008-03-16T21:16:00.002-05:00

Our spring break is over and we were back in the rehearsal room last Tuesday. We're busy getting ready for our visit to Lansing, MI but that doesn't take place until after Easter.

Speaking of Easter, we began Holy Week today by celebrating Palm Sunday at our respective Salvation Army corps today. It doesn't really have anything to do with the CSB since the only time we will be together during the week will be at rehearsal on Tuesday evening. But in another sense it has everything to do with the CSB since the events of this week provides all of the motivation for what we try to do as a band in sharing the gospel wherever and whenever we are together. In particular without the events of Good Friday and the joy of Easter morning there would be no Salvation Army and hence no Chicago Staff Band.

So, I for one, will observe carefully the events of this week. If nothing more I want to be reminded of what Christ did for me so that I can serve him more fully.

"Spring Break Week"

2008-03-02T21:51:00.003-06:00

It's official!

The Chicago Staff Band will be taking a spring break from rehearsal this week. There's a host of reasons for it including the prediction of more snow for the Chicago area. Actually, we usually take a spring break the last week in March. This year it's been moved up to March 4, 2008. Then it's back to the rehearsal room for three more rehearsals before we head off for a weekend in Lansing, MI.

Recording Session

2008-02-27T22:41:00.002-06:00

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

2008-02-23T22:51:00.002-06:00

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

2008-02-21T07:43:00.002-06:00

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

2008-02-18T14:59:00.002-06:00

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...

2008-02-12T09:34:00.001-06:00

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...

2008-02-11T21:29:00.001-06:00

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...

2008-02-08T13:14:00.001-06:00

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

2008-02-04T20:03:00.000-06:00

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.

December For The CSB

2007-11-29T15:12:00.000-06:00

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!

Our 100th Anniversary Celebration

2007-11-27T20:17:00.000-06:00

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?

The 'Big Day'

2007-11-24T09:30:00.000-06:00

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.

Next stop... Edman Chapel, Wheaton, IL

2007-11-21T11:11:00.001-06:00

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.

Moline, IL & Davenport, IA

2007-11-19T08:06:00.000-06:00

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.

Heading to the Quad Cities

2007-11-15T09:07:00.000-06:00

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.

Rapid City, SD - October 20-21, 2008

2007-10-27T20:17:00.000-05:00

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)!