UK Tour - Day 5 (May 31)

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)

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

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)

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)

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

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

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!