To kick off the 2007/08 season, the Canadian Staff Band was pleased to visit The Salvation Army’s Kitchener Community Church on October 13-14. The band had last visited here in January 2000 to open the new corps building with then territorial leaders Commissioners Norman and Marion Howe, and were quite happy to be sharing in this return visit.

This time around, the weekend started with a gathering of six bands from the southern Ontario area who came together on Saturday afternoon for music and fellowship. Each band presented a half-hour mini-concert that was enjoyed by all present. The atmosphere was quite relaxed, with friends and acquaintances catching up over coffee or tea, or taking time to browse through the display set up by supplies and purchasing, featuring many recent band CDs that were of particular interest to those present.

After a slight delay due to highway traffic tie-ups that prevented some of the band members from arriving at the appointed time, the afternoon got off to a good start with a short program by the CSB, including James Curnow’s Fanfare and Flourishes, cornet soloist Steve Brown with Joshua Swings the Battle, Cossack Fire Dance by Peter Graham and Noel Samuels’ remarkable rendition of Flight of the Bumble Bee on the E-flat tuba. This led into a time of praise led by the CSB worship team and a brief devotional by Major Ron Millar, executive officer.

The afternoon then proceeded unannounced as various bands presented a wide variety of music. Participating groups included Impact Brass Divisional Youth Band (B/M Ken Bailey), Kitchener Community Church Band (B/M Ron Pearson), Listowel Citadel Band (B/M Ken Bailey), Guelph Citadel Band (B/M Ray Robbins) and Mountain Citadel Band (B/M Philip Rayment).

Following supper with members of Kitchener Band, the CSB presented an evening concert to a packed house. Several new items were introduced, including two new pieces by Kenneth Downie, Hail to the King and Stars of the Morning, a beautiful setting of the song When He Cometh. It was a night when soloists rose to the occasion, starting with Andrew Burditt on soprano cornet with The Queen of the Night’s Aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Other solo items were Wondrous Day (Brindley Venables, cornet), Travelling Along (Steve Pavey, euphonium), Let the Beauty of Jesus (Barrington Venables, trombone), and an xylophone feature, Joyous Rhythm, by the CSB’s newest member, percussionist Leigh Rowney. Also featured on the program were Bugler’s Holiday, always a crowd pleaser, and Dean Jones’ El es el Senor, a quasi-Mexican arrangement of the praise chorus He is the Lord, introduced by the CSB worship team after the intermission. This item allowed B/M Brian Burditt to talk briefly about the CSB’s upcoming trip to Mexico in 2008. Larger program items included Kevin Norbury’s Saints on Parade, Leslie Condon’s descriptive tone poem The Present Age and William Himes’ The Blessing, conducted by Deputy B/M John Lam, which brought the night to a triumphant conclusion.

On Sunday morning, the CSB worship team led a time of singing during Sunday school, followed by an entertaining performance by Ron Reid, who captivated the young people with his magic tricks. A large crowd was present for morning worship, in which various band members took part, with the message given by Major Ron Millar. The CSB’s main contributions were the vocal item Lord, Listen to Your Children and another new Kenneth Downie arrangement, Slater’s Song, based on the words “No, no, nothing do I bring … nothing but thy blood can save me.”
To round off the weekend, a small CSB ensemble stayed for the afternoon to minister to residents at the Army’s Goudie Eventide Home, who were most appreciative of the band’s minsitry.

The CSB thanks B/M Ron Pearson and members of Kitchener Band for a well-organized weekend and for their kind hospitality throughout. It was especially encouraging to see the many young musicians in various corps bands on Saturday afternoon. It bodes well for the future of Army music ministry and the future growth of God’s Kingdom in the years to come.

- Major Ken Smith
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