Profile Night 2004 Report

Tom Scheibner,
Assistant Territorial Music Secretary

The music of Dr. Harold Burgmayer was featured at Profile XXVI at the historic Centennial Memorial Temple in New York City on Friday night, November 12, 2004 . The Greater New York Division began this series in 1979 featuring the music of Eric Ball, and the listing of composers featured throughout the next 25 years reads like a who's who of Salvation Army musicians.

 

Variety was a hallmark of this program, as it featured brass band items (New York Staff Band, Greater New York Youth Band), vocal items (Pendel Singers, Philadelphia Pioneer Corps Singing Company), soloists (Derek Lance – trumpet, Sara Burgmayer Deunke – piano, Captain Margaret Davis – vocal) and timbrels (Greater New York Timbrels). The music presented was written over a span of nearly 30 years, including “We Have An Anchor”, which was written in 1976 and presented on this evening in excellent style by the Greater New York Youth Band.

 The main contribution by the NYSB on this evening was Dr. Burgmayer's descriptive overture entitled “Pilgrimage”. This item was written for the Canterbury Temple (UK) Band's centenary celebrations and was recorded by the NYSB in 1994 on its “On the Road” recording. Use of the tune “Pilgrims” in this overture suggests the historical pilgrimage to the Cathedral recorded in Chaucer's “Canterbury Tales”. References to “Dare to be a Daniel” and “He Who Would Valiant Be” further recalled the heroic challenge for each one of us in our spiritual pilgrimage.

Presentations by the Pendel Singers and Philadelphia Pioneer Singing Company were well received. Dr. Burgmayer's work as Divisional Music Director for over 20 years in the Pendel Division has set a standard of excellence that has been passed on to both corps and divisional groups in his home division, and the musical ministry of both groups went beyond the notes on the printed page in their renderings of “When He Comes Again” (Pendel Singers) and “Prayer of the Children” (Pioneer Singing Company).

Harold presented a poignant devotional/meditational thought which reflected back on his days as a student at Cooper Union in New York . During his time away from school, he recalled sitting at the piano at the Centennial Memorial Temple working on his first musical compositions. His growth musically and spiritually from those early days speaks volumes through his music, which provided both enjoyment and blessings to the large crowd present at this festival.

Kudos to B/M Gordon Ward (Associate Program Secretary – Greater New York Division) for his organization of this event over many years – may it long continue!