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New Season Commences in Massachusetts
The band commenced the new season with a busy weekend in Massachusetts, starting on Friday evening by celebrating 125 years of Army service in Fall River. The evening concert followed a social time with board members and friends and a dinner. The band was in fine form and featured soloists Gordon and Chris Ward, Ryan McCrudden, Dorothy Gates and Bob Jones who brought the house down with the drum feature, "Ol' Man River."The main work of the evening was the Brian Bowen composition "Hope Variations."
An early start on Saturday morning took the band to Lowell to participate in the Youth Arts Ministry program with 60 enthusiastic young people. A combined session was held where Bandmaster Waiksnoris shared several video clips and discussed the Future All Stars program and offered encouragement as something to strive for. A band member from each section of the band shared a personal experience as well as a demonstration of the instrument. Simon Morton gave a spirited rendition of the 'William Tell Overture" on the tuba which left many youngsters wide-eyed !! Sectional rehearsals followed and then the young musicians were able to play with the full band.
The evening culminated in a festival of music played to a full to capacity congregation. A similar program to that of Friday night was presented, but finished with Robert Redhead's "Pastoral Symphony." The band concluded with the familiar "Stars and Stripes Forever" and "Rock of Ages."
After a wet and windy ride to our overnight accommodation at Camp Wonderland, the band travelled to Park Street Church in Boston to take part in two morning worship services as part of their Bicentennial Celebrations. Dr. Gordon Hugenburger, the Senior Minister, testified that it was The Salvation Army that brought him into a relationship with the Lord, when as a teenager he worked at camp. Following each service the band played to an appreciative gathering who had stayed in the sanctuary to hear more. Before leaving the church and re-packing the truck and boarding the bus back to New York the band sang "Rock of Ages" as a benediction to what was an incredible weekend. This was not only music making at its best, but also glorifying God and fulfilling the band's mission of bringing people into a knowledge of Jesus Christ.
- Captain Brian Clark
NYSB Public Relations Secretary
