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Book Review:

The Proclaimers

A History of the New York Staff Band (1887 - 2007)

Ronald W. Holz

The Salvation Army, USA Eastern Territory

ISBN 978-0-89216-110-2

 

Those who have followed the progress of the New York Staff Band (NYSB) in recent years will be delighted that the author of the previous historical record, Heralds of Victory, has revisited his earlier work.  All chapters of the previous edition have been revised, some substantially, as more data has been discovered.  There are also some new chapters recording the activities of the band in the 21 years since Heralds of Victory was published.

  

The title Proclaimers was suggested by the current bandmaster Ronald Waiksnoris -- who has led the band since 1992 -- as it is symbolic of the renewed mission for the NYSB since 1987.

  

This volume comprising almost 400 pages of fascinating information has been adroitly compiled through diligent research by the doyen of Salvation Army (SA) band history and musicology, Dr. Ronald Holz.  We are indebted to him for this illuminating and comprehensive chronicle of events, people, compositions, musical achievements and anecdotes, all of which highlight the mission statement of the band.

  

Each chapter takes the name of a relevant composition and is appropriate to the bandmaster(s) featured in the chapter.  For example, None Other Name (Erik Leidzen) is the title given to the period when the author's father, Major Richard Holz, was at the helm.  Many decades ago as a young bandmaster, I recall attending the 1960 Bandmasters' Councils Festival at the Royal Albert Hall and hearing for the first time this wonderful composition so eloquently played by Derek Smith.  Eric Ball's account of the evening spoke in glowing terms of the band's performance and commended the conductor.

   

The book contains 26 pages of photographs from earliest times to modern day, reflecting the interest of politicians and pop stars as well as featuring the band and its soloists.  A major bonus is the addition of a compact disc which includes the earliest surviving recording from 1922 to a track from 2003 not commercially released on CD. It is fascinating to experience the evolution of the band's sound and the development of its technical accomplishment from the early years under Bandmaster Darby, its performances of the much-admired 1968 live version of Morley Calvert's Canadian Folk Song Suite and Condon's Thy King Cometh from 1983, through to a 2003 performance of Leidzen's march Pressing Onward.  In an extract from a 1960 radio broadcast, we hear Leidzen's illuminating commentary on his composition On the Way Home.

  

The consistency shown by the band in maintaining its high standards -- especially when it is widely held that brass bands are no longer needed for SA music -- is evidence that its mission-focused music making is not only relevant but necessary.  The publication will encourage all those still involved in SA banding and question the doubters.

  

In his forward, Commissioner Lawrence Moretz congratulates the author, who has again captured the heartbeat of this group of music missioners.  It is a book not to be left on the shelf.  Dr. Holz is to be congratulated on his exhaustive and enlightened exposition.

-- Norman Short