The Chicago Staff
Band 2009
European Tour can
only be described in
a word understood by nearly
every culture—“wow!” It
began at O’Hare
International Airport with a
direct overnight flight to
Copenhagen, Denmark, and
a transfer flight to the old
city of Bergen, Norway.
When the band arrived in Bergen,
it found six suitcases and 30 pieces
of band equipment did not make the
flight. It caused anxious moments as
the first concert was only a couple
of hours later. Major Robert Doliber,
travel coordinator, remained at the
airport to retrieve missing luggage
while the band set up in the old,
renowned Johannes Church. Our
host, Major Jan Harold Hagen, territorial music
secretary, had made
arrangements for the
band to play in this wonderful
venue.
Bandmaster William
Himes did not disappoint
the audience, having
planned “A” and “B”
programs to alternate
nightly. From the opening
note of “In Good
Company” by Dudley
Bright until the closing
flourish of Smetana’s
“Dance of the Comedians,” the
audience responded enthusiastically.
At the end of every number I
could hear the Norwegian equivalent
of “Wow!”
This program features Peggy
Thomas playing a solo composed
especially for her by Himes,
“Jubilance for Cornet.” Other soloists in the “A” program
include Ben
Kinzie’s cornet solo,
“Joshua Swings the
Battle” which is a jazzy
rendition of “Joshua fit
the Battle,” Jeremy Rowland’s whirlwind
euphonium solo, “Glorious
Ventures,” Joshua Turner performing
Leslie Condon’s classic Eb bass solo,
“Celestial Morn” and Heidi Strand
singing “You Raise Me Up.”
From Bergen we traveled by bus to
Oslo through some of the most beautiful
scenery in the world, stopping en
route at Hemsedal, Norway, a tiny
mountain village. An elementary
school there annually raises money for
Salvation Army work in Russia. The
school bused students to a park where
the band gave an outdoor concert, as a
gesture of gratitude, with a background
of mountains with melting
snow cascading in sparkling waterfalls.
(Of course, the students also were
overjoyed to get out of school for a
couple of hours!) Following the program
the principal treated the band to
a wonderful lunch of Norway moose
rump roast.
A few hours later the CSB arrived at Oslo Temple Corps, where the “B”
program featured soloists Brett
Tolcher on trombone playing
“Concert Piece,” Beth Cooper on cornet
playing “Slavische Fantasie,” Kory
Strand on soprano cornet playing
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Memory”
from Cats, Shaun Thomas on euphonium
playing “Pantomime” and Heidi
Strand singing Sara Groves’ “He’s
always been faithful.”
Other open-air concerts were given
in Stockholm in front of the Nobel
Peace Prize Museum, as well as in
Copenhagen, Denmark, and Dresden,
Germany—all with wonderful weather
and hordes of locals and tourists enjoying
toe-tapping marches contrasted
with gentle hymn settings.
Every CSB program included a scripture
reading and devotional by me as
the executive officer. Each band member
was prepared to share his or her
testimony, and in every program their
witness related effectively with the
audience. Ken Romin reminded the
audience that many of the band members
had a Scandinavian heritage and
we are all family in God’s love. Karl
Strand referred to a famous oil painting
hanging at the back of the Oslo Temple
chapel showing early Norwegian
Salvationists marching in an open-air,
indicating the one with a horse cart
was his great-great-grandfather. Jim
Olson presented part of his testimony
in Swedish, while Mick Shay shared a
portion of his testimony in German—
to the delight of each audience.
The final concert in Solingen was
shared with the German Staff Band
(GSB), under the leadership of
Bandmaster Heinrich Schmidt. This
concert at Luther Church was
extremely well attended by a very
enthusiastic audience. In addition to
the CSB’s repertoire, the German Staff
Band played “The Kingdom
Triumphant,” “They Could Not” and
“Godspell.” The CSB clearly enjoyed
the playing of this fine band.
The occasion was especially meaningful
as it marked the 20th anniversary
of the GSB—a remarkable
achievement since the country was
not united until 1994. Both band’s
featured soloists and major works
were well received, but the highlights
were the bands joint performances
with the pinnacle the soaring performance
of Wagner’s “Elsa’s Procession
to the Cathedral,” arranged by CSB
Bandmaster Himes and conducted by
GSB Bandmaster Schmidt.
Centralites can be proud of how the
band represented our territory. And in
these tight economic times, it’s noteworthy
the tour was funded entirely
through the CSB’s reserve fund which
consists of proceeds accumulated over
the years from publishing and recording
sales.
Having traveled over 2,000 miles by
bus and 9,000 miles by air, the band
arrived home tired but exhilarated by
their ministry to thousands of people
for Christ—and ready to serve five days
later at the Power Point Summit and
Commissioning weekend! So it goes for
“the band with a sacred message.”