A Trombonist visits Bristol
Saturday 12 October 2019
At 7:30 on a chilly October morning, I found myself sat on West Malling station for the first leg of my journey to Bristol where I had been asked to do a weekend away with Salvation Brass at the Bristol Citadel Corps of The Salvation Army. Delays to the Victoria train, closures on the Circle Line and a last minute platform change at Paddington made the journey more of a challenge than it needed to be, but I was eventually on the shiny new high speed train to Bristol. We arrived on time into Brunel’s masterpiece Temple Meads Station, and I made the connection to Montpelier Station with time to spare. From here it was a short walk down through narrow streets to the Army hall on Ashley Road. There was no rest though and with just enough time for a quick cup of tea, we gathered on the platform to rehearse the music for the weekend.
Marching on Together (down a hill, in the rain)
A very multi-cultural and apparently quite deprived area I was a little unsure how the local residents would react to a Christian brass band turning up in the middle of their estate on a Saturday afternoon. There was no need for concern though as we were well received by a large crowd of people who quickly gathered around the band. More people came and stood listening on their balconies while a large number of children really engaged in what we were doing, joining in by playing percussion instruments and picking sticks up off the floor to join in conducting the band which was great to see.
Commencing with Promised Land we also played Ask!, Tomado de la Mano, Show Your Power, Joyful! Joyful!, Praise my Soul and Storm the Forts with each piece being taken by a different ‘surprise conductor’ nominated by Dean Jones who was live streaming the meeting to a global audience. What I enjoy most about playing with Salvation Brass is the relaxed nature of what they do, and the way they have fun using their skills to share God’s word. During Joyful! Joyful! we (the trombone section) moved to the back of the band and stood on a wall behind the basses to ensure that, when we had the tune in the third verse, we could be seen and heard. As Dean commented in the live broadcast on Facebook “It’s always the trombones…” To my surprise, as we prepared to play our last number I looked up and saw the latest conductor was my Dad who had chosen Storm the Forts. He was very clear in how he wanted the piece to be played and insisted we “keep it down” second time through. Dutifully in the second verse the trombone section knelt down on the ground. Continuing the ‘unconventional’ theme, we marched back to the hall to Praise Party.
After sharing an excellent tea where with Corps folk and the guest choir ‘Amplify’, the band and the Corps singing company shared in the Lord’s Prayer before commencing the evening festival.
Following the singing company on stage, the band opened the programme with Knowing You. As the welcomes and introductions were taking place we then moved down off of the platform before playing I’ve been Changed (Hoedown) arranged by Dean whilst walking around, interacting with the audience and generally having a good time. A complete change in mood was then brought about as we played Lullabying by John Barry to accompany the words of ‘the love chapter’ (1 Corinthians: 13) before a rousing congregational song Show Your Power. Amplify! Then took to the floor. Featuring balanced harmonies and well choreographed dance moves, their first set included Roar, I can't help falling in love with You and I'm so in love with you before the band closed the half with I will Proclaim.
After the interval the band commenced with 007 Light by which features snippets of the theme from James Bond and a swing arrangement of This Little Light of Mine. The band were arranged in ‘Salvation Brass Big Band formation’ with the trombones at the back, stood on our chairs and in my case at least, trying not to fall off! The audience joined in again as we sang Cornerstone before Amplify! once again took to the floor their second set including Everybody hurts and Oh What a Night before finishing their performance with This is Me. The evening then moved into a more reflective time as the trombone section stood up to perform From that Sacred Hill before the band played Goff Richard's incredible arrangement of I’ll walk with God. To close the evening, everyone joined for a final rousing congregational song How Great Thou Art. In all the congregational songs, the children from Bristol Citadel had waved flags and danced and it was encouraging during this song to see the non-Army members of Amplify! joining in with this.
Acts 17:22
For our finale we played William Himes’ march Able. Earlier in the day, we’d rehearsed this and decided we would stand up one bar from the end. All was going well and building towards a glorious finish when, suddenly, front row cornet player Paul stood up four bars from the end. Half the band continued playing while other half desperately tried to supress laughter. I felt a little sorry for Paul, but he took it in good humour and it really showed what is so great about playing with this group. They enjoy themselves!
The lights went out in Bristol
As the Dean briefed the band on the schedule for the next day (and took the opportunity to make a few jokes at the unfortunate Paul’s expense) the hall and surrounding streets were plunged into darkness as a power cut hit the area. It was certainly one of my more memorable endings to a concert!
Sunday 13 October 2019
Up bright and early, we arrived at the hall by 9am and spent some time chatting to Corps folk and other members of the band, getting to know them a little better. At 9:45 we shared in devotions before heading downstairs for Sunday worship. Led by Matt Stone from Staines Corps, it was a reflective, fun and engaging morning during featuring the band as well as Bristol Citadel YP Band and Songsters. Following worship everyone joined for lunch, including my parents, and we once again spent time sharing with one another. The food on offer was a buffet, including jacket potatoes and hotdogs. I caused something of a stir when I asked for chill on my hotdog instead of a potato. People of Bristol, meet the chilli dog!
As lunch finished, my mum and dad said their goodbyes and set off back down the M5 to Paignton. We, once again, headed back downstairs with our instruments to lead a workshop for the Corps YP band. We started by doing some rhythm exercises together, stamping and clapping in time, before breaking up into three groups for sectionals. After twenty minutes we regrouped when some of the children had the chance to conduct the band in their favourite pieces from the weekend. All in all it was fun and extremely worthwhile.
Having finished at the hall it was time to say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Ady had agreed to give me a lift to Temple Meads Station, but the traffic was so bad, I got out half way and walked. A short time later I was on the train and reclining in my seat. As we sped towards the capital I had plenty of opportunity to reflect on the weekend, and how we as a band had been able to use our musical skills to spread the word of the Salvation Army, to entertain Salvationists and non-Salvationists alike, to lead worship and to teach the next generation. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my weekend.
Commencing with Promised Land we also played Ask!, Tomado de la Mano, Show Your Power, Joyful! Joyful!, Praise my Soul and Storm the Forts with each piece being taken by a different ‘surprise conductor’ nominated by Dean Jones who was live streaming the meeting to a global audience. What I enjoy most about playing with Salvation Brass is the relaxed nature of what they do, and the way they have fun using their skills to share God’s word. During Joyful! Joyful! we (the trombone section) moved to the back of the band and stood on a wall behind the basses to ensure that, when we had the tune in the third verse, we could be seen and heard. As Dean commented in the live broadcast on Facebook “It’s always the trombones…” To my surprise, as we prepared to play our last number I looked up and saw the latest conductor was my Dad who had chosen Storm the Forts. He was very clear in how he wanted the piece to be played and insisted we “keep it down” second time through. Dutifully in the second verse the trombone section knelt down on the ground. Continuing the ‘unconventional’ theme, we marched back to the hall to Praise Party. After sharing an excellent tea where with Corps folk and the guest choir ‘Amplify’, the band and the Corps singing company shared in the Lord’s Prayer before commencing the evening festival.
Following the singing company on stage, the band opened the programme with Knowing You. As the welcomes and introductions were taking place we then moved down off of the platform before playing I’ve been Changed (Hoedown) arranged by Dean whilst walking around, interacting with the audience and generally having a good time. A complete change in mood was then brought about as we played Lullabying by John Barry to accompany the words of ‘the love chapter’ (1 Corinthians: 13) before a rousing congregational song Show Your Power. Amplify! Then took to the floor. Featuring balanced harmonies and well choreographed dance moves, their first set included Roar, I can't help falling in love with You and I'm so in love with you before the band closed the half with I will Proclaim.
Acts 17:22
For our finale we played William Himes’ march Able. Earlier in the day, we’d rehearsed this and decided we would stand up one bar from the end. All was going well and building towards a glorious finish when, suddenly, front row cornet player Paul stood up four bars from the end. Half the band continued playing while other half desperately tried to supress laughter. I felt a little sorry for Paul, but he took it in good humour and it really showed what is so great about playing with this group. They enjoy themselves!
The lights went out in Bristol
As the Dean briefed the band on the schedule for the next day (and took the opportunity to make a few jokes at the unfortunate Paul’s expense) the hall and surrounding streets were plunged into darkness as a power cut hit the area. It was certainly one of my more memorable endings to a concert!
Sunday 13 October 2019
Up bright and early, we arrived at the hall by 9am and spent some time chatting to Corps folk and other members of the band, getting to know them a little better. At 9:45 we shared in devotions before heading downstairs for Sunday worship. Led by Matt Stone from Staines Corps, it was a reflective, fun and engaging morning during featuring the band as well as Bristol Citadel YP Band and Songsters. Following worship everyone joined for lunch, including my parents, and we once again spent time sharing with one another. The food on offer was a buffet, including jacket potatoes and hotdogs. I caused something of a stir when I asked for chill on my hotdog instead of a potato. People of Bristol, meet the chilli dog!
As lunch finished, my mum and dad said their goodbyes and set off back down the M5 to Paignton. We, once again, headed back downstairs with our instruments to lead a workshop for the Corps YP band. We started by doing some rhythm exercises together, stamping and clapping in time, before breaking up into three groups for sectionals. After twenty minutes we regrouped when some of the children had the chance to conduct the band in their favourite pieces from the weekend. All in all it was fun and extremely worthwhile.
Having finished at the hall it was time to say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Ady had agreed to give me a lift to Temple Meads Station, but the traffic was so bad, I got out half way and walked. A short time later I was on the train and reclining in my seat. As we sped towards the capital I had plenty of opportunity to reflect on the weekend, and how we as a band had been able to use our musical skills to spread the word of the Salvation Army, to entertain Salvationists and non-Salvationists alike, to lead worship and to teach the next generation. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my weekend.
Comments
Post a Comment