Tag Archives: rehearsal

2013 - 2014 Season Gets Under Way

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The National Capital Band (Bandmaster Dr. Steve Kellner) officially began its 2013 – 2014 season in its traditional fashion with a retreat at Camp Happyland. The members of the band gathered on the evening of Friday, 6 September 2013 for a time of musical and spiritual preparation for the upcoming season.

This year’s retreat was exceptionally well-attended, with only three members of the group unable to attend. The format was the same as that used in previous years, with five rehearsal sessions (one on Friday night and four on Saturday) interspersed with meals and with three breakout devotional sections, ending with a consecration service on Saturday afternoon. This format was introduced by Bandmaster Kellner at the first retreat held under his leadership (2010) and has proved to be very effective at preparing the band for their season of ministry.

During the breakout sessions, members of the band were divided into four groups for a time of sharing and prayer. Devotional materials for the sessions, prepared by Major Rob Reardon (Band Chaplain), centered around the Bramwell Coles song Here at the Cross. James Curnow’s meditation on this song is one of the band’s primary devotional selections for this season. Each session looked at a verse of the song and the consecration service wrapped up the theme with an emphasis on the last line of the chorus, “Lord, for Thy service, fit me I plead”.

The rehearsal sessions, each one hour in length, were intense as usual. They serve to introduce new repertoire and to allow the band to begin coming together as a unit, particularly for members who have changed seats or are joining the band.

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Curnow Visits Rehearsal

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On Monday evening, 4 February 2013, the National Capital Band (Bandmaster Dr. Steve Kellner) was privileged to have well-known composer and conductor James Curnow as guest conductor for its rehearsal.

Curnow is one of the most well-known active Salvation Army composers, and has also published many works for concert and wind bands. In the Washington, DC area to supervise the recording of a demonstration CD for the American Instrumental Ensemble Series, he graciously agreed to come to the city early in order to conduct the rehearsal. The band is featuring two of his works in its concert repertoire this season, the devotional selection Guardian of Our Way and the extended work The Great Salvation War.

The guest conductor handled the entire rehearsal, beginning with taking the band through some of his Tone Studies for Band. The next item was the song arrangement O How I Love Jesus. Insights given by the composer as the band rehearsed this simple yet profound piece enhanced the meaning for the members of the band.

He also took the band through the to items from their concert repertoire mentioned above, spending nearly half the rehearsal time on The Great Salvation War. As with any piece of descriptive music, the understanding of the meaning of the work by the players is crucial to an effective performance, and Curnow’s descriptions of the various motifs and themes used throughout this extended work gave this understanding to the band.

At the end of the rehearsal, the band had a brief lesson in sight-reading as the guest took us through his composition Emblems, which many of the members of the band had never seen before this rehearsal.

In addition to the guest conductor, the band also welcomed back former member Bernie Dake, who is now a member of the music department staff at Territorial Headquarters in Atlanta. Bernie was also in town for the recording sessions to be held later in the week.

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Annual Retreat 2011

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The National Capital Band of the Salvation Army, based in Washington, DC, began its 2011 – 2012 season with the Annual Band Retreat held at Camp Happyland in central Virginia. This was the second weekend in a row at camp for the band, who the weekend before supported the divisional Family Camp. The theme chosen by Bandmaster Dr. Steve Kellner for this year’s Band Retreat was “Unity”.

Continuing with the style established last season, the retreat alternated between rehearsal sessions and small group “breakout” sessions, which emphasized the spiritual and relational aspects of the band, focusing on the theme for the weekend. The culmination of the retreat was a service of consecration held on Saturday afternoon.

Attendance at the retreat this year was outstanding, with only two members of the band unable to participate because of other important commitments. The band read through much of the repertoire for the upcoming season in the five rehearsal sessions. As usual, the retreat was a time to allow new members and those with changed roles to become familiar with their positions.

For the breakout sessions, the band was divided into four groups, which met separately. Because of the number of new members, each group included at least one. The groups were also structured so that a range of experience was included in each. The sessions served both as means for the members to become more familiar with each other and also as a spiritual point of focus. The concept of the breakout groups, which was introduced in last year’s retreat, is regarded by many in the band as the most significant part of the rehearsal weekend.

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Annual Band Retreat 2010

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“New Beginnings” was the theme for the annual Family Camp for the National Capital & Virginia Division this year, and the same spirit carried through the following weekend (10 – 11 September 2010), when the National Capital Band gathered at Camp Happyland for their annual Band Retreat. With a new bandmaster, Dr. Steve Kellner at the helm and seven new players joining the band this season, the band is indeed experiencing “new beginnings”.

The Band Retreat has been the first official engagement of each season for the NCB for many years. It is intended as a time to perform organizational tasks, read through the upcoming repertoire, and set the band up both musically and spiritually for their mission. This year, Bandmaster Kellner instituted significant changes in the schedule of the retreat, with more emphasis on the spiritual and social aspects of the group.

Rehearsal sessions were reduced from 90 minutes to 60, but were increased in number from three to five. After each rehearsal session, the band broke into four groups, with each member (and family members who were in attendance for the retreat) participating through each group in a round-robin fashion. The groups, using materials provided by the Band Chaplain, Captain Rob Reardon, were so effective that the rehearsal sessions on Saturday were further shortened to allow more time for them. These devotional group sessions set the band on firm spiritual footing for the upcoming season. After the final rehearsal session on Saturday, Major James Allison, the band’s Executive Officer, led a short service of consecration which ended with most of those present kneeling in prayer at the recently-dedicated altars in the Happyland chapel.

Musically, the band was introduced to the new repertoire. Bandmaster Kellner has chosen a number of challenging items this year, and with only two items retained from the previous season, intense rehearsal is to be anticipated. Highlights of the repertoire include the prelude and fugue Arise, My Soul, Arise (Dean Goffin), Bruce Broughton’s The Good Old Way, the sublime and powerful meditation Serenity (Eric Ball), Variations on “O Worship the King” composed by Bandmaster Kellner, and Martin Cordner’s energetic Let Everything Praise!.

The National Capital Band is fortunate to have some outstanding young players, including principal cornet David Delaney, 27, and principal trombone Kevin Downing, 18. This season’s repertoire includes major solo items for both of them, with Bandmaster Kellner choosing two complementary works, based on spirituals, by Ray Steadman-Allen. These are the cornet solo Rhapsody on Negro Spirituals and Fantasy for Trombone on Spirituals.

As with most years, a few members of the band were unable to attend the retreat because of work or other commitments. Three former members of the band returned to help fill in these gaps: Sam and Stephanie Funkhouser, on euphonium and horn respectively, and Rick Potter on E♭ bass. Their participation in both the rehearsals and the group sessions enhanced the quality of the weekend.

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Mini-Concert at Maryland ARC

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Bandmaster James B. Anderson and the National Capital Band made their final rehearsal of 2009 into a special event at the Adult Rehabilitation Center in Hyattsville, Maryland. At the invitation of Majors Paul and Dawn McFarland, the band changed its rehearsal venue from Divisional Headquarters to the chapel at the ARC on Monday, 7 December 2009, using the latter part of the rehearsal time as a mini-concert for the residents of the center.

After some challenges fitting the band formation onto the platform in the ARC chapel, Bandmaster Anderson took the band through an abbreviated rehearsal, using slightly more than half the normal 2 hours. Residents from the ARC took their seats gradually during this time. After the rehearsal portion of the evening was complete, principal baritone Robert Schramm gave a short devotion, for both the members of the band and the residents already in the hall, which focused on the story of the well-loved Christmas carol O Come, All Ye Faithful.

The mini-concert began with a congregational carol, Hark, the Herald Angels Sing (arr. Willcocks, trans. James Anderson). This was followed by the march The Shining Star and Robert Redhead’s suite The Joy of Christmas. Three members of the band’s solo cornet bench, David Delaney, David Mersiovsky and Chris Dennard, presented the classic trumpet trio Bugler’s Holiday (Leroy Anderson). The band followed with its last item of the short concert, Feliz Navidad (José Feliciano, arr. Dorothy Gates), which generated extended applause from the audience. The concert concluded with another congregational carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas (arr. Rutter, trans. James Anderson), with the usual “surprise” accelerando on Day 12.

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