My
life’s musical passion has been Salvation Army Brass Banding and it has been 20
years since I have actually played in a Salvation Army Band. In those 20 years I have heard bands from the
ISB to local corps bands like Birmingham Citadel who are among the best that I
have heard and other smaller combinations that have suffered the ravages of
time and the new wave of Salvation Army ‘Worship Bands’; I have heard Salvation
Army Music played at the highest level and played a few Salvation Army pieces
with K & N Brass, and of course listened to hours and hours of recorded Salvation
Army Music.
In
various places around the world there are ‘Veterans Bands’ made up primarily of
retired Salvo Musicians and a few ‘ring ins’.
Some are fairly loose groups and some you almost need to audition for,
which would count me out as one of the lower-to-average players in expertise
among the veteran Salvo ‘Huffers and Puffers’ as old band people are called in
the UK. I have had close links with the
Melbourne Veterans Band and have worked with them on and off from when I used
to help out Envoy Dick Collett when I was in the Red Shield Department, to
using them for the ‘Back to South’ (South Melbourne) event in 2011. Although there are a lot of jokes around
about them in the ‘normal’ banding circles I have always been impressed with their
energy and commitment to Salvation Army Brass Banding and I respect their
expertise as top class brass players.
Now
living in South Australia I had heard about the ‘Red Shield Band’ which is made
up of a group of people from retired Salvo Band People to just interested and
wanting to keep Sally Brass Banding alive.
Having bought myself a Trombone (lifelong ambition to own my own) and a
trumpet (seemed like a good idea at the time) and joined the Clare Valley
Concert Band, I had the real desire to have listen to the Red Shield group at
rehearsal. I made inquiries at
Headquarters and all I could find out was that they rehearsed at Arndale Corps
at 8pm on the first and the last Friday of the month; no contact details, no
names or anything which spoke volumes to me.
So
the last Friday of June I rocked up to see if anyone else turned up and to have
a listen to the rehearsal, in much the same way that I used to rock up to the
ISB band practice when we lived in the UK.
A few people drifted in and so about 7.45 I decided that I should go and
make a move and find a seat to just have a listen. There were about 15 people already there and
in the process of setting up the practice room and sorting the music out and
even before I saw people that I knew; I felt welcomed and ‘at home’.
It
was a fascinating group with people I knew and some I recognised, but there was
Roger Allen and Graham Denholm from the Heritage Society who were glad to get
my address to send me the South Australian Heritage Newsletter again as I had
dropped off the list and it kept on getting returned. There was Harry Matear ready to wield the
baton and Laurie Venables who I worked with for a number of years and a number
of other people who I recognised and who recognised me. Roger Allen told me that a video had turned
up of one of our Heritage Sundays from when I was in the CO Whyalla, Harry told
the story of when I was part of a quartet who sang at a breakfast for General Brown
at the Generals Congress in Adelaide and while we were waiting for our ‘moment
in the sun’, we found in the Norwood YP Hall a Generals Cap, two Commissioners
Caps and Commissioner Burrows Bonnet, so we four ‘younger’ officers tried them
on and according to Harry there is a photo with us and yes; you guessed it I
had the Generals Cap on.
I
was asked if I wanted to play but I did not have an instrument, however; like
in good old Army fashion they found me a cornet, which looked more like a
trumpet and I found myself sitting on the end of the back row playing first
cornet. I remember as a 10 year old going on holiday
to Skegness in the UK and as per usual we, Granny Mum and myself, went to the
Army and an announcement was made if there were any bandsmen in the
congregation; my Granny put her hand up for me and so out to the band room and
they gave me a cornet with pearl valve tops.
I have never been so impressed in my life; and here it was happening
again. Whilst not my instrument of
choice, they are desperate for cornets and in the past have nearly folded
because of lack of cornets. So there I
sat alongside ‘The’ Ivan Butler from Norwood and on the stand in front of me
was a sticker with Thea Parkinson’s name on it from Kilkenny. These are really South Australia’s Sally
Royalty as far as I am concerned and I was humbled and honoured to just be
there. It was a thrill to match all the
thrills of recent years and then when the music was handed round we had ‘The
Canadian’ and ‘The Defenders’, some with ‘Goodwood Band’ on it and Roger later reminded
me that at Adelaide Congress Hall they had a lot of the old South Melbourne
music that was donated after ACH Burnt down and they lost all their musical
library.
I
did get a few notes during the evening; but for me it was almost a walking down
a path that was so well trod but had not trodden for so many years, however I
hope that I can walk it for a few years and make some sort of contribution to
this fine group of Salvation Army Musicians who I am so proud to be associated
with. I am resigned to the fact that
every veteran’s band has a flock of trombones who want to live out their glory
days, possibly like me, strong in the belief that the older they get, the
better they were; but I am happy to struggle on with the cornet, even as
assistant principle third cornet, as I was in K & N, just to be part of
this fine group of Salvationist Musicians.
I
have written about ‘My Brass Band’ that will ‘welcome me to heaven’ and all the
people that will make up that group from people who I played with, respect and
have had some form of influence on my life.
I am sure that there will be people in this group that will be joining my
list very soon.
The
next week they found me an old brass ‘York’ Cornet and guess what? ....It has Pearl valve tops!
No comments:
Post a Comment