It was Birmingham Citadel Band’s pleasure to visit the Salvation Army’s Easter Music Course and to provide an evening programme for the delegates of the 2015 course.
The Easter Music Course is designed to cater for adult Salvationist musicians from the all over the UK and the delegates enjoy a full and active itinerary of activities throughout the week included rehearsing with a brass band and choir. BCB had been invited to perform an evening concert for the delegates and the band aimed to entertain and challenge those gathered.
The band featured four soloists in Neil Blessett (Horn), Mark Sharman (Trombone), David Taylor (Euphonium) and Edward Dixon (Tuba). Neil certainly challenged the audience with his beautiful performance of “You Love Me” whilst Edward Dixon brought not only a smile to people’s faces but raucous laughter in his solo “The Bare Necessities” with a cameo from percussionist Callum who even found the time to play the cornet and take a “selfie” during Edward’s solo!! Both Mark and David were playing new solos for them and the band and they seem to be good choices if the prolonged applause for both soloists is anything to go by!
There were moments of nostalgia with Leidzen’s wonderfully American march “The Kings’ Highway” and Goffin’s masterpiece “The Light of the World”. The unpublished and relatively new composition “Everlasting Hope”, which was written for BCB some 18 months ago, was very well received with many citing that music as a moment of real challenge and a highlight of the evening.
Bandmaster Gavin Lamplough reflected on Easter prior to the band playing Dean Jones’ beautiful arrangement of “Written in Red” and for the brass band connoisseurs, of which there were naturally many, the band finished with “Variations on Laudate Dominum (Revised)” by Edward Gregson.
It was an evening of something for everyone and there was a wonderful atmosphere as the band chatted with the delegates, meeting up with old friends and making lots of new ones.
Programme
Make His Praise Glorious (arr. William Gordon)
Horn Solo: You Love Me (Paul Sharman) – Soloist: Neil Blessett
PRAYER
The King’s Highway (Erik Leidzen)
Trombone Solo: Fiesta (Peter Graham) Soloist: Mark Sharman
Everlasting Hope (Paul Sharman)
Euphonium Solo: Locomotion (Bearcroft) Soloist: David Taylor
Light of the World (Dean Goffin)
Tuba Solo: Bare Necessities (arr. Baker) Soloist: Edward Dixon
Written in Red (arr. Dean Jones)
Variations on Laudate Dominum (Edward Gregson)
BENEDICTION
The Liberator (George Marshall)
