I'm home from Grand Rapids and wanted to share with you information about the great weekend the CSB enjoyed there. Everyone was able to make the trip with the exception of Jim Olson who was ill. Hope you're feeling better, Jim.

The weekend wasn't overly programmed. We had a concert on Saturday night, Sunday School opening and a worship service all squeezed into less than 24 hours in Grand Rapids.

The Saturday evening concert was held at Forest Hills Performing Arts Center in Grand Rapids.  Without doubt the performing arts center is the most magnificent public school performing arts center I have ever seen. It was absolutely fantastic. The concert was well attended with the main floor and first balcony mostly full. The evening was emceed by WOOD television meteorologist Terry DeBoer, a great friend of the Salvation Army who guided us through the night expertly.

For those of you who call yourselves brass band geeks the CSB performed "In Good Company" (Bright), "Caprice for Cornet" (Himes - Ben Kinzie, soloist), "Glorifico Aeternum" (Jones), "Grandfather's Clock" (arr. Graham - Shaun Thoms, soloist), "Finale from Symphony No. 3" (Saint-Saens/trs. Norbury) and "Mid All the Traffic" (Ballentine) all before the intermission.

Just before the intermission a group of budding soloists from the Western Michigan & Northern Indiana Division played "Muffin Rhapsody" (Himes) an en masse solo item. The kids received the only true standing ovation of the night! What a great job they did.  

Also on the first half we were delighted with vocal sounds of Credo from Cornerstone University under the direction of Randall Wm. Burghart. Their first half set included "With a Lily in Your Hand" (Whitacre/Lorca, trs. Rothenburg), "Over the Rainbow" (Harburg/Arlen, Robinson), "Under the Sea" (Ashman/Menken, arr. Lawson), "Kiss the Girl" (Ashman/Menken, arr. Shaw). They returned in the second half with "Blue Skies" (Berlin, arr. Zegree), "Michelle" (Lennon/McCartney, arr. Ives), "Hear My Prayer, O Lord" (Purcell), "A Mighty Fortress is our God" (Luther, arr. Hayes). The sounds from this excellent ensemble was a perfect addition to the evening.

Following intermission the band played "Island Dreams" (Thomas), "Tambourin" (Gossec/arr. Davis - Kory Strand, soloist), "Cause for Celebration" (Himes) and concluded with "Tocatta in D Minor" (Bach/arr. Farr). Also on the second half John Kim (guitar), Bandmaster Himes (piano) and Peggy Thomas (flugel) played the trio "O Sacred Head" (Hassler/arr. Hiller).

Following the spoken benediction the Staff Band and Credo joined together to present "Total Praise" (Smallwood/arr. Himes) as a final benediction to a wonderful spring evening in Grand Rapids.

On Sunday morning we were at the Salvation Army Fulton Heights Corps for Sunday School opening and then Sunday morning worship. Following the morning service it was time for dinner before heading back to Chicago and getting ready for another week.

We got to see so many friends from the Western Michigan and Northern Indiana Division it would be impossible to name them all. Not only that, I'm sure I'd leave some out. But we did get a chance to say hello to an old Chicago friend and super CSB supporter, Jim Warren, who has relocated to the Grand Rapids area. It really was fantastic to see you on both Saturday night and Sunday morning, Jim.

Congratulations go to Major Jim Nauta (divisional commander), Tom Hanton (divisional music directory) and Majors Dan & Laura Leisher (Fulton Heights Citadel corps officers) for a well put together weekend. The CSB count it a blessing to have been able to minister with you this weekend.

Last night we had our last rehearsal before our visit to Grand Rapids, MI this weekend. Things are shaping up nicely and we are looking forward to a great weekend of ministry through music in a few different settings.

On Saturday night at 7:00 pm we will be in concert. In addition to the CSB we will be sharing the platform with a vocal group called Credo from Cornerstone University. We will also have a featured number on the program presented by the beginning students from a Salvation Army sponsored regional music school in Western Michigan and Northern Indiana. Bandmaster Himes tells us that divisional music director Tom Hanton has about six of these regional music schools going on throughout the division.

On Sunday morning we will be participating in Sunday School at the Salvation Army's Fulton Heights Corps as well as leading the worship service at that corps later in the morning.

Full details regarding locations and times for the weekend are found on our web site (www.usc.salvationarmy.org/csb) or you can get directly to them by clicking here.

Hope to see some of you in Grand Rapids!

In March the CSB had the privilege of visiting the Mayfair Community Church in Chicago. For those of you wondering, Mayfair Community Church was formerly the Chicago Korean Corps. What a blessed time we had!

On Saturday afternoon we participated in a band school program that included young people of the Metropolitan Division rather than just the kids from Mayfair. Following that band school we had a short rehearsal with the beginners from Mayfair who were to perform "Classics in Brass" with us that evening. This piece was internationally premiered originally by another group of beginners from this same corps. Of course, it was the hit of the concert Saturday night. Well done kids!

Saturday evening we were in concert at the corps and on Sunday we joined in bilingual worship together. For those of us that were privileged to tour Korea a couple of years ago many memories were resurrected.

Thanks to the Mayfair Community Church for a wonderful weekend.

To view a couple of photos (thanks, Miss Mary) from our visit go to the photo gallery or click on this link.

Welcome to my first blogging attempt. As the Secretary for the Chicago Staff Band I will attempt to keep you informed about events related to the CSB. Feel free to post your own comments.