The Meadowlands (formerly Hamilton Temple) and London Citadel Bands held a concert on Saturday May 24th 2008 at the Hamilton Place Concert Hall. The reason for the event was the celebration of 125 years of Salvation Army banding in Canada, and since Hamilton and London bands both share that vintage, it was fitting that they should share the stage. Guests for the evening were Salvationists Mark Ridenour and Joe Caddy from the Chicago area. Ridenour is assistant principal trumpet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Caddy is one of the founding members of the Bill Booth Theatre Company. 
 

 

The evening got off to an interesting start with a vignette form the Gowans & Larsson musical, ‘Glory’. This is the scene where the Bandmaster (played by Caddy), of the new Corps gathers together an unlikely bunch of would-be musicians, and dishes out the instruments willy nilly. The players were represented by former alumni members of the Hamilton Temple Band in period tunics. After the Bandmaster explains how the instruments are to be played, the group launches into ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’. Raucous at first, the music suddenly begins to improve until miraculously, by the time the chorus is arrived at, they are playing like pros. All tongue in cheek of course, and the skit was meant to symbolize what the first band practice might have sounded like 125 years ago.

 

Meadowlands Bandmaster Ron Heintzman welcomed everyone and explained the reason for the concert, and handed over the proceedings to Colonels Glen and Eleanor Shepherd, who acted as compères for the evening. This was appropo, as Glen Shepherd began his banding with LCB. The massed bands then presented the Norman Bearcroft classic march, ‘Temple 85’. This was followed by LCB’s first solo offering of the evening. B/M John Lam and the band took us back into the 1930’s era for Eric Ball’s variations on ‘The Old Wells’. One never tires of hearing this music, and it always sounds fresh --- The mark of a master craftsman. This was a controlled and secure performance enjoyed immensely by the audience.

 

 For Mark Ridenour’s first solo of the evening, he also chose one from the archives: Bert Langworthy’s ‘Heavenly Gales’. It was great to hear this old variation solo again, and Ridenour handled it in fine style. As one would expect with a concert celebrating 125 years of banding, a mix of old and new music was served up to suit everyone’s taste, and Canadian composers were represented. Bandmaster John Lam led the LCB through Morley Calvert’s ‘Overture for a Joyous Occasion’. This was written for the LCB’s 100th anniversary, and one could recognize that masterly structure in the music that we have come to expect from Calvert. He is sadly missed. Joe Caddy brought some levity to the evening, and we had another excerpt from ‘Glory’: This time the song, ‘The Long Trombone’, again accompanied by the brass ensemble.

 

For the MCB’s major work for the evening, Heintzman had chosen the Eric Ball masterpiece, ‘Resurgam’. Glen Shepherd provided informative comments in his introduction, which helped explain the music to the uninformed in the audience. ‘Resurgam’ is still a stern test for bands almost sixty years on, and can present problems, not just of a technical nature, but in areas of intonation and fitting the parts together, as well as a test of the players’ nerve. The band came through in fine style, and this was a performance they can be pleased with. If I can offer one observation, it would be that the tubular bell part needs to be included. Just a small point, but it is important to the music.

 

 Ridenour was again introduced to play Steadman-Allen’s ‘Rhapsody on Negro Spirituals’. I enjoyed Ridenour’s interpretation of this solo. He approached it with a lot of intensity and emotion, which added to the performance --- one of the best, I might add, I have heard in recent years. LCB provided sensitive and confident accompaniment. 



To conclude the first half, we were treated to the old George Marshall chestnut, ‘Army of the Brave’. This was done in an interesting way. Rather than just play through the piece massed, the bands alternated, each playing one section at a time. Powerpoint slides of old photos of both bands were shown on the big screen behind the bands. When MCB were playing, we had pictures of Hamilton Temple in days gone by, and vice versa when LCB were playing. The pictures went from early beginnings up to the present day, and added greatly to the music. It was also good to hear Tommy Wilson take the cornet solo in the slow middle movement of the piece.

 

The second half started with a première performance of a new march by Len Ballantine titled ‘Great Lakes Mission’. Although definitely not written in the street march style, the composer blended the new; ‘He is the Lord’ with the old; ‘For all the saints who from their labors rest’. This march will be a welcome addition to the repertoire, and it was apparent that the massed bands enjoyed playing it. The composer was in attendance and was acknowledged for his contribution.

 

Joe Caddy again entertained the crowd with another song from the musicals, this time the adventures of light fingered Freddie in ‘Down the Street’. This was followed by music from the pen of Wilfred Heaton in a performance by MCB of his popular arrangement, ‘Victory for me’, which also featured Mark Ridenour in the flugel obliggato part. Ridenour remained on stage, changed instruments, and gave a very expressive and sensitive performance of Bill Himes’ arrangement of the song made famous by George Beverly Shea, ‘I’d rather have Jesus’, again with sympathetic accompaniment from LCB. The massed bands then presented Morley Calvert’s lovely arrangement ‘My all is on the Altar’, followed by Joe Caddy’s final contribution for the evening in the form of Vachel Lindsay’s dramatic soliloquy, ‘General William Booth enters Heaven’.

 

MCB then presented another relatively new work, this time from Dick Krommenhoek titled ‘Celebration and Praise’. One interesting aspect of this piece was the middle section which featured the band singing Krommenhoek’s own melody put to the famous words from Isaiah 53, ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs.’

 

For their major work for the evening, LCB played Martin Cordner’s difficult and challenging ‘Day of Freedom’. This is descriptive music and features the contemporary song ‘The Midnight Cry’, and is designed to remind the listener of the sudden and imminent second coming of Christ. The band came through with flying colors, evidenced by the sustained applause from the audience. Mark Ridenour returned for his final contribution, this time on flugel horn in Steve Bulla’s reflective solo, ‘His eye is on the Sparrow’. 



To conclude the concert, the massed bands played another new piece, from LCB’s principal trombone, Noel Brooks, with his stirring arrangement of ‘God be with you till we meet again’. This was a fitting benediction to the evening, and the bands deservedly received a standing ovation from the crowd. Bandmaster Heintzman and his team are to be commended for having the vision to bring this concert to fruition. A fitting celebration of 125 years of S.A. banding in Canada.... and long may it continue!

submitted by Stan Ewing