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Even record hot temperatures and a lack of air conditioning couldn’t curb the enthusiasm of 151 students and 48 faculty members as they met at Jackson’s Point Conference Centre for the 42nd annual National Music Camp for Canada and Bermuda Territory (August 28th – Sept. 4th). Special guests were Colonels Glen and Eleanor Shepherd (Montreal), who delivered spirit-filled messages on Sunday, Monday and Saturday, focusing on transformation and social justice. The Shepherds took time on Monday night (Meet-the-Guest Night) to share their testimonies, and the passion of their current vocations, as President of Health Partners International of Canada and Director of Philanthropy for Opportunity International Canada respectively. Both organizations support efforts to eradicate poverty and provide health care in the world’s poorest of countries, and has given them opportunities to travel to countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Zimbabwe and Haiti to survey the beneficiaries of the organizations’ charitable dollars. Glen also shared his own life story, speaking of the impact The Salvation Army and banding had on himself personally, for it was The Salvation Army that rescued his own father from the throes of alcohol addiction when he was young. After sharing their stories, campers were lavishly treated to a concert performed by Glen and Eleanor’s own daughter Elizabeth and her fellow jazz trio musicians. Elizabeth Shepherd is a Juno-nominated recording artist who tours all over North America: Her music can be purchased on itunes and her biography is even posted in Wikipedia.
Sunday night guests were our former Territorial Music Director Major Len Ballantine and his wife Heather, who currently serve as corps officers for Yorkminster Citadel in Toronto. Their ministry there has grown to include an extensive Spanish ministry, and so the celebration-worship of the evening was led in both Spanish and English languages. Also featured that night were moving and emotional testimonies from two of their Spanish congregants, both of whom arrived in Canada recently as refugees from Columbia. Hearing their inspirational and God-guided stories made us all feel grateful that we live in a country that cares enough to welcome those whose lives are being threatened elsewhere around the globe. Following their testimony, Aux. Capt. Fabio Correa, Yorkminster’s associate corps officer, shared a short devotional in Spanish that was translated for us by his daughter.
The morning Bible programs were aptly led by Major Jamie Braund, London Citadel’s corps officer, who centered the week on the book of Deuteronomy, featuring a theme song written by Eric Himes (son of Chicago composer William Himes) entitled “I Choose Life”, based on Deut. 30:19-20. Lesson themes included “obedience (to God)”, “remembering God in prosperity”, “worship”, “moving towards God”, and “living clean”. The highlight was the Thursday night praise meeting, which allowed room for open mic testimonies and a time of recommitment and prayer. Many of the young people attending have already experienced mission trips to countries such as Haiti and Ecuador, or local street ministry through the Timothy program and 614, and all have a strong social justice conscience that drives a desire for active service that reaps eternal rewards. The students had an opportunity to share their thoughts on the Bible lessons in small groups following each morning’s corporate Bible time.
Tuesday night was the annual Talent Night, and this year especially there seemed to be an overabundance of talent that made it difficult to choose who would repeat their performance on Saturday night. Although we were wowed by the solo cornet performance of Jonathan Elliotson, who tackled the difficult Carnival of Venice with ease (and fully memorized to boot!), and awed by a stellar rendition of “Blackbird” played by tuba soloist Jon Rowsell, it was Carly Annis’s witty and wonderful vocal solo “The Alto’s Lament” that won the night, and a spot in Saturday evening’s final program, which she delivered with panache to the delight of the audience there.
Wednesday evening’s mid week program delivered accomplished performances by all the main stream ensembles: The Women’s Chorus, alternately conducted by both Jane Lam and Cathie Koehnen; The Drama Stream, capably headed by Chicago’s Joe Caddy and a veteran of SA’s Bill Booth Theater Company; The Worship Stream, headed by Len Marshall and Valerie Moreton; the Media Stream, directed by Tim Sharp, Hope Community Church’s new youth pastor in Pickering Ontario; and three brass bands conducted by Darren Hancock (Cornerbrook Newfoundland), Phil Rayment (Mountain Citadel Hamilton Ontario), and new faculty member Greg Colley and Yorkminster Citadel’s current bandmaster. Greg, like many of the faculty, was once a National Camp student himself, and he certainly did the camp proud as his band’s musical cohesion testified.
The evening was rounded out by “A” band, conducted by Canadian Staff Bandmaster John Lam, and “A” chorus, conducted by Cathie Koehnen.
Friday night was Elective Night, giving the opportunity for our elective ensembles and mixed choruses to perform. Donna Harris was back for another year of teaching timbrels, and this year was even more of a challenge due to the sheer number of students, 24, making it difficult to choreograph a routine on a stage that hardly gives them enough space to play without hitting each other. But Donna came through geniusly, with a routine creative and mesmerizing enough to warrant repeating at the Saturday evening final program. A must-see on youtube!
A brand new elective was offered this year, which was actually led by one of the camp students, Jill Phillips. She is a hip hop instructor, and many students were quick to sign up. Her group thoroughly entertained Friday night’s spectators, and so they too were slotted into Saturday night’s program. The performance was fun and creative, with inventive surprises along the way. Not sure if some of the older folk at the final program fully appreciated the rap CD accompaniment (Christian band Group1Crew) or the difficulty level of the choreography, but it certainly made a great and varied addition to camp repertoire. Here’s hoping we’ll see it again another year!
Other performing electives included the always entertaining Barbershop, conducted by Steve Armstrong; and a Trombone Choir, led by John Lam. Mixed choruses were conducted by Steve Armstrong, Jane Lam, and newcomer Andrea Donais (Northridge Corps, Newmarket Ontario), whose infectious energy not only infused her choir, but the audience as well. Andrea is a music teacher at Pickering College, and hopefully this will not be her only year as part of National’s faculty. Andrea’s choir provided an energetic postlude for the Saturday evening final program that was probably the most memorable in camp history, inspiring all the students and faculty to sing and dance along… quite a wonderful spectacle!
The final Saturday night program was packed to the rafters with appreciative ticket-holders, and the evening didn’t disappoint. Besides all the aforementioned items, highlights included Joe Caddy’s well-rehearsed drama stream, who delivered one of the best-acted, best-projected, wittiest and most memorable sketches in my own camp-history memory. Well done! The highlight from the Worship Stream was the resurrected “Jesus is the Rock and He Rolls my Blues Away”, originally recorded on Randy Bonifield’s popular “Awesome!” CD (Chicago, 1993), and punctuated by an energetic brass quartet who ignited a bit of dancing and celebration from the rest of the camp students. Although all the bands and choruses were very very good, it was especially wonderful to hear “A” band play Eric Ball’s classic 1967 tone poem “Resurgam” [I will rise again], an interpretive work depicting the physical death and heavenly resurrection of the believer, including the emotional mixture of sorrow and hope felt by loved ones left behind. Also memorable were the two Latin-sung chorus numbers: “Cantate Domino” by the women’s chorus, and “Salmo 150” by “A” chorus. Grace Kim, a faculty member who’s also currently a CFOT cadet, also added colour to a couple of the chorus numbers by playing cello.
All in all, it was another fantastic life-inspiring week for campers and faculty. The fact that the camp is almost always full year after year testifies to the spiritual transformation and meaningful purpose it provides to all who attend it. It is always a week of inspiration, encouragement, friendship, fellowship, fun, education, but primarily God-filled, God-directed energy, thanks in part to a praying faculty and a spiritually sensitive organizing committee. May it never end!
- Kim Garreffa