Chalk Farm Salvation Army Band
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Chalk Farm Band is brass band of the Salvation Army located at the Salvation Army Centre in Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm, London, England. It is one of the best known brass bands of the Salvation Army in the UK.
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[edit] Brief History
It was formed in 1883 under the leadership of Bandmaster Worbouys to provide music for Salvation Army church services. In 1894, Bandmaster AW Punchard was appointed, (an association which continued for over 50 years). He added instruments such as saxophones and tenor cors to the normal set of cornets and trombones.
Michael Clack led the band for over thirty years, commencing in 1963. During his leadership, the band toured through most of Europe - including playing to the Pope in the Vatican City, Australia, and even to Japan where it took part in the Midosuji Parade in Osaka in [2000].
The band's current bandmaster is Jonathan Evans, who is a Euphonium player with the International Staff Band
[edit] Mission
The Band’s primary function is to participate fully in the weekly religious services, both indoor and in the open-air. The band which appears from Sunday to Sunday is much smaller than the one which appears on special occasions. Where do these extras come from? In addition it regularly presents concerts at other Salvation Army corps both in the UK and abroad. The Band has appeared annually on the BBC TV Show Blue Peter throughout most of its record 40-year run, and has also made a number of appearances on Songs of Praise at the Royal Albert Hall and on BBC Radio shows such as Gloria Hunniford and Owen Spencer-Thomas's Sounding Brass and Listen to the Band.
[edit] Make-Up
All of the bands members are amateur players, and members of the Salvation Army. Despite having earlier feature other instruments, the band now features the standard brass band instrumentation being:
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- 5 or more Cornets
- Flugel horn
- 3 Tenor Horns
- 2 Euphoniums
- 2 Baritones
- 3 Trombones
- 3 or 4 EEb and BBb Basses
- Percussion - normally Drum Kit or Timpani[citation needed]
[edit] Recordings and Repertoire
The band has released 5 CDs (the most recent being Emblem of the Army), 6 records, and also appeared on a number of 78s. A video detailing its history is also available, which is entitled Blood & Fire & Brass - Blood & Fire being a feature of the Salvation Army flag the
The band's repertoire includes:
- hymn tune arrangements such as Light Of The World;
- marches;
- solos - normally featuring the principal cornet (Ken Loukes) the Bandmaster Jonathan Evans on euphonium, a piano/organ solo featuring Retired Bandmaster Michael Clack or even a light hearted xylophone item from the percussionist;
- classical music from composers such as Handel and Tchaikovsky;
- major (symphonic) works by composers such as Edward Gregson, Eric Ball, Dean Goffin, and Ray Steadman-Allen (that have a hymn tune as their theme);
- light numbers - such as Olympic Fanfare and Theme;
- vocal items, featuring the entire band singing unaccompanied to melodies such as Finlandia.
