New York Staff Band

Bandmaster: Ronald Waiksnoris
St Mary's Church
Maidenhead
Friday 15th January

There were very few empty seats in St Mary’s Church Maidenhead for the visit of the New York Staff Band, in the United Kingdom to participate in the Hendon Highlights Festival the following day.

Bright, full sound

Having marched up the church behind the band flag and the Stars and Stripes, they went straight into their opening item, “Intrada on Monkland” (Stephen Bulla). The tune is associated with the words “Let us with a gladsome mind” and it certainly served to put the audience in the right frame of mind for the musical feast in store, with the band displaying a bright, full sound.

Bandmaster Stuart Hall (Maidenhead) then introduced the band, explaining that they had flown in safely, despite one trombone having gone astray, and pointing out that any subsequent wrong notes were the fault of the borrowed instrument (his own) rather than the player. The band’s visit to Windsor Castle had included a tour of areas not normally open to the public.

Scintillating cornet playing

Following prayer, another Stephen Bulla composition was presented, with a slick rendition of the march “Charlotte Celebration”, featuring the melody “I love to tell the story”. 

From such a recent contribution, there was then an echo from the past with the introduction of Michael Baker to play “Silver threads among the gold” (arr Stanley Boddington). This produced some scintillating playing from the soloist, displaying a formidable technique, although the accompaniment was a little heavy at times. 

From cornet solo, they moved on to a cornet duet, as the father and son pairing of Gordon Ward (Principal Cornet) and Christopher Ward (soprano) combined to present Joseph Turrin’s “Arabesque”. Although the players’ tones were quite different, the nature of the solo, with frequently alternating passages, meant that this was less of an obstacle than it may otherwise have been.

Premiere performance

Brian Bowen, a former Bandmaster of both the New York Staff Band and Staines Band, is now resident in the USA, and has contributed several items to the band’s repertoire.

“Consecration” was especially written for their visit to the UK, and is a meditation on the tune “Hendon” (“Take my life and let it be”). Bandmaster Waiksnoris referred in his introduction to the inherent Englishness of the writing, and there were echoes of Vaughan Williams in the opening. 

There was some fine, sustained paying from the band, and effective use of phrases of the melody in the linking passages between the verses, with a brief reference to one of the other tunes associated with “Take my life” at the end.

Band chorus

The scripture and thoughts brought by the band’s Executive Officer, Lt Col Kenneth W Maynor, reminded the audience of the need to show concern and compassion to others in Christ’s name, and that served as an apt introduction to the next two items. 

The New York Staff Band has long been renowned for its singing, and the band chorus, now under the direction of Dorothy Gates, presented the song “Do Right”. Written by Barrie Gott, it was a barber-shop style number similar to such offerings from the pen of Howard Davies, but with very effective use of small groups of voices to contrast with the full chorus.

Powerful finale

The first half closed with a major work by Dorothy Gates herself: “Hope”, consisting of three linked movements entitled “Conflict, Despair and Hope”, was written as a response to the effect of the troubles of the world on the lives of the innocent, and incorporates references to songs associated with childhood: “A little star peeps o’er the hill”, and “Jesus loves the little children”. 

The music is very descriptive, with a bleak and sparse opening, featuring the relentless pulse of the percussion, building up to the sound of battle, with effective use of fierce trills and tremolos, and glissandi from the trombones. 

The second section features sustained solo playing from tuba, euphonium, cornet and flugel, and maintains a generally doleful mood, whilst with the final movement comes a touch of optimism, bringing order out of chaos, using the melody “In Christ there is no East or West”.

From New York to New Zealand

The second half started with a bang with Goff Richards’ arrangement of “New York, New York”, the band displaying a relaxed and idiomatic approach, with excellent work from the trombone section. Underlying the internationalism of The Salvation Army, the next item, the march “Petone Citadel” (written by New Zealand sheep-farmer Ray Creswell) was conducted by ISB Bandmaster Stephen Cobb, who had been accompanying the band on their brief visit.

Featured soloists

Two soloists were featured in the second half, the first being Principal Euphonium Ryan McCrudden, given the formidable task of occupying the seat made his own in recent by years by Aaron VanderWeele, who is currently taking a spell out from the band. He presented Stephen Roberts’ setting of “Carrickfergus”, an appropriate choice since his father originated from Belfast. 

His clear, lyrical tone had already been heard to good effect in the band items, and the solo seemed to suit him well, although there were signs of nervousness, and he was occasionally overpowered by the band.

The second soloist was Andrew Garcia on flugel, Bandmaster at one of the New York City corps, who played “Londonderry Air” (arr Peter Graham). With a warm, mellow tone, if not as full-bodied as some, he produced a supremely musical account which was for many listeners a highlight of the evening.

Change to programme

There followed a change to the advertised programme, with the band playing “Oh when the Saints” (arr Goff Richards), complete with a vocal chorus, and featuring Seth Ditmer on drum kit, standing in for the usual player who was taken ill just before the band’s trip.

The second item from the Band Chorus, Dorothy Gates’ arrangement of “David Danced”, was prepared especially for a recent visit by the band to Puerto Rico, and following the opening slow chorus, it moved into an up-beat Latin American style, assisted by keyboard and percussion, and a small brass combo consisting of two cornets and a baritone. 

The band also sang a couple of verses in Spanish, and it was clearly an audience-pleaser, even if the sedate English audience failed to emulate the Puerto Ricans by dancing round the hall!

Successful mix of styles

The final programmed item was Steven Ponsford’s “Turris Fortissima”, a work which effectively combines three “Praise and Worship” songs within a traditional band setting. The band set a cracking pace and the music was full of excitement, although the horn opening to “Blessed be the name of the Lord” was rather swamped by the accompaniment figures. 

Playing in the fugato section was very clean, with each line fading into the background as its successor entered the fray, and there was some incisive playing from Warren Smith Jr on bass trombone.

Stars and Stripes

Following the well-deserved applause, the audience was treated to a rendition of “Stars and Stripes forever” (Sousa), full of verve and pizzazz, with a glittering obbligato from Chris Ward on soprano and more fine work from the trombone section. 

The percussion section was also a joy to watch as they entered into the spirit of things, and one was reminded of the value Sousa himself placed on his bass drummer! The evening closed in quieter mode, with a beautiful rendition of “Rock of Ages” by the band chorus.

Whilst the acoustics of the church may not have been ideal, it was a fine evening’s music-making, greatly enjoyed by an audience including many local people from the church and the town, as well as banding aficionados from both within the Salvation Army and outside. 

The discipline and attention to detail shown by band and bandmaster was notable from start to finish, and with a well-balanced programme one felt there was a real interaction with the listeners.

Peter Bale 

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