Now in its 13th year, the New York Staff Band’s ‘Future All Stars’ weekend has become something of a fixture in the USA Eastern Territory’s calendar. Essentially the territory’s youth band, the group is comprised of around 65 up-and-coming brass players from both within the territory and beyond. Held in the beautiful surrounds of the Star Lake Camp, just 30 miles north-west of New York City, the weekend is aimed at young people aged between 13 and 18. This year there was the added significance of it being Bandmaster Ron Waiksnoris’ last Future All Stars before his retirement later in the year, an initiative that he has been instrumental in establishing and developing. With this in mind, there was the added dimension of Black Dyke Band being in town for its joint concert with the New York Staff Band (NYSB) on the Saturday evening. The Yorkshire band’s Musical Director, Professor Nicholas Childs, along with principal cornet Richard Marshall and principal euphonium Gary Curtin shared their expertise with the
Future All Stars during the course of the weekend. Adding to the international flavour, Professor Peter Graham and Jean Marc Mbumu, the Bandmaster of the Kinshasa Staff Band, were in attendance, along with delegates from as far afield as Puerto Rico and Canada.
With a Sunday afternoon concert to prepare for, there is no time to waste and an intense schedule of rehearsals, sectionals and devotionals is set into motion almost immediately after the delegates’ arrival on the Friday evening. During the course of the weekend, the band, which is boosted by the presence of the NYSB, whose members sit in and act as musical and spiritual mentors for the young people, meets for a total of six hours, in addition to 90 minutes of sectionals.
The Friday night saw several guest conductors take to the podium to put the Future All Stars through their paces and introduce the music that would be the staple for the weekend. Peter Graham introduced his Dance before the Lord, before Nicholas Childs delved into Edward Gregson’s tour de force, Variations on Laudate Dominum, complete with the additional movements which have been added relatively recently. Bandmaster Jean Marc Mbumu was also given the opportunity to conduct the band, and delivered a sensitive reading of Ray Bowes’ My Heart’s Desire, emphasising to the group the meaning of the words and how music can be a means of blessing people. Late night sectionals gave staff members the chance to work more closely with the delegates and focus on the more challenging parts of the repertoire.
In between these rehearsals, time was set aside for the first of several devotionals led by Territorial Youth Leaders, Captains Jason and Leslie Knaggs. Based on the subject of ‘humility’, delegates were asked to break into small groups to discuss thought-provoking questions and share in prayer. These were special times of consecration, arming the young people with the tools to go back to their home and corps lives with a new sense of confidence in their faith.
Saturday’s packed schedule saw the continuation of the previous night’s activities, but with a more detailed focus on rehearsals. As the day went on, one could feel a tangible sense of excitement as the time drew nearer for everyone to get on the bus and head downtown to the bright lights of New York City, and in particular Centennial Memorial Temple, where the centrepiece of the weekend was to take place. For many of the Future All Stars, this was the first chance to hear the famous Black Dyke Band live in concert, and for the vast majority in attendance the first opportunity to hear the Queensbury outfit in combination with the NYSB (see review on opposite page).
Sunday morning saw a time of reflection and renewal back at Star Lake as the Future All Stars and NYSB gathered in worship. Opportunity was given for personal testimony, and a number of the young people and NYSB members took the opportunity to share what was happening in their lives and how the weekend, and previous years’ Future All Stars events had impacted them. The band featured several items it had been rehearsing during the weekend, including Kevin Norbury’s celebratory overture, God with us, Stephen Ponsford’s majestic Fanfare to Worship and George Marshall’s classic march, Mighty to Save. Matthew Burn, the principal cornet of the Future All Stars who had flown in from Dallas, Texas for the weekend, gave a mature reading of the cornet solo The Reason. Matthew, just 16 years of age, excelled throughout the course as the band’s leader, with a number of challenging solos to negotiate. Some of the most poignant moments of the morning, however, were the words of testimony given by Jean Marc Mbumu, followed by his sensitive leadership of Ray Bowes’ My Heart’s Desire. The Bandmaster told the story of a man in his corps in Kinshasa who was close to committing suicide, but after he was able to visit him, he invited him to play flugel horn in the band. Being a part of that special fellowship has helped him turn his life around. In closing, he proclaimed, “May the almighty God be in your hearts.” The band was also given opportunity to sing, taking it in turns as half the band accompanied while the other half sang, in the Hallelujah Chorus (USA Central Territory) arrangements of Grace Alone and King of Kings, Majesty. Captain Jason Knaggs brought the message, focusing on Judges 6:11-16 and the story of Gideon, before we again broke into small groups to ponder on the questions, ‘Does God really care about us?’, ‘Will God take care of me?’ and ‘Does God keep His promises?’
There was just enough time to pack everything up and enjoy a short lunch, before it was back on the bus again, this time to Montclair Citadel, where the afternoon finale concert would be held. A real buzz of excitement could be felt in the lead-up, and that anticipation was not misplaced as a packed hall was treated to a fine programme of music and testimony. In addition to some of the items that the band had played in the service earlier in the day, it featured Barrie Gott’s Shine, a new ‘big band’ number very much in the style of Light-walk and Swingtime Religion, Norman Bearcroft’s cornet feature Joyous Proclamation and Dance Before the Lord, conducted by the composer, Peter Graham. The most substantial work of the afternoon was Variations on Laudate Dominum, conducted by Nicholas Childs. Earlier in the weekend Professor Childs had revealed to the band that he predicted a work of this magnitude would be a stretch too far for a youth band, particularly with such limited rehearsal time, but he was happy to admit that they proved him wrong and produced a quite accomplished performance.
It was a privilege to have Richard Marshall and Gary Curtin with us throughout the weekend, and in addition to leading sectionals the previous day, it was a real treat for everyone present to have the opportunity to hear them perform. First up, accompanied at the piano by Peter Graham, was Richard with the cornet classic Miss Blue Bonnet (Frank Simon arr. Sandy Smith), who demonstrated his complete control of the instrument, flawless technique and silky sound. Next, Gary Curtin bounded on stage with his beaming smile, amazing the audience with his outrageous technique and range in Carnival of Venus (arr. Allen Vizzutti). In complete contrast, the two Dyke principals later combined in Ivor Bosanko’s beautiful arrangement of Joy Webb’s I’ll not turn back, accompanied by the band.
Future All Stars Gia Wicaksono and Ben Neville spoke from the heart as they gave personal testimonies describing what God is doing in their lives, while Captain Jason Knaggs delivered a brief thought and Scripture reading, tying up his thoughts from the devotionals he had led throughout the weekend. As they do each year, the Future All Stars also joined in song, in Wayne Thompson’s Shout Salvation Full and Free, before singing the benediction, Rock of Ages. There was time for an encore, however, in the form of Stephen Bulla’s arrangement of John Williams iconic Star Wars.
And so another inspirational Future All Stars weekend came to an end, and although it is impossible to quantify the impact made on each individual participant, what is certain is the lasting legacy that this event will leave.
By Andrew Wainwright
Used with thanks to SA Bandsman magazine
