(Photos/Matthew Luhn)
Making Music for Joy, Fun, and Fellowship
by Colonel Richard Munn
If you are one of the 27,000 Senior Band musicians of The Salvation Army around the world, or even have a memory of being such, you know of the distinct bond associated with this rich international fellowship.
Add the vigor of a remarkable repertoire of Salvation Army brass music — second to none, a global brass composition factory even — and we have a recipe for energetic music-making. Whether in ensembles large or small, accomplished or beginner, scintillating or pedestrian, brass musicians simply love to play.
The Quincy Temple Corps band has tapped into this force for over 20 years with a well-honed Annual Fellowship Rehearsal. Band alumni, interested individuals, and proficient musicians are invited to join the current players for an evening of joyful music. If amare, love, is at the heart of the word “amateur,” then this is amateur music-making in its purest form, for the sheer love of it.
So, let’s meet the person at the center of it all these days, Bandmaster Rick Castillo. SAconnects has an in-depth interview to give you, our faithful readers, the story behind the Quincy Annual Fellowship Rehearsal.
Bandmaster Rick Castillo.
The Quincy Temple Band is a well-established ensemble with a strong legacy of faithful musical service. Can you describe the current makeup and outreach of the band?
The current Quincy Temple Band is made up of 17 individuals, a mix of Salvationists and gifted musician friends. Some members of our group have served in various capacities for over 45 years. The band is an avenue that allows people to feel welcome while being part of a community and ministry.
Several times a year we do concerts or Music Sundays where we feature ministry through music. We also do regular visits to local nursing homes to visit and bless the residents. We recently joined with the Manchester Citadel Band in Connecticut for a weekend of music at their corps, and we sometimes form small ensembles to help other corps in the area with special events. Here in Massachusetts, most of our members are in the Divisional Band (MASS Brass), which conducts several concerts a year. We even occasionally participate in town events or join with other community musical groups.
The Annual Fellowship Rehearsal has become a staple of the annual calendar. What is the idea behind the event?
It started with the awareness that there were several former and current Salvation Army musicians in the New England area. Many corps bands today cannot play the brass classics anymore, as they are smaller in size and cannot fill all the parts. Or they may not have played any of these great pieces for many years, or even at all. Jim Hepburn (longtime bandmaster here in Quincy) thought it would be neat to invite them to join our band and play through a range of marches, tone poems, and other classics. It was a way to share in some of the memories from yesteryear, make new acquaintances, and rekindle friendships.
How long has the rehearsal been part of Quincy Corps life?
The first Fellowship Rehearsal took place in 2004. Other than a break for COVID, it has been a recurring event every year since. One year we even did two events to allow Boston Conservatory students (some of whom were members of the band at the time) to participate before leaving for the summer. Overall, we have been doing this for about 20 years.
Can you describe what might happen on the evening?
Attendance is via invitation from a rather large email list we have assembled over the years. People respond with a firm intent to come, and then we place them where needed or specifically requested. Some will request an easier part since they have not played for some time. I put together a roster and confirm everyone’s attendance and what instrument they will play before they arrive. I select music ahead of time. We try to vary this so we are not playing the same repertoire every year. Just for fun, requests are taken and considered if someone has a favorite.
The atmosphere is one of general energy and excitement. People look forward to this, and it is overall a very relaxed, fun night. Many people are sight-reading, so if we slip up, we back up, reset, and continue on. It is rare to get through a piece entirely without stopping, and people have come to expect that. This year we extended an invitation to the public for the first time and have received interest from that. A couple of new players from a local brass quintet in Plymouth, Massachusetts, will be joining us. We look forward to others joining us in the future. We also invite people to just come and listen and have had several people do just that. We end the evening with a top-notch ice cream social.
Any other insights or thoughts that our readers might find of interest?
This year the band will be made up of 35 musicians, of which 18 will be from other areas. I think we have a winner for someone who is traveling the farthest — Major Doug Burr (R) is joining us from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Doug is a former Quincy Corps officer and really wanted to be with us and play with our group again. This is a good example of the friendships built over the years through banding and working in ministry together.
We always end this rehearsal with a vocal arrangement (a cappella) of “God Be With You” — a prayer as we end the night to ask God’s blessing over us until we meet again, whenever and wherever that may be.
Thank you, Rick. How we delight in your fascinating account of this annual and special evening. Believe this, the SAconnects team is cheering you on. And, maybe a word of exhortation to other bandmasters reading this: “Go and do thou likewise.”
