BAND PROFILE

Our grateful thanks go to Maurice Horwood for organising this year’s excellent Annual Dinner for the band, and at a very affordable price. This took place at a new venue for us, Southern Valley Golf Club, near Gravesend , on Friday 20^th January. Our special guests were Retired General John Larrson and Commissioner Freda Larrson. It was a delight too to welcome several retired members of the band with their wives: two horns, two cornets and a bass - Ken Hodson, Ken Harrison, Bill Davis, Bill Marklew and John Hodson. Our commiserations go to Godfrey and Frances Carter, whose car broke down three times in the M25 queues, so the AA delivered them back to Banstead, kindly stopping en route for a Turkish take-away. As Frances said to Godfrey: “You certainly know how to take a girl out!”

General Larrson had us all gripped in attention by his eloquent portrayal of his own initially reluctant musical development. As a YP band-member at age 8 in Copenhagen he drew the short straw in instrument allocation, with a bronze Eb rotary-valve alto-horn and had the added embarrassment of publicly wearing “lion tamer tunics”; but he was indebted to the band-leader for his initial musical mentoring there. Moving to Chile at age 12 he joined the Army’s Central Band in Santiago , at last with a silver cornet. A sequence of encouraging officers, gradually countered his banding and testimony avoidance skills and wonderfully encouraged his musical and Salvationist commitment. At age 14 he moved to Buenos Aires in Argentina , and again thought this was an opportunity to give up banding, but Captain (later Commissioner) Allemand had superb adolescent management skills and drew him into the fellowship, so that by age 17, the corps officer made him the bandmaster. Dissatisfied with western-biased Army musical arrangements, John Larrson studied Ebenezer Prout’s “Harmony: Its Theory & Practice” (second-hand copies on Amazon now at 18 dollars!) and scored all the parts for “Star Lake” from listening to a 78rpm record, and then scored local tunes for the band to use in its worship. “A marvellous way to learn!”

At 18, John came to England and the Training College, thinking he would cheerfully say good-bye to music – “it wasn’t a sacrifice” - but music kept cropping up – firstly in the Training College’s Royal Albert Hall pageants, when Commissioner Harry Read asked him to put music to drama. This became his entrée into writing the 10 musicals that he and General Gowans put together, starting with “Take-over Bid”, when he was the 28 year old officer at Hillingdon Corps, “encouraged!” by Commissioner Denis Hunter.

General Larrson concluded with a moving account of an Australian medical doctor, Graham Hislop, who when invited to see “Jesus Folk” in a theatre, became stirred by the Lazarus song “Out of my darkness he called me” and went on to become an outstanding officer at the age of 50.

Roger Gadsden expressed our deep appreciation to the General, and Commissioner Freda Larrson led our meditation and prayers, at the end of this very stimulating evening of fellowship together.

A long awaited visit by the South London Fellowship Band, their 5^th to Gravesend , met the very high standards expected of this band. The event took place in the Parish Church , St Georges, and included a wide range of popular Christmas numbers from “The Shining Star” to “Season’s Greetings. The band’s major work for the evening was “Proclamation of Christmas” by S. Bulla. This difficult music was superbly played in a musicianly style and was greatly appreciated by the nearly full church. The band’s principle cornet, Alan Moyse, gave a beautiful presentation of the Christmas Lullaby-Away in a Manger-by E.Banks.

The Dedicated Divas under the leadership of Tina Shepherd were a very welcome inclusion in the programme. Looking resplendent in their evening gowns, among their items were “The Carol of The Bells” and a Gowans/Larsson arrangement of “In the Face of a Child.” Tina was the vocal soloist in “The Surprise” which was accompanied by the SLFB.

The programme was interspersed with congregational carols

General John Larsson (R), accompanied by Commissioner Freda Larsson, compèred the programme.

The South London Fellowship Band was conducted by Darrell Scholes, its associate conductor.

A collection raised £307 which was shared between the Gravesend Corps and the band.

In Festive mood

The Dedicated Divas

The Dedicated Divas with Darrell Scholes and our Guests General John Larsson and Commissioner Freda Larsson

Engagements have been carried out at the following venues over the years and we are continuing with these on a regular basis:-

	Home
	Band Profile
	Diary Dates
	Personnel
	Individual Profiles
	C Ds

	Home
	Band Profile
	Diary Dates
	Personnel
	Individual Profiles
	C Ds