The Brass Crest
Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About the Site
    • About the Webmaster
    • Statement of Faith
    • Five Steps to Eternal Life
  • Articles
    • News
    • New Releases
    • Event Announcements
    • Tune of the Week
  • Bands
  • Basics
    • Purpose
    • Types
    • Structure
    • Salvation Army Organization
  • Instruments
    • Generic Brass: Sound
    • Generic Brass: Parts
    • Brass Band Instrumentation
    • Cornet
    • Horn
    • Baritone
    • Trombone
    • Euphonium
    • Bass (Tuba)
    • Percussion
  • Links
    • General Brass Links
    • General Music Links
    • Other Sites
    • Salvation Army Bands
    • Salvation Army Music
    • Salvation Army Sites
    • Link Request
  • Resources
    • Two-Part Hymn Series
    • Errata Project
    • Tune Book Resources
      • Tune-to-Song Index (1987)
      • Tune-to-Song Index (1953)
      • Metrical Index of Songs (1987)
      • Metrical Index of Songs (1953)
  • Link Request
  • Submit an Article
Menu
Dave Downing

Dave Downing 1945 – 2017

Posted on 23 March 2017 by Webmaster
Dave Downing
Dave Downing

I am sad to mark the passing of an outstanding person and musician, Dave Downing. Dave was a member of the [bclink id=”945″ target=”_blank”] for 45 years, and I was privileged to serve along with him (sometimes in the adjacent chair) for 32 of those years. He was also a great personal friend, which is why this post is not written in the Brass Crest’s usual third-person style.

Dave and his wife, Karen, came to the Washington, DC, area in 1969, just after Dave had finished a tour with the US Army in Vietnam. Both coming from a Salvation Army background, they began attending the Prince George’s Corps (and later the Alexandria Citadel Corps), and both joined the National Capital Band. Through the years, Dave played baritone, euphonium, and principal horn, as well as serving several terms as the band sergeant and chaplain. At the corps, Dave served in several leadership positions, including bandmaster, corps sergeant-major, Sunday school teacher, and youth band leader.

In 1979, Dave was struck with a massive heart attack at the age of 34. Despite having severe damage to his heart muscle, requiring him to have a defibrillator implanted in his body, and eventually to have a heart transplant, he remained a vital member of the corps and the NCB. Throughout his medical difficulties, he retained a strong Christian witness and a sense of dignity and honor. A few years after having his transplant, he was diagnosed with cancer. The surgery for this new affliction caused his face to be partially paralyzed, and even though he was unable to play a brass instrument for several years, he remained the NCB band sergeant, faithfully coming to rehearsals and engagements.

In 1992, Dave and Karen adopted an infant from Bolivia, Kevin. They nurtured him into an intelligent, gracious person, who is incidentally also extremely talented, being a virtuoso trombonist. As with everything he did, Dave took a very active role with his son, helping to develop his intellectual, spiritual, and musical abilities.

Personally, Dave was a good friend of my family. He and Karen are the godparents of my older daughter, Elizabeth. When I first joined the NCB baritone section in 1976, Dave was the principal, and much of my sound and approach to the instrument over the years is an emulation of his style. His family and spiritual life was also a role model for my wife and myself.

In email to members and friends of the National Capital Band, Bandmaster Dr. Steve Kellner called Dave “one of our Mount Rushmore figures, both musically and spiritually.” His presence will be sorely missed, but his influence on the Salvationists of the National Capital Area and elsewhere will continue through those of us who were privileged to know him.

~ Robert D. Schramm

Connect with the Brass Crest

Link to our Facebook Page
Link to our Twitter Page
Link to our Youtube Page
Link to our Rss Page

Recent Articles

  • Two-Part Hymn Series: Ten More Tunes
  • STANDING ON THE PROMISES (Tune of the Week)
  • Staff Band Marks Passing of Ken Graham (1936–2018)
  • Joyful & Triumphant
  • NICAEA (Tune of the Week)
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 2004
  • 2003
  • 2002
  • 2001

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Articles

Two-Part Hymn Series: Ten More Tunes

1 June 2019 14:24

The latest set of ten tunes in our Two-Part Hymn Series has been released. There are now 90 tunes available in the second phase, and 210 overall. Read more

Posted in: New Releases, Sheet Music

STANDING ON THE PROMISES (Tune of the Week)

10 January 2019 06:05

Tune of the Week for 10 January 2019. Read more

Posted in: Tune of the Week
Ken Graham

Staff Band Marks Passing of Ken Graham (1936–2018)

9 January 2019 06:36

The Canadian Staff Band (Bandmaster John Lam) has announced, with great sadness, the passing of Bandsman Ken Graham (North York Temple) on 24 December 2018. Graham was a member of the Staff Band cornet section for nine years, 1985–1994. Read more

Posted in: News

Joyful & Triumphant

8 January 2019 06:40

On 1 December 2018, the National Capital Band (Bandmaster Dr. Steve Kellner) was at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia, for Joyful & Triumphant, a Christmas concert and carol sing-a-long. Read more

Posted in: News

NICAEA (Tune of the Week)

3 January 2019 07:23

This is the first of a new series, Tune of the Week, featuring tunes from our Two-Part Hymn Series. Read more

Posted in: Tune of the Week

Two-Part Hymn Series Reaches 200

29 December 2018 10:57

The latest set of ten tunes in our has been released. This brings the total number of tunes in the series to 200. All of these tunes are free to download and use. Read more

Posted in: New Releases, Sheet Music

Away In a Manger (Cornet Solo)

19 December 2018 05:40

James Allen has crafted a beautiful and simple cornet solo that blends together two familiar tunes associated with the much-loved Christmas carol. Read more

Posted in: New Releases, Sheet Music
The New York Staff Band at historic Faneuil Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2018

NYSB Massachusetts Ministry Weekend

19 December 2018 05:23

On the weekend of 16 – 18 November 2018, the New York Staff Band (Bandmaster Derek Lance) traveled to the Massachusetts Division for a ministry weekend that included stops in Worcester, Canton, Boston, and Brockton. Massachusetts Divisional Music Director (DMD) Matthew Luhn and his team organized the events of the weekend. Read more

Posted in: News

Brass for GOSH Launched

3 December 2018 05:17

The London Central Fellowship Band (Bandmaster David Rudd) launched their latest recording with a concert at Regent Hall on 17 November 2018. Just under 300 people were in attendance for a fantastic night of music-making, raising funds for the Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) Charity. All of the profits realized by Citadel Promotions, the producers, will benefit the hospital charity, leading to the title of the recording, Brass for GOSH. Read more

Posted in: New Releases, News, Recording
Kintambo Band at the 10th anniversary service for the Plateau District, eastern Kinshasa

Kintambo Band Supports Anniversary Service

1 December 2018 08:32

On Sunday, 28 October 2018, the Kintambo Band (Bandmaster Henri Makanda Nkodia) had the privilege of being on duty at the Menkao Post in the Plateau District (the eastern part of the city of Kinshasa) for the district’s tenth anniversary Thanksgiving service. Read more

Posted in: News
©2022 The Brass Crest