On the weekend of 28 – 29 April 2012, the Amsterdam Staff Band (Bandmaster Olaf Ritman) had a busy ministry weekend in Rotterdam, including open-air events, an evening festival and worship services at Rotterdam South Corps.
Saturday, 28 April 2012
The Staff Band started the weekend with an open-air concert in the town of Ridderkerk, a suburb of Rotterdam. A large and enthusiastic crowd was present. Among the items presented during the concert, one of the most popular was the flügelhorn solo Hallelujah (arr. Olaf Ritman), skillfully played by virtuoso Menno van der Woude.
Following the open-air concert, the Staff Band went to the Rotterdam South Corps, where they gave a scintillating concert in the corps hall. In addition to the band items, four soloists were featured, all very much appreciated by the listeners. Of particular note was baritone soloists Jorijn van Hese, who played his first solo with the Staff Band (this is his first season with the band).
The program for the Saturday evening concert was as follows:
- Fusion (Martin Cordner)
- Time to Be Holy (Paul Sharman)
- The Great Rescue (Martin Cordner)
- Sounds of Singing (Leslie Condon), Steef Klepke, cornet soloist
- Vigilant (Ty Watson), Marco Beeldman, bass trombone soloist
- Soldiers of the Cross (Ian Clarke)
- Just As Thou Art (Ian Clarke)
- The Golden Pen (Wilfred Heaton)
- Round-Up (Martin Cordner)
- Fantasy for Euphonium (Philip Sparke), Simon Smedinga, euphonium soloist
- Donegal Bay (Paul Lovatt-Cooper), Jorijn van Hese, baritone soloist
- Faith Is the Victory (Sam Creamer)
- Flow Gently, Sweet Afton (Paul Sharman)
- Credo (Lorne Barry)
- The Quiet Heart (arr. Olaf Ritman)
Sunday, 29 April 2012
On Sunday, the Staff Band was again on duty at Rotterdam South Corps, leading the Sunday morning service. Items during the service included Guardian of My Soul (Darren Shaw) and Jesus Came (Howard Davies). A special treat for the corps folks was a march played following the service, entitle Rotterdam. This piece, which was recently discovered after more than 40 years in a cupboard, was written by Erik Silfverberg for his visit to Rotterdam in 1961 for a corps band weekend.
The afternoon was also quite special as the Staff Band worshipped by means of an open-air concert in a rather different neighborhood. The hectic environment, with people walking and cars driving by, was reminiscent of open-air services at Regent Hall in London. Unfortunately, the weather was uncooperative and the band was forced to break up halfway through their presentation.
In addition to the concert repertoire listed above, other items played by the Staff Band during the weekend included:
- Guardian of My Soul (Darren Shaw)
- The Cantonian (Ian Clarke)
- Hallelujah (arr. Olaf Ritman), Menno van der Woude, flügelhorn soloist
- A Fanfare of Praise (Robert Redhead)
- Bound for the Promised Land (Paul Drury)
- This Is My Father’s World (Ruben Schmidt)
- Copenhagen Temple (Olaf Ritman)
- Knowing My Failings (Andrew Mackereth), Mark Ontswedder, trombone soloist
Source:
Original report submitted by Steef Klepke