Vernon Post was an intellectual , sophisticated and musical man of faith . He lived a life full of accomplishment often tamped down by life ’ s challenges . As a young man , he found great enjoyment in The Salvation Army . He was fond of telling stories . One of his favorites was telling how his grandfather was the property secretary at territorial headquarters when Star Lake Camp ( now 100 years old ) was purchased and how John Allen ( later to become Chief of the Staff John Allen ) tried out the lake in all his glory before anyone else in the SA had had a swim . Other stories he told me were that as a young boy , he attended the farewell services and concerts for the newly elected General Evangeline Booth . It was quite a spectacle , according to Vernon . Another favorite story was in the 1960s the New York Staff Band presented a program on national television . After that program he received a handwritten note from Leonard Bernstein who had watched the show and was moved to write a note of thanks and congratulations . Vernon was very fond of vocal and choral music . At Star Lake Musicamp , if you made it through the audition to be placed in the Star Lake Chorus , you knew you had really accomplished something . He made the New York Staff Band Male Chorus into a world renowned force for ministry . He was exceedingly fortunate to have great singers in the band . Al Avery , Olof Lundgren , Peter Hoffman were all tenors of great note . Bass singers like Bob McNally , Al Stickland and Derek Smith anchored the foundation of the male chorus . I once asked him whether it was having great singers or his own musical genius that attributed to the success of the male chorus . With a smile , he suggested it was a little bit of both . There are numerous recordings to listen to from the Vernon Post era which will back up the idea that the male chorus was quite outstanding . Staying on the male chorus thought , Vernon ’ s singers were invited to sing as part of the male voice
10 NYSB BULLETIN SUMMER 2023
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