USA East Music BULLETIN - SPRING 2019 - ISSUE 2 | Page 2

FUTURE ALL-STARS 2019 REPORT
By Caroline Wajda, Schenectady Citadel, NY
MARCH 22-24, 2019 — Top young brass
musicians gathered in Bloomingdale, NJ, in
late March for what has become a Star Lake
Camp musical tradition: Future All-Stars
Weekend (FAW). The annual brass initiative,
which has met at the Lodge and Conference
Center for the past 16 years, is a great time
of musicianship and fellowship between the
participants and members of The New York
Staff Band (NYSB).
This year, 57 Salvationists traveled
from as far away as Canada, Kentucky, and
Puerto Rico for the March 22-24 gathering.
Sponsored by the Green Family Foundation,
the event is a unique opportunity for aspiring
musicians to receive instruction from NYSB
members, some of the best brass players in
America. This experience not only improves
participants’ own musicianship, but helps
seed excitement for brass band ministry in
corps throughout the territories in North
America. At a time when interest in brass
band music is growing nationally, The
Salvation Army keeps its focus on Christ. Each
member is assigned a prayer partner, as well
as a musical mentor, for the weekend.
The musicians took a break from their nine
hours of rehearsal to hear a concert by the
NYSB and featured this year’s special guests,
Beth Cooper-Malovance and Michelle Baker.
Beth is currently principal cornet for both
the Chicago Brass Band and The Salvation
Army’s Chicago Staff Band. Michelle, who,
until recently, played French horn for the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra of New York,
also conducted a master class. Each played a
solo, accompanied by the NYSB on Saturday
evening. Beth premiered Martin Cordner’s
“Faith Pursuit” and Michelle played Dorothy
Gates’ solo, “Imaginings”. The pair also played
solos at the Future All-Stars Finale Concert
Sunday afternoon at the Montclair, NJ, corps.
The Sunday Finale concert opened with
“Let There Be Light” by Steven Ponsford,
followed by Martin Cordner’s “Future All-
Stars”. Beth Malovance then played “Faith
Pursuit” (Martin Cordner) followed by
Michelle Baker performing “The Water is Wide”
(arr. Brant Adams), and “A Time For Peace”
(Peter Graham). These solos were musical
highlights, as were the exciting rhythmic
pieces “Jubilo, Jubilo” (Martin Cordner) and
2 • USA EAST MUSIC BULLETIN | S P R I N G 2019
“Barbarian Horde” by Hans Zimmer (arr.
Sandy Smith), led by Simon Morton, who
serves as the Divisional Music Director of
the New Jersey division, and NYSB Deputy
Bandmaster. Phillip Rayment’s upbeat “All
Nations” was fun to play as was the singing
lead by Band Chorus Leader, Aaron Harris in
singing Harold Burgmayer’s “Renewal”. This
was followed by testimonies from two Future
All-Stars, Berlensie Chery (EPA), and Malachi
Reynolds (SWO). Berlensie Chery testified that
her faith in Christ has been strengthened as
she applied to colleges this school year. She
said she learned that, although hard work is
important, ultimately our future is in God’s
hands. Malachi Reynolds spoke about the
need for sincerity in our words and actions. In
his devotional, Lt. Colonel James LaBossiere
cited baseball’s Ted Williams to stress the
importance of discipline in regard to spiritual,
as well as musical, growth.
The band then played the classic
meditation, “Lord, With My All I Part” (Richard
Phillips), and Steven Ponsford’s “The Day of
the Lord”, before closing with the NYSB’s
traditional benediction, “Rock of Ages.” ■
W W W. M U S I C . S A CO N N E C T S . O R G