USA East Music BULLETIN - SPRING 2019 - ISSUE 2 | Page 8

FUTURE ALL-STARS 2019 REPORT
By Julianna Gerard, Oshawa Temple, CAN
This is my third year as a future all star, and
every year I come home knowing that I’ve
grown as both a musician and as a Christian.
The weekend is full of amazing worship,
music, and time with friends that together
create an unforgettable experience for us
all. In years past I’ve been fortunate to meet
new friends that I was happy to see again this
year! I wish I could go back and do the whole
weekend over again.
Our days were busy that’s for sure! We
spent a lot of time rehearsing as a big group
with the members of the New York Staff Band.
I feel so blessed to get to play alongside these
amazing players - the amount of talent and
commitment is crazy. Equally, as amazing, is
the experience of getting to play with the
Staff Band was the amazing music that we
played. My favorite pieces were “The Day of
The Lord” by Steven Ponsford, “All Nations”
by Phil Rayment, and “Jubilo, Jubilo!” by
Martin Cordner. The pieces were challenging,
but I felt so fulfilled after learning them. I
realized that not every Future All-Star gets
the experience of playing this high level of
music on a regular basis. What a rich learning
experience for us all.
One of the highlights of the weekend
for me was the master class with Michelle
Baker. It was really cool to hear about where
her career as a musician has taken her. She
showed us different techniques for breathing
and how to support your sound when
playing, and she even brought a few of the
Future All Stars up to play their instruments!
After the Future All-Stars played, Michelle
gave them some feedback and tips on how
to improve. It was awesome to see the
changes that her instruction made right then
and there for each player.
Over the weekend, we were all placed
into prayer groups with a member of the
Staff Band. In my small group this year, we
had deep conversations about life and our
personal faith. There was a wonderful feeling
of trust right away within our group, which
8 • USA EAST MUSIC BULLETIN | S P R I N G 2019
really helped me to feel more comfortable
talking about my experience with God. We
spoke about giving our all to God and how
everything that we do should be done with
and through Him. The small groups added an
important spiritual aspect to this incredible
weekend of music.
Ministry through music is such an
important aspect of the Salvation Army and
this weekend was a clear example of that. I
spent 3 incredible days learning and growing
in faith through music with many young
salvationists from all across North America.
We were all there for the same reason: to
glorify God through our talents. It was so
exciting to see many other like-minded
young Salvationists all striving for the same
goal. I’m thankful to God for such a powerful
weekend and for the people that I met who
impacted me. I pray that God continues to
work through this outreach ministry of the
NYSB. ■
W W W. M U S I C . S A CO N N E C T S . O R G