General News
ISB to Celebrate 120th Anniversary
The International Staff Band of The Salvation Army (ISB) have announced plans to celebrate their 120th Anniversary in 2011 with an International Brass weekend, the focal point of which will be in the Royal Albert Hall, featuring Staff Bands from around the Salvation Army world. more...
2009/1/15
ISB supports the Salvation Army's Watershed project
Members of the ISB have again supported the Salvation Army's WaterShed project, by donating the money they would have spent on Christmas cards to each other (900 if everyone send to each other!). The sum of £300 was raised, enabling as many as 30 or more homes in developing countries to be provided with a permanent clean water supply. If you would like to support this worthy cause, as the ISB does, see the links below to the WaterShed's website.
Find out more about the Watershed Project ->>
DONATE to WATERSHED ->>
2009/1/12
Recording completed for 2010 Tour CD
The band has been in the recording studio again over the past month, this time recording a CD to be released for our tour of the USA Western Territory, which takes place over Easter 2010. It is always a thrill and privilege to prepare music in this way, and to consider the many thousands of Salvationists and others who will hear our Message on such a trip, and to enhance that by leaving behind a permanent reminder of why we visited them. more...
2009/11/14
ISB featured on Sounds of Brass
On Sunday 8 November you can listen to the ISB playing The Kingdom Triumphant by Eric Ball on the Sounds of Brass programme presented by Phillip Hunt. The broadcast starts at 7.05pm and is available on a number of BBC regional stations including BBC Radio Bristol, Cornwall and Devon. It will also be available on BBC's iplayer for 7 days after the broadcast.
2009/10/26
ISB Overview - Dr Stephen Cobb interview
'Salvationist' reporter Claire Anderson interviewed Staff Bandmaster (Dr) Stephen Cobb recently for a feature article on the ISB. The article is reproduced here, together with a report from the ISB's recent visit to Cornwall.
2009/10/09
Pre-Contest Concert - featuring the music of Peter Graham & Eric Ball
The ISB is delighted to be taking part in the pre-contest events in London prior to the National Brass Band Championships, which take place on Saturday 17 October. As part of the Regent Hall Brass Arts Festival, organised by Philip Biggs, the ISB will be presenting a programme at Regent Hall on Friday 16 October, commencing at 3.00 pm. Peter Graham's test piece for the 'Nationals' has been written in tribute to Eric Ball and so the band will feature a programme of music by these two composers. The concert will also be including an analytical segment on the test piece with Peter Graham.
2009/09/15
ISB releases 'Heritage' CD - SA Music from 1930s
As part of a long term project, the ISB has released the first in a series of 'Heritage' recordings. This recording features a programme of Salvation Army music from the 1930s. This was a fascinating period in the musical history of the Army, with music from composers such as Eric Ball, Erik Leidzen, Arthur Gullidge, George Marshall, Bramwell Coles and Phil Catelinet featuring regularly in the journals! While in no way an exhaustive collection of repertoire, this recording gives a fascinating overview of the period, with a broad spectrum of music included in the programme. The next decade - the 1940's - saw a much reduced output of repertoire because of the war, but an interesting programme is already emerging for this project!
2009/06/30
Together CD nominated for Classical Brit Award
We were amazed and excited to hear that our recent CD, 'Together' had been nominated in the 'Best Classical Album' category of the Classical Brit Awards 2009! To be nominated for such an aware is a real honour - and it was great to see our Bandmaster, Dr Stephen Cobb, and Staff Bandsman Gordon Camsey sitting alongside celebrities such as Jose Carerras at the awards ceremony in London's Royal Albert Hall. No, we didn't win the category, but it was still a great honour to be nominated - and for the band to be represented at such an event!
2009/02/28
ISB releases Together CD through Universal Classics and Jazz label
The International Staff Band's first venture into the world of commercial recording was a project entitled 'Together'. Released through Universal Classics and Jazz, the recording is a real departure from the ISB's regular recording format. The melodies are all popular, a mixture of classical, religious and secular, and they have been arranged for band with keyboard and percussion backing. As a technical exercise, it was a fascinating experience to work in the commercial recording industry with individual mic's and click tracks and the end product has been a really popular recording that has been on sale in all the major record stores throughout the country. The Salvation Army will benefit financially from the project through a royalty agreement with UCJ.
2009/11/20