Saturday we travelled to Grangemouth for the final festival of the East & West Scotland summer school. The programme varied programme was of a very high standard
Major Graham Mizon (Divisional Director for Evangelism) told the assembled throng that this school had the youngest age profile for some years. The A chorus (top students) sang a complex arrangement of Gaudeamus Hodie with perfect timing and harmony and the A band followed that with a sparkling rendition of Shine Down.
We were treated to a drama set to the song Easy like Sunday Morning – snapshots of various families preparing to go to the morning meeting. The otherwise excellent sound system didn’t reach far enough to catch all the dialogue, but Elizabeth spotted the woman frantically cutting out for Sunday school. There was a lively dance to a contemporary song – very well performed considering it was an optional activity with only a few hours rehearsal.
The ‘C’ (for Contemporary) band sang two songs with excellent control and harmony. Shame no one was on hand to reduce the volume leve, which was overpowering.
But the highlight was ‘A’ band’s performance of Dean Goffin’s prelude & fugue Arise my Soul Arise. It was difficult to pick everything out from the muddy acoustic of the town hall. But as far as I could tell, it was a faultless performance
Many people seem to think that Salvation Army music is dying, but our young people in Scotland are as keen as ever, and with great variety and skill.
Steven Turner
