The Salvation Army Chatham

Martin Davis reports on this most enjoyable week for young Salvationist musicians.

Martin Davis

Last week I attended Territorial Music School, along with my sister Emma, Louise Robinson, and 117 other students from around the UK, Holland, Sweden and the USA. This year was my first TMS, and was held for the second year at The Salvation Army’s conference centre at Sunbury Court. Although this was my first TMS, I already knew some people from our division, and also other events that I have attended, such as the Territorial Youth Band, which is held each February in Bournemouth. I enjoyed the week very much as it helped me in many ways.

I played cornet in Derick Kane’s band, which played pieces such as ‘The Southern Cross’ (Brian Bowen) and ‘Song of the Eternal’ (Leslie Condon). Playing such difficult pieces helped my cornet playing to improve, but the times set aside in rehearsals to explore the scripture that each section was based on was also very useful. It was also good to play in the ‘Big Band’, as this gave us the chance to mix with the other bands and meet even more new people, as well as playing some more pieces. The other bands also played some large pieces, for example ‘Vitae Aeternum’ (Nathan Cole Band), ‘Majesty’ (Iain Parkhouse Band) and ‘On Ratcliffe Highway’ (A Band).

Derick Kane Band

Whole School

Emma and Louise both sang in the girls chorus, which featured many songs, including some specially written works, namely ‘Everywhere’ (Andrew Maycock) and ‘His Promise’ (Andrew Blyth). Louise also took part in the timbrels, which used ‘Victory’ from the Lord of the Dance. Emma sang in the A chorus whose main song was ‘Jesus Victorious’.

Every day Territorial Youth Secretaries Mark and Andrea Sawyer led worship sessions which were very well received and everyone enjoyed listening to the various messages being given. The worship session on Thursday evening was especially meaningful to many. The meeting lasted for almost three hours, with many seekers staying until the early hours of the morning after Mark gave the message that God has a plan to use all of us. Although there may be times when we feel troubled or uncertain about our lives, it has all been planned for us by God who will guide us and care for us. This was accompanied by numerous testimonies from the students. The whole evening will be long remembered as an important time for everyone who was there.

Mark & Andrea

Everyone enjoyed the wide range of evening activities throughout the week which included a barn dance, a visit from a Christian theatre company, a comedian and magician, and a dance and fireworks evening. Both the mid-week concert at Sunbury Court and the final festival at The Hexagon, Reading went very well. The final festival concluded with a specially written arrangement of ‘My Simple Prayer’ which involved all 151 staff and students at this year’s TMS.

I had a great week in many different ways. The whole experience was a great opportunity to meet lots of young people with the same beliefs as me and who share a keen interest in Salvation Army music. I hope I will be able to go again next year to what promises to be another fantastic week.

L to R: Martin, Louise, Emma