New recording coming soon... "War and Peace"

by Brad Rowland (Percussion section)

The Southern Territorial Band will be releasing a new album entitled "War and Peace" later this Spring, and the ensemble recently spent a jam-packed weekend together recording the repertoire. The band spent a handful of days at the Atlanta Temple Corps in producing the music required to fill such an album with the help of Grammy Award winning producer Phil Bulla and renowned Salvation Army music enthusiast Dr. Ron Holz.

The weekend began on Thursday, Feb. 11 with extended rehearsal in preparation for tracking. Preparation such as this is, of course, essential to putting together the best product possible, and the band hit the ground running with focus and attention on the music. By the end of day one, the band was already beginning to record pieces and that production laid the groundwork for the weekend to come. 

Both Friday and Saturday were spent in exhaustive recording, as the band featured prominent works from Leslie Condon and Eric Ball, in addition to pieces written by members of the band including Andrew Barrington, Dr. Steve Kellner and Bandmaster Nick Simmons-Smith. By the end of the afternoon on Saturday, the album was fully completed thanks to the work of all involved, and that allowed the band to pack up and in preparation for Sunday morning worship in the unique venue of the Columbus, GA corps. 

On Sunday, the band featured prominently in the service, including a performance from the Southern Territorial Praise team that energized the congregation. Among the highlights of the morning was a cornet solo played by Jeff Barrington, as he ministered to all by beautifully illustrating the message of courage through a piece written by his older brother. The meeting was attended by various members of the Columbus Advisory Board, and the congregation and band joined in singing "And Can It Be" to the glorious festival arrangement penned by William Himes at the close of the service. 

In totality, this was a unique and inspired weekend of ministry, both in the present and for the future. The notes and, more importantly, the message by the notes recorded on the upcoming album will serve as a vehicle for worship for years to come, and the opportunity for ministry in a new venue in Columbus was cherished greatly by the band.