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BBJ Christmas Carolling 2011
BBJ began the Christmas carolling season with a performance at Medan's Sun Plaza on Sunday December 11. The band's final engagement was at a mass Christmas carol service with Medan's Methodist Merak Jingga church on December 24.
BBJ Junior - first performance
BBJ's reconstituted junior band had its first performance on October 16. You can watch the video at the foot of this page. Another learners group has just been formed. Those who pass a test in February will also be admitted as junior band members.
Former BBJ member passes away
Former BBJ member Faigiduho Zagoto passed away in Jakarta at 5am local time on Easter Morning. A sousaphone player, he played in BBJ between 1992 and 1998.
BBJ returns from Nias
BBJ returned from Nias island on July 4 after spending several days performing in remote towns and villages. BBJ members have many relatives on the island, which lies off the west coast of Sumatra.
ABRSM Music Examinations (practical)
Eight band members sat for these exams on August 20, 2010. All passed. Three passed with merit and one was awarded a distinction.
ABRSM Music Examinations (theory)
For the first time in BBJ's history, two members sat for ABRSM theory exams in Medan on February 13 this year. The results were released in May. Erjoin Marbun passed the grade 3 theory exam. Lasnointer Marbun achieved a distinction in the grade 5 theory exam.
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BBJ Photo Gallery
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| Medan Band - Members | ||
| Written by Bruce Gale | ||
T here are currently (July 2011) 33 members in the Brass Band Jenderal (BBJ), with ages ranging from 12 to 32. All come from very poor backgrounds or single parent families. Until very recently, all the players were also current or former members of the William Booth Salvation Army boys home in Medan, Indonesia. However, in February 2010 we admitted our first female member (Friska) after she passed the entrance test. In July 2011 Friska left for Jakarta to enter the Salvation Army's Training college for officers (pastors).There is also a 17-member junior band. No-one gets special privileges.
The membership of the band has varied over the years as new members come in and older ones leave. Here is a list of members as of July 2011:
The photograph below was taken in Medan in early November 2005, a couple of weeks before the band began the Malaysia/Singapore tour. I am in the front row (centre). On my right is the superintendent of the Boys Home at the time (Major Spener). His wife is on my left.
Things were quite different when we first began. Here is a photograph taken around 1987, showing the pioneer members of the band. At that time the band had only been in existence for a few months, so we could only play a few simple hymn tunes. Notice the absence of a tuba. I hadn't been able to obtain one at that point, so I got the euphonium player (extreme right) to play the tuba part instead. The band relies heavily on donations.
Our first bandmaster (remember, I live in Singapore and can only travel to Medan every three or four months) was Posma Hutabarat. He was later sponsored to a local university by Michael Hall (a Briton who also had an interest in the band). Posma is now a fully qualified medical doctor living in Java. Did I mention that these boys were smart? Here is an early photograph of him:
For more pictures, go to the BBJ photo album.
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