International Staff Band

The International Staff Band (or ISB) is the premier brass band of The Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army history generally acknowledges 7 October 1891, the date on which Commissioner Bramwell Booth brought the 'International Headquarters Staff Band' into being, as the official starting point for the ISB's existence. The International Staff Band is a brass band based at The Salvation Army’s UK Headquarters in London and it exists to promote the highest standards of Salvation Army banding and to spread the message of the Christian gospel through its musical ministry.

All bandsmen and women are actively involved in their local Salvation Army Corps, many holding leadership positions. They give their time freely to this additional ministry. The members of the band are drawn from Salvation Army centres as far afield as Kettering, Manchester, Bristol, Norwich and Birmingham. While based in the UK, the band has an international reputation and ministry, undertaking regular overseas tours.

The International Staff Band makes monthly visits to Salvation Army centres around the UK, presenting musical concerts and leading worship and open-air meetings. On a normal weekend Corps visit, the band will present a concert on a Saturday evening, lead the Sunday worship meetings, and sometimes present a further concert at the local Salvation Army Church on Sunday afternoon. The band also participates in most major Salvation Army events held in venues including London's Royal Albert Hall, Wembley Conference Centre and Royal Festival Hall. It is featured frequently in national television and radio broadcasts including BBC Songs of Praise, Radio 2’s Sunday Half Hour, Listen to the Band and GMTV.

In addition to their activities in the UK, the International Staff Band tours abroad regularly - recent trips have included America, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. The band has released numerous CDs of Salvation Army music, including a collaboration with Black Dyke Band to produce a double CD recording of the published works of Wilfred Heaton (The Heaton Collection). This recording has received critical acclaim from the brass band world's leading publications, several of which selected it as their CD of the Year in 2002. They released 'The Kingdom Triumphant' in June 2003 and also produced a compilation recording of music by Eric Ball to mark the centenary of his birth in October 2003. They travelled to North America in March 2004 for a two-week tour that included visits to Toronto, New York City and Chicago and again in 2010 for a ten-day tour that included visits to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Sacramento and Seattle.

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