Youth Bands
One of the major reasons why the Salvation Army has had a thriving brass band movement for over 100 years is the youth band and associated music education programs. Beginning at the corps level, many young Salvationists are taught to play and sing, starting sometimes as early as seven years of age. These are normally called young people's bands. A YP band of note is PSA YP, a large ensemble hailing from Sydney, Australia.
Some small regions, known in the Salvation Army as divisions will have a Divisional Youth Band drawn from people aged 13–30 who live within the area covered by the division. One such example is Sydney Youth Band.
Bigger areas are known in the Salvation Army as Territories. The United Kingdom with the Republic of Ireland territory hosts what is known as the Territorial Youth Band (TYB) for people aged 12–18 and is one of the finest examples of youth banding in the world
The youth bands are supplemented in the music education program by singing groups, individual instruction, and summer music camps. The traditional week-long music camp has evolved in some divisions into a four to six week music conservatory, usually still held at a camp but with the same campers for the entire duration.
Read more about this topic: Salvation Army Brass Band
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