Believe it or not, organized choral groups were not used in The Salvation Army for the first several years of its existence. Brass bands were used for worship services in the Army long before choirs were used. But once the Founder gave permission for choirs to be formed, they were given names suitable for the quasi-military structure of The Salvation Army. The adult choir became known as the "Songster Brigade" and the children's choir became the "Singing Company." Today, many corps still use songsters and singing companies. We have even added a third category of "Youth Chorus" for the teens.
Southern Staff Songsters
The Southern Territorial Staff Songsters are the premier choral group in the Southern Territory. They, along with the other territorial music and arts groups, support territorial meetings, especially the annual Commissioning Services, as well as other ministry opportunities around the territory.
The USA Southern Territory began publishing music to support these groups in 1992. Sing Praise is geared towards youth choruses and songsters in an SAB (Soprano, Alto, Baritone) format and Children’s Praise was created to provide music for singing companies. Since the beginning of the publication, each volume has also had a recording available that provides a demonstration and an accompaniment for those groups that do not have piano players.
In late 2016, we decided to encourage the development of children’s choirs by making our Children’s Praise publications FREE!
