The Right Frequency For 20 years, a Salvation Army radio program has been delighting listeners around the world. BY MAJOR JIM HANN
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Let There Be Praise The origin of the show was humble. As Christmas 2000 approached, Quick, who ran a weekly Monday evening classical music radio show on CKWR, realized that he would be broadcasting on Christmas Eve. A devoted Salvationist, Quick went to his corps officer, Major Sterling Snelgrove, with an idea. Rather than simply playing a list of Christmas favourites, why not allow the Army to use the time to thank the community for their support of the Christmas kettle appeal? Major George Patterson, then in charge of public relations for the Ontario South Division, loved the idea, and made arrangements for greetings to be sent from various Salvation Army units in the area. Quick interspersed them with Christmas music by Salvation Army bands, for a program entitled, “CHRISTmas With The Salvation Army.” The program was a great success. Betty Ann answered a deluge of phone calls that came in during the show while 18 March 2020 Salvationist
Tom Quick shares the music of The Salvation Army with the world every Wednesday night
Quick ran the board. When the radio station approached Quick about filling a 30-minute space on Sunday nights, he returned to Major Patterson, who arranged for the public relations department to sponsor the show, and Let There Be Praise was born. It was so popular that Quick arranged with the radio station to add a two-hour show of Salvation Army music on a weeknight, contacting ministry units in Ontario South to support the show. Though it eventually became a monthly feature, the music continued to play. Around the World in Music In the early days, the show was enjoyed only by those in the immediate area, but with the rise of the Internet, Quick found
himself blessed with a much larger audience. He was able to promote his show not only across Canada, but around the world. Steef Klepke created a website for Quick (salvos.com/tomquick), which was eventually picked up by Pieter Van Horssen in Amsterdam. Van Horssen has recorded every broadcast for the past 15 years, and they are now available on John Bannister’s website in Australia (salvoaudio.com) and Stuart Hall’s site in the United Kingdom (citadelpromotions.co.uk). Quick has had a longstanding association with the local Christian radio station, FaithFM 93.7, stretching back 17 years. A decade ago, the president of FaithFM told Quick that if there were ever an opportunity for the Christian channel to
Photo: Matthew Rios
t’s Wednesday night in Kitchener, Ont., and as 7:30 approaches, Tom Quick dons his headphones, straightens his stack of CDs and cues up his theme music. Quick notes the time in the corner of his screen and turns to tap the key, starting the CD playing. As on most Wednesdays these days, the band starts to play. “Let there be praise, let there be joy in our hearts…. Forevermore, let his love fill the air, and let there be praise.” And so begins Let There Be Praise, a two-hour show of Salvation Army music on FaithFM. For almost 20 years, Quick and his wife, Betty Ann, along with a few friends and volunteers, have spent their Wednesdays in the studio, letting the world hear the music that God has gifted to The Salvation Army. Bands, songster brigades, international soloists and various other groups from near and far have filled the hours. Salvationists and other music lovers from around the world listen in, both live and after the broadcast.
