Musicians from three Norwegian service branches performing for military service members.
Forsvarets Musikk (FMUS) (English: Defence Music) is the department that oversee all the military bands (musikkorps) of the Norwegian Armed Forces (Forsvarets). Being the organizational body of military bands, it is based in Oslo, the national capital.
Norwegian Army Band, Western Norway (also known as the Norwegian Armed Forces Band)
Oslo Home Guard Band
1887 marked the first proposals for a military musical department. At that time, the bands were approved by a veto by King Oscar II, following a defense by music inspector Major Ole Olsen. The musical department, on financial grounds, re-organized the bands from the divisional from 1927-1933.[1][2] As of 1954, there were 7 military bands authorized by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting) with permanently employed musicians. A Norwegian public inquiry from 1978 stated that musikkorps should remain which led to the Defense Music in its current form being established from proposals No. 52 and 19 by the parliament adopted between 1992-93. Two of these were dissolved in the early 21st century after the Eastern Norway Defense District Music Band in Halden and the Sørlandet Defense District Music Band in Kristiansand ceased to exist as of 31 December 2002.[3] Since the 2000s the music division has undergone many organizational changes coinciding with the restructuring of the Norwegian Armed Forces.
Its bands provides honors for the Norwegian members of the House of Glücksburg, the Government of Norway, and the Armed Forces.[4] It also sponsors and organizes events such as the Norwegian Military Tattoo. The department reports directly to the Armed Forces' Department of Culture and Tradition (FAKT), which embraces all the cultural units in the military. The department provides most of the repertoire for Norwegian military bands, all of which are suited for all types of music despite being wind bands.
A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the title of Bandmaster or Music director. Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching bands in the world, dating from the 13th century.
The Norwegian Army is the land warfare service branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces. The Army is the oldest of the Norwegian service branches, established as a modern military organization under the command of the King of Norway in 1628. The Army participated in various continental wars during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries as well, both in Norway and abroad, especially in World War II (1939–1945). It constitutes part of the Norwegian military contribution as a charter member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1949.
The Norwegian Home Guard is the rapid mobilization force within the Norwegian armed forces. Its main focus is local defense and civil support, but it can also detach volunteers for international operations. Its main tasks are safeguarding territorial integrity, strengthening military presence, and protecting important infrastructure.
The Norwegian Armed Forces is the military organization responsible for the defence of Norway. It consists of five branches, the Norwegian Army, the Royal Norwegian Navy, which includes the Coast Guard, the Royal Norwegian Air Force, the Home Guard, and Norwegian Cyber Defence Force as well as several joint departments.
United States military bands include musical ensembles maintained by the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, United States Navy, United States Air Force, and United States Coast Guard. More broadly, they can also include musical ensembles of other federal and state uniformed services, including the Public Health Service and NOAA Corps, the state defense forces, and the senior military colleges.
The following table lists the ranks and insignia of officers in NATO air forces.
The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces is the foremost of the military bands of the Norwegian Armed Forces and Norway's largest professional wind band, employing 39 full-time musicians. The band is based in Oslo and participates in parades and ceremonies for Norwegian royalty, the government and the armed forces, and tours throughout Norway and abroad. In addition, the band has an extensive concert schedule in the Oslo area.
Jannike Kruse is a Norwegian singer, artist and actor. Daughter of Professor and composer Bjørn Howard Kruse and Professor and author Gro Shetelig, sister of Anine and Benedikte Kruse known from the vocal group Pitsj, niece to Philip Antony Kruse and grand child of Colonel Erling Kruse, as well as teacher in music and piano Else Grieg Shetelig.
Geir Øystein Lysne is a Norwegian jazz musician and a famous Big Band leader.
There are 15 military bands of the Bundeswehr, including those of the German Army, Air Force, Navy, and joint bands. Before 2009, the military musicians of the Bundeswehr constituted a joint specialist service, the Military Music Service, subordinate to the Armed Forces Office. In 2009, as part of a larger reorganisation of the Bundeswehr, the organization of the Military Music Service was replaced by the new Military Music Center of the Bundeswehr in Bonn, and several bands were disbanded. The bands of the Bundeswehr provide music for official ceremonies such as the Großer Zapfenstreich and the swearing-in of new recruits. In addition to their traditional military music repertoire, they perform concert band and light music, as well as genres such as jazz, rock, and pop.
The Eastern Army Division, was a division of the Swedish Army that operated in various forms from 1941 to 2000. Its staff was located in Strängnäs Garrison in Strängnäs. The unit was disbanded as a result of the disarmament policies set forward in the Defence Act of 2000.
The Swedish Armed Forces Music Corps heads all bands of the Swedish Armed Forces: the Royal Swedish Army Band, the Life Guards' Dragoon Music Corps and the Royal Swedish Navy Band in Karlskrona and the 25 bands of the Home Guard. Försvarsmusiken serves the Royal Court, Armed Forces and the Government.
Russian military bands fall under the jurisdiction of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, which is the official music service for the Russian Armed Forces, and led by the Senior Director of Music, a billet of an officer with the rank of a Colonel or a general officer. There are currently between 200 and 300 military bands in the Russian Armed Forces that span across the military as well as all uniformed services in the country. Unlike most western nations, the Armed Forces does not maintain any bands composed of volunteering civilian musicians, as all bands, active or reserve, are manned by graduates of the military music training centers stationed anywhere in the country, as well as of civilian conservatories. While choirs may be attached to military bands, individual staff choirs do not exist in the Russian Armed Forces, since they have attached instrumental ensembles or orchestras. As of 2009, all military musicians are paid around 13,000 rubles ($169.65) for their service in the Armed Forces and other uniformed organizations.
The His Majesty the King's Guard 3. Company is a renowned military band and drill unit the Norwegian Armed Forces. It is attached to the Hans Majestet Kongens Garde or The King's Guard, acting as its unit band and drill team. The band and drill unit is based out of Huseby Leir in the capital Oslo where its area of responsibility is. It is a renowned unit that is famous around the world for its participation in international military tattoos. In its activities, it participates in parades and ceremonies for HM Harald V of Norway) and Norwegian members of the House of Glücksburg. It also supports the government and the military, specifically increasing the esprit de corps in army units as well as in the public. The concert season usually lasts from December to March/April while the marching season lasts until September.
The Norwegian Military Tattoo is a military festival held biannually in the Norwegian capital of Oslo. It is organized by the Forsvarets musikk, the department that oversees all the country's military bands (musikkorps). The first tattoo was held in 1994 in Hamar, which is north of Oslo. The tattoo has been held in the Oslo Spektrum since 1996. It features military bands and drill teams of the Norwegian Armed Forces as well as the bands and drill teams of foreign countries.
The Czech Army Central Band is a unit of the Czech Land Forces responsible for providing musical support to the Army of the Czech Republic and the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. Its parent organization is the Army Music Service of the Czech Armed Forces which heads all bands in the CAF. The band currently consists of 46 active musicians who are based in Prague. As of September 2018, the band is led by the Chief Director of Music, Gustav Foret and his deputy, Captain Richard Czuczor.
The Norwegian Air Force Band is the official military band of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, based out of Trondheim, a municipality in the Trondheim Region. The band consists of 28 professional musicians who are employed by the Forsvarets musikk. The band participates in parades and ceremonies in the Trondheim Region and performs for Norwegian royalty and the government on behalf of the RNoAF. The RNoAF Band also supports and cooperates closely with the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy and Ørland Main Air Station. Leif Arne Pedersen has been employed since autumn 2011 as the band's Artistic director and chief conductor, succeeding Ole Edvard Antonsen who had served in this role from 2006–2010. The Administrative Chief and General Manager of the LFMK is Colonel Lieutenant Marius Johansen.
The Swedish Armed Forces Centre for Defence Medicine is a tri-service military medicine center in the Swedish Armed Forces. Its staff is made up of officers, civilian specialists, group commanders and officer reservists – tasked with ensuring care is provided during peacetime, on international missions, at times of crisis and in combat.
Hemvärnsmusiken is a division of the Home Guard that heads all 25 bands. It is led by the Home Guard's central music council and performs at 600-700 events each year. There are over 1,000 active musicians in the division. 17 bands are qualified for performance at state ceremonies, royal visits and festivities. Aside from the official bands, Home Guard Bugle Bands also are in service within their respective areas.
"Slava Ukraini!" is a song composed by Marcus Paus, the official composer of the Norwegian Armed Forces. It is based on the worldwide use of the expression "Glory to Ukraine" as a symbol of resistance and solidarity during the 2022 Russian invasion, and is loosely inspired by a motif from the opening of Ukraine's national anthem.
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