Navy bands in Canada are part of the Royal Canadian Navy's command structure and overseen by the Music Branch of the Canadian Forces and the Directorate of History and Heritage of the Department of National Defence.
Navy bands in Canada are part of the Royal Canadian Navy's command structure and overseen by the Music Branch of the Canadian Forces and the Directorate of History and Heritage of the Department of National Defence.
Navy music dates back to the era in which the Military of New France was the primary military force of the region. [1] Musical units were primarily attached to the Compagnies Franches de la Marine and the Troupes de la marine, both of which were autonomous naval infantry units attached to the French Royal Navy. Each unit of the Compagnies Franches de la Marine contained two drums (tambour) and a fife (instrument). At the time, military bands in Canada (New France) were primarily based in the region that is now Quebec.
Due to its British heritage, naval music has long been part of the tradition of Canadian sailors and the sea. Prior to 1767, Royal Marines Divisional Bands operated in Chatham, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Deal, and Downs. Marine bands and their respective corps of drums provided music aboard ships before and during battles of the Napoleonic Wars, notably during actions in the Battle of Trafalgar. Halifax's history with naval music dates back to its establishment, with the cities ports supporting the garrison and fleet bands in the city. [2]
Following confederation in 1867, Naval protection began to be provided by the Royal Navy. This meant that all naval bands came from Britain and operated on a unit basis. Many musicians in these bands were recruited from the local area, although most came from Britain. After 1870, the presence of naval bands, particularly fleet bands, became insignificant in Western Canada and specifically in Victoria, British Columbia. As a result, few bands visited the area in the latter half of the century. Among the last British naval bands to go to Western Canada in the 19th century was the one from HMS Warspite (03) from 1890-1893 and from 1899-1902. [3] : PT246 In 1910, the House of Commons passed the Naval Service Act proposed by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, establishing the Naval Service of Canada, the precursor to the RCN. As a result, part-time ship bands were formed in the new naval force of Canada.
Alfred Edward Zealley, a Naval officer who was considered to be the "Father of the Royal Canadian Navy bands"[ This quote needs a citation ], hailed from Bristol and moved to Toronto in 1915 at the age of 37, becoming director of music of the RCN in the 1930s. [4] The history of naval bands in the British Columbia area goes back to the 1920s when various military bands provided musical support for HMCS Naden in the pre-World War II era. These bands rotated responsibilities in terms of playing at base, church and public parades through Esquimalt, Victoria and Vancouver.
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In 1939, a permanent force navy band was recruited in Toronto under the direction of Lieutenant Zealley. It was organized when the Naval Service accepted an offer to organize one at no cost to NSC. [5] In 1943 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and appointed music director of the RCN School of Music in Toronto. He would lead supervise and train 19 navy bands throughout the war. [6] [7] During the war, the RCN had 3 of its 19 bands serving aboard ships. One of these bands was the Naden Band, formed in August 1940, which soon gained recognition as one of the premier Canadian navy bands, with its duties during the war consisting of keeping civilian and military morale high. It also assisted the government in raising money for the war effort through countless War Bond Drives. The end of the war brought demobilisation and disbanding of the navy bands with the exception of the Naden Band. [8]
Zealley retired in 1945 to Agincourt near Toronto, where he would die in May 1961. The Royal Canadian Navy School of Music was created in 1954 in Esquimalt, British Columbia for musicians of the RCN, with the school being the Canadian equivalent of the United States Armed Forces School of Music. In 1961, the school was expanded and rebranded to include musicians from the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force and by the time of the Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces in February 1968, the school had officially been renamed to the Canadian Forces School of Music. [9] [10] : PT247 Only the Stadacona Band and the Naden Band remained following unification. Until it was dissolved, the Band of HMCS Carleton served as the effective Central Band of the RCN as it was based in Ottawa, the national capital. [11] In the years after the war, the Naden Band continued to represent the Canadian Forces throughout British Columbia. In 1968, the Stadacona Band absorbed the Royal Canadian Artillery Band (Coastal) and members of the HMCS Cornwallis Band.
The 1994 Canadian federal budget resulted in the disbanding of five of the nine regular force bands, including the Naden Band. In June 1997, Art Eggleton, the then Minister of National Defence announced a restructuring of the Music Branch and the creation of a new band in Victoria, re-establishing a full-time regular force naval band on the West Coast.
Since 2007, Naval musicians, along with musicians from the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force have manned the Band of the Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa, adopting the uniforms of the CG's two Foot Guard regiments, the Governor General's Foot Guards from Ottawa and the Canadian Grenadier Guards from Montreal. The CG recruits CF musicians on a part-time basis during the summer months. Many senior naval directors such as Lieutenant Catherine Norris [12] have served in the CG.
While most naval band members have some sort of part-time contract with the band, the RCN's two professional bands are composed of musicians with musical experience such as a music major. Naval bands perform ceremonial and marching music, including the national anthems of foreign countries and patriotic songs like The Maple Leaf Forever . Unlike the United Kingdom and more like United States military bands, Canada's navy, as well as other military services, sports Sousaphones in its bands. Due to a lack of a central band, many combined bands have performed when trying to represent the RCN as a whole. When two bands perform together, they are referred to as Combined Bands. When more than two bands are on parade, they are referred to as Massed Bands. [13]
These bands wear a mix of authorized military service dress; such as ceremonial dress, service dress, and operational dress. Full dress for members of the Royal Canadian Navy includes a navy blue tunic and trousers with white facings. Junior ratings wear sailor caps as it is custom while officers and senior ratings wear peaked caps. [14]
Heart of Oak is the official march of the RCN. [15] It derives from a song from the Garrick's Harlequin's Invasion of 1759. It was written and composed in commemoration of the victories of that year, namely Quiberon, Lagos and Quebec. It is also the official march of several Commonwealth navies, including the Royal Navy as well as the Royal New Zealand Navy and was also the official march of the Royal Australian Navy until the Royal Australian Navy replaced it in 1988.
In the Royal Canadian Navy, corps of drums have been historically attached to military bands at the front-rank following the precedent the bands of the Royal Navy and the Corps of Royal Marines. After the 1968 Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, corps of drums in both the RCN were dismantled and abolished, although notably making a return in the mid-1980s within the naval reserve. In July 2013, a five-person corps of drums was unveiled for the first time by the Naden Band of Maritime Forces Pacific a Victoria Day Parade. [16]
During the Second World War, many naval units maintained small corps of drums that were stationed at all major navy bases. While most of them were staffed by active duty sailors, others were volunteer bandsmen, who served as reservists and professional civilian percussionists. [17]
Like most other Commonwealth Realms, the RCN does not currently maintain any pipe and drum bands stemming from British tradition. The first RCN pipe band was established on 10 October 1954 at HMCS Cape Breton. In August 1955, the unit was authorized by Naval Headquarters as an official Navy Band. The band made its first appearance at the official opening of the Canso Causeway on the 13 August. Its second appearance took place days later on the 31st during the Navy Day parade. It was composed of new naval musicians and at its peak had 25 pipers and drummers in its ranks. In 1958, the Navy Department discontinued the band. [18]
Naval bands primarily participate in military parades, in concert, and play a role in solemn ceremonies such as military funerals and ceremonies such as the Ceremony of the Flags, and the Presentation of Colours. For reserve bands, they often participate in community as well as country's most revered commemorative naval events such as Remembrance Day parades and the Battle of the Atlantic anniversary. [19] Navy bands perform at military tattoos within and outside Canada, festivals of military bands, and at civilian marching competitions. The first naval military tattoo took place in 1985 in honor of the RCN's 75th anniversary. In September 2010, the Royal Canadian Navy sponsored the Canadian Naval Centennial Tattoo in Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver celebrating the 100th anniversary of the RCN. As it celebrated a major milestone in the RCN, participation was high with naval bands. Among the foreign and non-RCN bands that performed were the Band of the Royal Marines, the Vancouver Police Pipe Band, and the Pipe Band of The Seaforth Highlanders of Canada. [20] Three out of the 17 bands in the 1967 Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo came from the RCN. [21] [22] Navy bands have also played at every Halifax International Tattoo since the mid 1970s.
Since unification, its span of duties and range of activities have diversified. Performances on Parliament Hill for military parades and the Fortissimo Sunset Ceremony have taken place, as well as ceremonies at the nearby National War Memorial. Naval bands also have done at Grey Cup parades, for royal tours and state visits among other events. [23] A four-piece combo from the Stadacona Band toured Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in 1981. [24]
The Royal Canadian Navy operates two full-time professional bands, one for each operational area of the Royal Canadian Navy, the Atlantic in the East and Pacific in the West. The Stadacona Band is based at CFB Halifax, and represents Maritime Forces Atlantic, whereas the Naden Band represents Maritime Forces Pacific, based at CFB Esquimalt. Both bands are brass and reed bands (bands consisting of brass instruments and woodwind instruments) and are part of the Regular Force.
The Canadian Forces Naval Reserve maintains six military bands, that are also supported by a summertime band made up of musicians those six Naval Reserve bands that come together to form the National Band of the Naval Reserve, which spends the summer season performing throughout Canada.
The six active reserve bands in the Royal Canadian Navy include: [25]
One of the many activities that Canadian Cadet Organizations sponsors are music. The Royal Canadian Sea Cadets maintain different sized marching bands depending on the unit. Being voluntary bands, they are staffed by cadets from their respective units, typically being assisted by instructors in Canadian military bands of the Regular Force and Primary Reserve. The Sea Cadets support three types of marching bands: military bands, bugle bands, and pipe bands. As of 2002, there were 28 Sea Cadet bands in Ontario alone, with 16 of them being drum and bugle corps. [26] Units larger than thirty people usually sport one of the three, or even will have lone instrument players such as a drum and bell (glockenspiel), a drum line or a lone piper. Pipe Band notably exist in Sea Cadets bands, although they are rare due to both the lack of a Naval tradition of piping, and the comparative expense of the instruments. The drum majors of these bands use different command styles from their counterparts in the RCN, particularly with commands such as countermarch and marktime. Bands often manage their own equipment during competitions and rehearsals.
The orders of for Sea Cadets Band normal dress are as follows:
The orders of for Sea Cadets Band highland dress are as follows:
Summer Training offered to musicians consists of 3- and 6-week courses. [27] Training is given based on the standards of The Royal Conservatory of Music. [28] Since 1983, HMCS Ontario has Canada's only cadet music camp for drum and bugle musicians, providing formal training for those who play in drum and bugle bands in their home units. [26] SCSTC HMCS Avalon, located in St. John's, Newfoundland, was at its closing, the smallest SCSTC in Canada, offering training only in beginner band and another activity. [29]
Most were cut in the early 1940s and 1990s.
Many navy based bands are formed outside the auspices of the armed forces. Some of these include the Vancouver Naval Veterans Band, which recruits from the area military and merchant navy population as well as civilians. Founded: 1996, by naval veterans of the Second World War. [34] [35]
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 Royal Canadian Sea Cadets is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Navy League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence, with the civilian partner providing support in the local community. Cadets are not members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
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.
A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe, a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military garrisons to stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks and is unrelated to the ink tattoo that was borrowed from Tahitian.
The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson – and its headquarters is at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth.
HMCS York is a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve Division (NRD) located in Toronto, Ontario. Dubbed a stone frigate, HMCS York is a land-based naval establishment for part-time sailors as well as a local recruitment centre for the Canadian Naval Reserve.
A corps of drums, sometimes known as a fife and drum corps or simply field music, is a traditional European military music formation. Historically, a Corps of Drums' primary role was communication. Today, the primary role of a Corps of Drums is ceremonial, performing in parades and military ceremonies. Besides drums, this formation may contain a variety of instruments, including trumpets, bugles, and fifes.
The Royal Swedish Navy Cadet Band (RSwNCB) (Swedish: Marinens ungdomsmusikkår, MUK) is a symphonic wind band with military traditions, and was created in 2002 as a non profit organization in cooperation with the Swedish Armed Forces Music Corps and the Royal Swedish Navy Band. The RSwNCB is the only young band in Sweden, alongside the former conscript bands, which has been approved for and performed at the ceremony of the Changing of the Royal Guards at the Stockholm Palace in Stockholm.
Commodore William Prine Hayes CD, ADC was a Canadian Commodore and educator. He served as the Commandant at Royal Military College of Canada from 1967 to 1969. He served as the Commandant at the Royal Roads Military College.
The Regimental Band and Pipes was founded on the Citadel campus in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1909, with marine general Harry K. Pickett in command. The marching band makes up one of the twenty-one companies of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets. In 1991, the band participated in the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Scotland, becoming the first military college selected for the honor. They returned in 2010 as the only unit from the United States to appear at the Silver Jubilee of the Tattoo and appeared again in 2015 and 2024.
The Royal Military College of Canada Bands is the official group of bands of the Royal Military College of Canada. The group is composed of four sections: the brass and reed, the pipes and drums, highland dancers, and choristers. Total band membership consists of 105 Officer Cadets from the college. Officer Cadets in the band practice three days a week in the morning on top of attending their individual full-time university programs.
A drum major in the military is the individual leading a military band or a field unit. It is an appointment, not a military rank. Military drum majors utilize a ceremonial mace for giving commands while marching. Many drum majors, particularly American- or British-influenced ones, wear a sash that can carry embroidered badges of their home unit and battle honors; a pair of ceremonial drum sticks are often attached.
Canadian military bands are a group of personnel in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that performs musical duties for military functions. Military bands form a part of the Music Branch of the CAF, composed of six full-time professional Regular Force bands, 15 Regular Force voluntary bands, and 53 part-time reserve force bands. Bands of the Music Branch are often badged with the unit or Canadian Forces base insignia that they support.
The Stadacona Band of the Royal Canadian Navy is a Canadian military band in the Royal Canadian Navy based in Halifax. It serves as official military band of the Maritime Forces Atlantic Command (MARLANT). It is one of six regular force military bands in the Canadian Forces. It provides musical accompaniment for ceremonial requirements of the East Coast Navy. The Stadacona Band usually performs at the Halifax dockyard to take part in the welcoming naval vessels. For over 75 years, the band's performances have been seen members of the Royal Family, the Governor General of Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada, foreign heads of state, and Canadian naval officials. The band has provided music for all graduation activities in the area.
The Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy is one of six regular force military bands of the Canadian Forces. The Royal Canadian Navy band is based at CFB Esquimalt in Esquimalt, British Columbia that serves as the official musical unit of the Canadian Forces Maritime Forces Pacific Command (MARPAC).
The National Band of the Naval Reserve (NBNR) (French: Musique nationale de la Réserve navale (MNRN)) is a military band of the Royal Canadian Navy currently based in the Naval Museum of Quebec at the Naval Reserve Headquarters (NAVRESHQ) of the Canadian Forces Naval Reserve in Quebec City. Being a reservist band, it is usually at full composition during the summer months, acting as a touring band composed of musicians from the following six active reserve bands:
The HMCS Carleton Band from Ottawa was a military band in the Royal Canadian Navy. and the Canadian Forces. It was founded by Gerald Heatley sometime after the Second World War. It was dubbed the "Pride of the Navy" due to its connection to the national capital and often performed at public events throughout in Ontario and Quebec during the 1950s. It was also the biggest military band in the capital, consisting of 48 members who were organized 8 members deep and 6 across. It often took part in the national commemorative events in honor of the Battle of the Atlantic and Remembrance Day. This effectively made it the Central Band of the RCN. It often provided instruction to the cadets at RCSCS Falkland.
The military bands of the United Kingdom are musical units that serve for protocol and ceremonial duties as part of the British Armed Forces. They have been the basis and inspiration for many military bands in the former British Empire and the larger Commonwealth of Nations as well as musical organizations in other countries. Military musical units with British influence include United States military bands, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Music Corps and the Military Band of Athens. British military bands are controlled by the military music departments of the three services that compose the armed forces. These include the Royal Marines Band Service, the Royal Corps of Army Music, and the Royal Air Force Music Services. British style brass bands and carnival bands were then and are currently inspired by the British Armed Forces and its brass bands, especially of the Army's regular and reserve formations, as they follow a similar format as it relates to brass and percussion instruments.
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