Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event performed every year on Horse Guards Parade in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of Household Division, to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign. It is also known as the Sovereign's Birthday Parade. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. In the UK, it is, with the State Opening of Parliament, the biggest event of the ceremonial calendar, and watched by millions on TV and on the streets of London.
The Royal Regiment of Canada is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment is based in Toronto, Ontario, and forms part of the 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group.
The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery is the artillery personnel branch of the Canadian Army.
The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) is an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment consists of four battalions, three in the Regular Force and one in the primary reserve. The RCR is ranked first in the order of precedence amongst Canadian Army infantry regiments, but in a quirk of the rules of seniority, its 4th battalion is ninth.
The King's Guard are sentry postings at Buckingham Palace and St James's Palace, organised by the British Army's Household Division. The Household Division also mounts sentry postings at Horse Guards, known as the King's Life Guard.
The Royal Corps of Army Music is a Corps of the British Army dedicated to the provision and promotion of military music.
The following is a list of the notable authorized marches for various organisations of the Canadian Armed Forces. The first march listed is the march most commonly performed for that organisation on parade; it is commonly referred to simply as that organisation's "march" or "march past". In addition, many organisations also have additional pieces for slow marches, marches for mounted parades, pipe marches, etc.; they are subsequently listed and footnoted as applicable.
"The British Grenadiers" is a traditional marching song of British and Commonwealth military units whose badge of identification features a grenade, the tune of which dates from the 17th century. It is the regimental quick march of the Royal Artillery, the Corps of Royal Engineers, the Honourable Artillery Company, the Grenadier Guards, and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. It is also an authorized march of the Royal Australian Artillery, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, the Canadian Grenadier Guards, the Royal Regiment of Canada, and the Princess Louise Fusiliers. The standard orchestration for the military band was approved in 1762, when the Royal Artillery Band became recognized officially, and for all other "grenade" regiments in 1763, when the remaining unofficial bands gained official status.
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 Canadian Grenadier Guards Band was a Canadian military band that was active for more than 60 years during the 20th century. In addition to performing for military events, the band had an active concert schedule which brought them to performance venues throughout North America. The group also made several recordings on a variety labels and appeared on numerous radio broadcasts in both Canada and the United States.
The Royal Artillery Mounted Band was a British military band consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, and military unit, founded in 1886, and in existence until 1984, representing the Royal Artillery, and the Royal Horse Artillery, and augmenting the Royal Artillery Band at royal and state occasions.
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 Royal Artillery Band was the first official, and permanent British military band originating in 1557, but granted official status in 1762. Consisting of woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments, it represented both the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and the state. The Royal Artillery Orchestra [disbanded on 9 February 2014] was Britain's first permanent professional orchestra. All other bands in the British Army received official, permanent status from 1763 onward. Now that the band's overall history of over four and a half centuries has come to an end, it is now claimed that the Band of the Grenadier Guards are the oldest band, with their overall history of over three hundred and thirty years. It is however, important to consider that until 1762, all military bands were formed as and when required, and then immediately disbanded when not, and that they consisted only of hired, civilian musicians; becoming integrated professional soldiers in 1762 and from 1763.
The Royal 22e Régiment Band is the regimental band of the Royal 22nd Regiment. It is based at CFB Valcartier in Quebec and is assigned to the 2nd Canadian Division Support Group. It is the only French-speaking regular military band in Canada.
The Band of the Ceremonial Guard is an ad hoc military band that is attached to the Canadian Forces Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa. All members of the band are fully trained members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and consists of personnel principally from the two Foot Guards regiments and has even since 2007 been manned by a pan–Canadian Forces approach that is inclusive to musicians from the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. The band forms a separate company within the CG and rely on the Headquarters Company for administration and support personnel. In full composition, the band is active from April to August.
The Band of The Royal Regiment of Canada is a Canadian military band that serves as the official regimental band of the Royal Regiment of Canada. It is the oldest permanently organised band in the Canadian Forces. It is based at Fort York in Toronto and is assigned to the part of 4th Canadian Division's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The ceremonial dress uniform of the band is a scarlet tunic and bearskin, similar to Grenadier Guards in the United Kingdom, with the only difference being the plume is red over white, as a homage to the former Canadian Guards regiment.
The Canadian Forces School of Music, CFSM was an educational institution that supported the music branch and all Canadian military bands in the Canadian Forces. It was created in 1954 in Esquimalt, British Columbia for musicians of the Royal Canadian Navy, with the school being the Canadian equivalent of the United States Armed Forces School of Music and the Royal Military 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 CFSM. For its entire existence, the CFSM was located at CFB Borden in Ontario and offered enrolled students with a two-year educational program until it was disestablished in 1991. Enrollment varied with the requirement for musicians. The school also gave a one-year program to CF musicians with experience in the music branch who wish to serve in leadership positions in CF bands. Personnel of the Regular Force who wish to be qualified to as a pipe major have to attend a year long course at the CFSM in order be appointed to the post.
The 15th Field Regiment (RCA) Band is one of five Reserve Force bands in the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery, located at Bessborough Armoury in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a brass and reed band that is part of the RCA's 15th Field Artillery Regiment. All 45 members of the band are reservists while being trained as soldiers and musicians. The Band plays for a variety of events including military funerals, ceremonies, parades and Mess events. The band maintains a full marching and concert band as well as other musical ensembles that include jazz combos and rock bands.
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.
