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 Singapore Armed Forces Band form the musical arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. Consisting of the SAF Central Band and the SAF Ceremonial Band, the SAF Band provides musical support for key events such as the National Day Parade, SAF Day Parade, Passing Out Parades, Change of Command Parades and other military duties. Other than discharging ceremonial duties, the SAF Band also presents public concerts that aim to bring a wide range of music to the populace. They also seek to build up the band's music repertoire into an extensive array of styles and variety.
Valery Mikhaylovich Khalilov was an Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he was the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia, most famously conducting the massed Russian military bands at the annual "Victory Day" parade held in the Moscow's Red Square a record 14 times. He died when the plane he was on, en route to Syria, crashed into the Black Sea off Sochi, Russia.
The Military Brass Band of the Commandant Regiment of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan, is the official regimental military band of the commandant regiment of the Ministry of Defence of Tajikistan. Being subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, it is the seniormost military band in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan.
The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus is the central military band service of the Armed Forces of Belarus. The band was formed on 1 April 1950 as the Band of the Belorussian Military District. It was expanded into a service in the 1990s after the Independence of Belarus occurred. Its bands participate in military parades, military tattoos, and official ceremonies of Belarus. They perform domestically, regularly performing in the Central Officers House in Minsk, as well as other garrison clubs. The massed bands of the Minsk Garrison is an annual participant in the parades of the Minsk Garrison on Victors Avenue since 2004. The repertoire of the band includes more than 500 compositions of the most important classical music composers and contemporary ones. Bands have performed in festivals in Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, France, Poland, Sweden, and Russia. The band has also played in the Spasskaya Tower military tattoo in 2013, 2016, and 2017. The band is commanded by its Senior Director of Music/Chief Conductor, Lieutenant Colonel Igor Khlebus, since 2019. The artistic director of the band is Colonel Evgueny Dovzhik.
The Band of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia is the central military band of the Armed Forces of Armenia. It is currently part of the Military Band Division of the General Staff of the armed forces.
The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Moscow on Red Square. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guard units of foreign countries. More than 40 countries have taken part in the festival since 2006. It is named after the world-famous Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin. Its TV partner is TV Centre. The festival's motto is "To Revive Traditions and Preserve History".
The Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College is one of the leading military music institutions in Russia. It is a separate branch of the Suvorov Military Schools in Russia, and the oldest of them all.
Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Russia, also known as the Red Army Band is a military band unit of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. The current head of the band is Colonel Sergey Durygin.
The Representative Band of the Polish Armed Forces is a military music unit that provides musical accompaniment for official state ceremonies in the Republic of Poland. The musicians of the band are required to play ceremonial music for visiting heads of state as well as perform during national events. Since the establishment of the Third Republic in 1989, the band has become chief among its other counterparts, including the Warsaw Capital Garrison Band and the Representative Band of the Polish Land Forces. It is currently attached to the 1st Guards Battalion, Representative Honor Guard Regiment.
The Central Military Band of the Latvian National Armed Forces also known as the NAF Staff Band is the central military band of the Latvian National Armed Forces Staff Battalion. It is the largest military band in Latvia.
The Kaitseväe orkester, known in Anglophone countries as the Band of the Estonian Defence Forces, is the official military band service of the Estonian Defence Forces. The main task of the band is to play music at all national and military ceremonies. The band's repertoire includes mostly classical and marching music. It is currently made up of 40 musicians. From 1996 to 2019, the conductor of the band was Lieutenant Colonel Peeter Saan. Each year, the band takes part in about 220 concerts, festivals, and ceremonial parades of the Defence Forces. It has also performed at venues abroad in countries like Lithuania, France and Germany. Traditionally, the band holds Autumn and Spring concerts in the Estonia Concert Hall.
The Representative Brass Band of the National Guards Unit of Bulgaria is the official representative brass band of the National Guards Unit of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. Stationed in the capital of Sofia, the band works together with the National Guards Unit during events where the President of Bulgaria receives heads of state and government at the Largo in Sofia.
The Indian military bands consists of musicians from the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. Indian military bands regularly participate in international festivals and take part in celebrations dedicated to various national events. These bands are permanent participants in the Delhi Republic Day parade on the Rajpath. Today, the Indian Armed Forces have more than 50 military brass bands and 400 pipe bands and corps of drums. A Tri-Services Band refers to a joint Indian Armed Forces military band that performs together as a unit. At the Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo in Moscow, the band consisted of 7 officers and 55 musicians. The Military Music Wing of the Army Education Corps is the principal educational institution of the armed forces that provides instruction to musicians of all ranks. Instruction is also provided by the Military Music Training Center and the Indian Navy School of Music.
The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan is the official military band service of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. It is part of the command structure of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan.
The Amur Waves International Military Bands Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Khabarovsk on Komsomolskaya Square, Glory square, Erofey arena etc, Khabarovsk. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guards. The festival is considered to be one of the most significant events in the cultural life of the capital of the Russian Far East. Oleg Fedoseev is the current director of festival.
The Slovenian Guards Unit is the official ceremonial honor guard unit of the Slovenian Army. Officially referred as the Guard of the Slovenian Armed Forces by SV members, the guard is a unit of the SV, consisting of the General Staff of the SV. The guard carries out many tasks of insuring that protocol in the SV is ensured.
The Band of the Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces is the official representative military band of the Guard of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Serbian Armed Forces in general. It provides musical support to the President of the Republic and the Serbian General Staff.
The Indian Army Chief's Band is the Indian Army's full-time music band. It was founded in 1990 as the official band of the Indian Army and the foremost in the armed forces. It also, as its name implies, represents the Chief of the Army Staff at events involving the COAS's presence. The band represents India in most important state events held in the Indian capital. It was raised in 1990 with bandsmen being drawn multiple Indian military bands in order to "retain the true representation of the entire nation in one band". In April 2011, a string section was added, consisting of cellos, violas and violins, elevating it to a symphony orchestra comprising 72 musicians. Outside of the Indian Army, it has also represented the Indian nation at various military music festivals in France, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Great Britain, Russia and Bangladesh.
The Policijski Pihalni Orkester is a police band from Slovenia which represents the Slovenian National Police Force through their ceremonial music and public duties. It plays at celebrations, anniversaries and full-length concerts. In addition to state protocol duties, the 60-member band arranges appearances on behalf of the Police and the Ministry of the Interior. The band has performed at events in North Macedonia, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Hungary and England. The band is currently housed in Galet Castle at Vodnikova 43 in Sisak in Ljubljana.
