Welsh Guards Band | |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Website | Home of the Welsh Guards Band |
The Band of the Welsh Guards is the youngest [1] of the five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division, specifically the Welsh Guards which primarily guards the British monarch.
The Welsh Guards Band was formed in 1915, [2] the same year as the regiment. Unlike other Guards Bands such as that of the Grenadier Guards, the band consisted of 45 people, including a Warrant Officer at the time of its inception, with the instruments having been bought by funds provided by the City of Cardiff. [2]
Because the Welsh Guards Band was formed hundreds of years [3] after military music for ceremonial purpose first arose, high standards had already been set by other Guards ensembles. They first publicly performed proving their worth on 1 March 1916, when they Mounted the King's Guard. [4]
The Welsh Guards Band started its touring career in 1917, early after its formation. [2] In recent years tours have taken the band to European countries such as Belgium and Spain; North America, with tours to the United States and Canada, and a recent tour to Egypt took the band to northern Africa. [4] The band's first commissioned Bandmaster; Lieutenant Harris; [2] was gazetted on 1 March 1919, [2] to the rank of Lieutenant, after serving with the band in his original position for nearly four years. He remained linked with the band until his retirement. [2]
By 1948 there was a new bandmaster, Leslie Statham who was famed for his compositional prowess by both his real name, and his assumed name Arnold Steck. [2] Under his leadership the band played extensively in Canada to large numbers of people, possibly well over one million, [2] whilst performing hundreds of different items. It is thought that this was off the back of the fact that the Bandmaster had performed at venues visited by the band before as a soloist from the Army School of Music Band, at Kneller Hall. Busy Canadian touring was the start of a long tradition of visiting other countries to play. The most notable tour after this one however, was in 1965, where they visited Milan, to play at "British Week", and were accompanied by the "Pipes, Drums and Dancers" of the Scots Guards for a long tour to America two years later. [5]
The band was honoured with playing at the Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales in July 1969. [5]
In the early 1970s, at the Band's pinnacle of success so far, in fields such as record contracts and appearances at sporting events, Major Desmond Walker died suddenly only weeks before the Band's planned departure for another Canadian and USA tour. The Tour went ahead as a new Director of Music was hastily appointed in the form of Captain Derek Taylor. [2]
During the 1980s the band continued to tour and to build on its successes, touring to Seattle, Australia, Japan, and Paris Vigo, Spain amongst other places. In 1990, the Welsh Guards Band had its first Director of Music, to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in Peter Hannam, who two years later gained an MBE, and retired in 1993, as the last National Serviceman in Army Music. [2]
The Current Director of Music was appointed to the Welsh Guards after serving with a number of other bands in 2005 and has earned the Alf Young Memorial Prize for Best Church Service, whilst on his Student Bandmasters' Course. [4]
Musicians currently in the band have secondary roles in the British Army as Chemical Decontamination Assistants, Medics and Drivers. The band is based at Wellington barracks in St James's London. [6]
The Regimental Quick March is the Rising of the Lark and the Regimental Slow March is Men of Harlech .
There are several ensembles within the band of the Welsh Guards:
The band of the Welsh Guards plays regularly for occasions and events as part of the Massed Bands of the Household Division. [4] Some of these events that are most famous are listed below, although this is not a comprehensive list.
The band also performs at other non-military events, including numerous radio and television appearances. The band can be seen near the beginning of the 1956 film, Around the World in 80 Days (even though the film is set several decades prior to the band's formation).
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, one of the biggest events of the ceremonial calendar, and watched by millions on TV and on the streets of London.
In some militaries, foot guards are senior infantry regiments. Foot guards are commonly responsible for guarding royal families or other state leaders, and they also often perform ceremonial duties accordingly, but at the same time are combat soldiers.
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.
Frederick Joseph Ricketts was an English composer of marches for band. Under the pen name Kenneth J. Alford, he composed marches which are considered to be great examples of the art. He was a Bandmaster in the British Army, and Royal Marines Director of Music. Conductor Sir Vivian Dunn called Ricketts "The British March King". Ricketts' frequent use of the saxophone contributed to its permanent inclusion in military bands. His best known work is the "Colonel Bogey March".
The Band of the Scots Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division which primarily guards the British monarch.
Beating Retreat is a military ceremony dating to 17th-century England and was first used to recall nearby patrolling units to their castle.
The Canadian Guards was an infantry regiment of the Canadian Army that served in the same role as the five regiments of foot guards in the British Army. The regiment was formed on 16 October 1953, by Lieutenant-General Guy Simonds, the Chief of the General Staff of the Canadian Army, with the redesignation of four separate battalions:
A bandmaster is the leader and conductor of a band, usually a concert band, military band, brass band or a marching band.
The Band of the Grenadier Guards is the military band of the Grenadier Guards, which is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was raised between 1660 with first a drum and 1665, when a fife was added.
The Band of the Irish Guards is one of five bands in the Foot Guards Regiments in the Household Division whose main role is to guard the British monarch. The Band supports the Regiment by providing the musical backing to which much of the ceremonial duties depend within Central London.
The Band of the Coldstream Guards is one of the oldest and best known bands in the British Army, having been officially formed on 16 May 1785 under the command of Major C F Eley.
The Royal Canadian Artillery Band is one of six Regular Force bands in the Canadian Armed Forces. Located at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, the RCA Band provides music designed to support Canadian Forces operations, foster morale and esprit de corps, and promote Canada and the Canadian military nationally and abroad. The band operates mainly in western Canada and is de facto the representative band of the Canadian Army in the western provinces. All unit members are professional musicians in addition to being members of the military, which enables the band to adopt a variety of configurations to suit the musical needs of their audiences. Ensembles can range from jazz combos, rock bands, and chamber groups, through stage and show bands to full marching and concert bands.
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.
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 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 and Bugles of the Rifles is a military band serving as the regimental band for The Rifles, the sole rifle regiment and the largest in the British Army. It is the senior most of three bands in the regiment and is the only one that is part of the regular army. Uniquely, it employs bugles at its front, a tradition that goes back to the conflicts of the 18th century. Major Séan O’Neill is currently serving as the Director of Music (DOM) of the band and bugles. It is part of the Royal Corps of Army Music.
The Bands of the Household Division refer to the grouping of the seven military bands of the Household Division, which forms a part of the British Army's London District. The bands belong to five regiments of foot guards and two Household Cavalry regiments.
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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