Military 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
Director of Music.
Ottoman military bands are thought to be the oldest variety of military marching band in the world, dating from the 13th century. Military bands were originally used to control troops on the battlefield, by using instruments such as
drums,
bugles, and
fifes among others. As communication systems during war became more advanced, the use of instruments on the battlefield as signaling devices fell out of use. From then on, military bands would fulfill a ceremonial role, entertaining troops and playing for the community. As its role shifted so too did its instrumentation. A wider range of instruments was employed to play transcriptions of orchestral works, the bulk of the early wind band repertoire. These military bands evolved into the modern
drum and bugle corps and helped to spread the idea of a concert band. A modern military will often have multiple types of bands (e.g. the
United States Marine Corps has both a
drum and bugle corps and
wind ensemble).
Professional bands Professional concert bands not associated with the military appear across the globe, particularly in developed countries. However, most do not offer full-time positions. The competition to make it into one of these concert bands is incredibly high and the ratio of performers to entrants is narrowly small. Examples of professional non-military concert bands include: •
Dallas Wind Symphony, led by
Jerry Junkin •
San Diego Winds, led for many years by
Gregg Hanson •
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, led for many years by
Frederick Fennell, and currently conducted by Takeshi Ooi •
Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra •
Royal Hawaiian Band, created by royal decree in 1836 by King Kamehameha III
Community bands A community band is a concert band or brass band ensemble composed of volunteer (non-paid)
amateur musicians in a particular geographic area. It may be sponsored by the local (municipal) government or self-supporting. These groups rehearse regularly and perform at least once a year. Some bands are also
marching bands, participating in parades and other outdoor events. Although they are volunteer musical organizations, community bands may employ an artistic director (
conductor) or various operational staff. The rise of the community band can partially be attributed to industrialization. As the instruments became easier to manufacture, their availability greatly increased. This meant that many amateurs could now form a town band, their arrangements typically consisting of patriotic tunes, marches, and popular music. The
American Civil War marked a turning point in the American community band where many military musicians, either stemming from amateur or professional backgrounds, sought to create their own community band after the war's conclusion. The large number of bands created during this era led to a "Golden Age of Bands", spearheaded by conductors such as
John Philip Sousa and
Patrick Gilmore. The new forms of twentieth-century entertainment, namely the
radio and
phonograph, led to decline in community bands. This led to instrument manufacturers, who previously had marketed to the community bands, to focus on schools. The expansion of school music programs would eventually help restore interest in the community band as graduates sought to play in a band together again. Notable community bands include:
U.S.A. •
The American Band, Providence, Rhode Island, conducted by Brian Cardany •
Allentown Band, the oldest American civilian band, Allentown, Pennsylvania, conducted by Ronald Demkee •
Brooklyn Wind Symphony, Brooklyn, NY, conducted by Jeff W. Ball •
Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps, New York, New York, conducted by Kelly Watkins •
Northshore Concert Band, Evanston, Illinois, conducted by Mallory Thompson •
Salt Lake Symphonic Winds, Salt Lake City, Utah, conducted by Thomas P. Rohrer •
The TriBattery Pops, New York, NY, conducted by Tom Goodkind •
East Winds Symphonic Band, Pittsburgh, PA, conducted by Susan Sands
United Kingdom •
Birmingham Symphonic Winds, conducted by Keith Allen •
Newark and Sherwood Concert Band, Newark, Nottinghamshire, conducted by Colum J O'Shea •
North Cheshire Wind Orchestra, Warrington, Cheshire, conducted by Catherine Tackley •
Nottingham Concert Band, conducted by Robert Parker •
National Youth Wind Orchestra of Great Britain, various conductors
Canada •
Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Vancouver. David Branter, Resident Conductor and Acting Music Director
Australia •
North West Wind Ensemble, Sydney, James Brice, Musical Director •
Sydney Wind Symphony, Mark Brown, Musical Director •
Queensland Wind Orchestra, conducted by David Law
Norway •
Dragefjellets Musikkorps (Bergen Symphonic Band) •
Sandvikens Ungdomskorps, Bergen, conducted by Tormod Flaten and Bjørn Breistein
Portugal •
União Filarmónica do Troviscal, Troviscal—Aveiro, conducted by André Granjo
Finland •
Tikkurilan Soittokunta, Vantaa, conducted by Kimmo Nurmi
School bands A school band is a group of
student musicians who rehearse and perform
instrumental music together. A school band is usually under the direction of one or more
conductors (band directors). A school band consists of
woodwind instruments, brass instruments and
percussion instruments, although upper level bands may also have
string basses or
bass guitar. In many traditional U.S. high schools, there are multiple band levels, distinguished by skill level or other factors. In such schools, an audition may be required to advance to further band levels, while the common level would be open to anyone. For example, in many U.S. high schools, "Concert Band" refers to the introductory level band, "Symphonic Band" is the title for the intermediate level band, and "Wind Ensemble" is the title for the advanced level band. ==Instrumentation==