Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia

Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
	Военно-оркестровая служба Вооружённых Сил Российской Федерации
	The massed bands of the Moscow Garrison during the 2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade.
Active	1711
Country	Russia
Branch	Ministry of Defense
Type	Administrative service
Role	The organization of military bands belonging to the Russian Armed Forces
Size	1000+ musicians divided between 200-300 bands
Part of	Military Band Service Directorate
Headquarters	Moscow
Anniversaries	February 19 (Day of the Band Service[1][2][3])
Commanders
Senior Director of Music of the Armed Forces	Major General Timofey Mayakin[4]
Chief Insepctor	Lieutenant Colonel Igor Shevernev[5][6]
Notable; commanders	Major General Semyon Tchernetsky (1924–1949); Major General Nikolai Mikhailov (1976–1993); Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov (2002–2016)[7];
Insignia
Emblem (1991-Present)

The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation serves as the official service of military bands in active service within the Russian Armed Forces and formerly the Soviet Armed Forces. It is part of the Military Band Service Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

Senior Directors

Timofey Mayakin

Major General Semyon Tchernetsky (1924–1949)[8]
Major General Ivan Petrov (1950–1958)[8]
Major General Nikolai Nazarov (1958–1976)[8]
Major General Nikolai Mikhailov (1976–1993)[8]
Lieutenant General Viktor Afanasyev (1993–2002)[8]
Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov (2002–2016)[8]
Major General[9] Timofey Mayakin (2016-Present)[8]

History

Drummers of the band service during the 2010 Moscow Victory Day Parade.

For a country that has not just one of the largest armed forces in the world but also has produced some of the greatest composers and musicians, the MBS-AFR is one of the oldest institutions of military music in Europe and the world, founded by Peter the Great as per Ukaz № 2319 enacted on Feb. 19, 1711,[8][10] which mandated the formation of military bands and field music formations within both the Imperial Russian Army and the nascent Imperial Russian Navy following the Western practices. As both the Army's two foundation regiments (the Preobrazhensky Regiment and the Semyonovsky Regiment) had their own bands and corps of drums, which would also inspire the formation of the bands and fanfare band units within the artillery and the cavalry, the age of Peter the Great, aside from laying the foundation of the armed forces, also began centuries of the Russian military band tradition, which continues until today. In the 1870s, a post called the Inspector of Naval Bands, held by composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov until its abolishment, became the starting point for the official organized arrangement of military bands.[11] In 1922, the Inspectorate of the Military Bands of the Red Army and Navy was formed, renamed in 1955 as the current Military Band Service. In October 1924, the post of Inspector of Military Bands of the Red Army. As of 1947, Inspectorate of Military Bands reported directly to the head of the 3rd Division of the Combat Training Department of the Soviet Army Headquarters, where it was transferred to on 1 December 1931.[12][13] Its modern functions and duties were established in an order signed by the Chief of the General Staff Viktor Samsonov on 22 November 1996.[14][15][16] In November 2007, by the approval of President Dmitry Medvedev, the band service created a charter for the conductors of garrison bands to have more authority over their events and activities.[17] In 2011, the service celebrated 300 years of Russian military music.[18][19]

Activities

Valery Khalilov in June 2016. Khalilov was regarded positively due to his successful efforts reorganize and rebuild the military band service in the early 2000s.

Massed Bands of the Nizhny Novgorod Garrison during a victory day parade in 2017.

Annual concert activity of the military band service began inside the hall of the Philharmonic Society of St. Petersburg in November 1813.

Senior Director of Music and regional directors

The office of Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Service is the operational and administrative leader of the service. His/her role is layed out in a decree from Soviet Defence Minister Rodion Malinovsky dating back to July 1963.[20] Local military bands of military garrisons and units are managed by the chiefs of the military bands services of the military districts, with their appointment being as the Senior Director of Music. As such, local conductors report to the director and are accountable to him/her only.[21] For several years until 2010, the senior director of music held the post of director of music of the Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

Mass service-wide events

Over 1,000 musicians of the service participates in the annual Victory Day parades and before 1991 the October Revolution and May 1 parades as well.[22] The service is an active sponsor of the annual Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo in Moscow. Joint military concerts are commonly held between the bands of the service and foreign military bands on Russian and foreign soil. Mass events were held on the service's tricentennial in 2011. Every couple of years, officials from the service conduct contests to identify the best bands in the service as well as inspections to identify those that retain the standard for bands.[23] In 1928, the first national competition of military bands being held.[24] Bandmasters also meet regularly to facilitate such events, with the first Red Army meeting of bandmasters occurring in 1933. Other mertings would occur in later years, such as in 1959 for the directors of military district bands and in 1947 as a conference on the repertoire of military bands.

Individual bands

The military band service provides military bands for the Kremlin Regiment and the 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment during special occasions and state visit.[22] The individual regional bands support their branch of service and their regional military area through their music.

Composition

The band under the direction of Colonel Sergey Durygin during its 90th anniversary concert in 2017.

The composition of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation include:[25]

General Office of the Military Band Service of the Russian Defense Ministry
Exemplary Bands (bands that have specific duties and representative activities that therefore make them the seniormost in the armed forces)
Training Schools
- Military University College of Military Music and Military Band Conductors School (formerly the Military Bandmaster department of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory)
- Moscow Suvorov Military Music College Lieutenant-General VM Khalilov[28]
Regional Bands
- Headquarters bands of military districts
- Unit bands
- Bands of groups of forces and separate armies
- Bands of naval fleets and marine bases
Bands within military units and formations and in military schools

Not under the armed forces but affiliated to the Band Service:

The Band of the Moscow Garrison is in that it consists of the 190 quality musicians who come together from different exemplary bands throughout the former Moscow Military District. At one time, it included the Headquarter Band of the MVO, the Combined Band of the Internal Troops, the Band of the Military Institute of Military Conductors, the Band of the Military Academy of the Strategic Rocket Forces, the Band of the Moscow Higher Military Command School, and the Band of the 147 Automobile Base of the Ministry of Defense. The support all important state events and special events in the Russian capital, including military parades on Red Square and international music festivals.[29]

Current Formation of Massed Bands

A chromatic fanfare trumpeter of the 3rd Battalion, 154th Preobrazhensky Independent Commandant's Regiment participating in a parade on Red Square.

Formation in Moscow

Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets, Field Drums, 1st Glockenspiels
Trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorns
1st Trombones
1st and 2nd Marching Percussion
- Snare drums
- Bass drums and Cymbals
- Turkish crescents
- 2nd Glockenspiels
2nd Trombones
Horns, Mellophones
Clarinets, Oboes, Saxophones, Bassoons, Flutes and Piccolos
Baritone horns, Tenor horns, Saxhorns
Euphoniums, Wagner Tubas, Tubas, Sousaphones

Formation in St Petersburg

The band of the St. Petersburg Garrison.

Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets (optional)
Field Drums (optional)
Trumpets
1st Trombones, Horns and Woodwinds
- Clarinets, Saxophones
Marching Percussion
- Snare Drums
- Bass drums
- Cymbals
- Turkish crescent (since 2011)
- Glockenspiels
2nd Trombones and Horns
2nd Woodwinds
- Clarinets, Oboes, Bassoons, Flutes, Piccolos
- Saxophones
Saxhorns, Baritone and tenor horns, Euphoniums, Wagner tubas
Tubas, Sousaphones (optional)

Formation in Yekaterinburg

Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets
Field Drums (optional)
Trumpets, Cornets
Trombones and Horns
Saxophones
Clarinets, Oboes, Bassoons, Flutes, Piccolos
Marching Percussion
- Snare Drums
- Bass drums
- Cymbals
- Turkish crescent
- Glockenspiels
Saxhorns, Baritone and tenor horns, Euphoniums, Wagner tubas
Tubas, Sousaphones (optional)

Symbols

Emblem
Variant Emblem
Shoulder patch
Shoulder Patch (1960-1991)
Patch for Organs of the Military Band Service Directorate
Patch of the Moscow Military Conservatory
Patch of the Moscow Military Music College
Patch of the Band of the Ministry of Defence

The emblems and patchs of the band service were adopted by order of Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov on 7 February 2005.[30]

Common elements of military band symbols include:[31]

Lyre (traditional emblem of military musicians worldwide)
Red color (traditional color of the instrument cloth of military personnel in military bands)
Emblem of the Russian Armed Forces
Oak wreath