The Albania Armed Forces Band () is a professional

military band 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 tit ...

from

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

that has the duty to provide military accompaniment for the

Albanian Armed Forces The Albanian Armed Forces ( sq, Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH)) are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land ...

as well as take part in protocol events with the

Republican Guard A republican guard, sometimes called a national guard, is a state organization of a country (often a republic, hence the name ''Republican'') which typically serves to protect the head of state and the government, and thus is often synonymous wit ...

History

The first official military band formation of the Albania was created in 1920, with the arrival of the National Band "Vatra" from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

under the direction of Thoma Nasi. In 1925, on the basis of the band, the Presidential Wind Orchestra was created and then, in September 1928, it became the Royal Band. The band was created in October 1944, in the village of Priskë near

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

, originally as a 25-member band of the gendarmerie. It took part in the military parade on 28 November of that year in honor of the

Liberation of Albania Liberation Day ( sq, Dita e Çlirimit) in Albania is commemorated as the day, November 29, 1944, in which the country was liberated from Nazi Germany forces after the Albanian resistance during World War II. Background After Italy was defeated ...

. It was later made to be the band of the

Albanian People's Army The Albanian People's Army ( sq, Ushtria Popullore Shqiptare, UPSh) was the national army of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1946 to 1990. Like all other Communist states, the UPSh was subjected to the rule of the Party of Labour ...

. In 1990, it was transformed into the band of the

Characteristics

It maintains 2 ensembles, a brass orchestra and the Armed Forces Wind Orchestra (AFWO). All 79 musicians have 3 suits that are available for them to wear at any official function in the capital depending on the weather and the seniority of the event. Its signature march is the ''Marsh Mirësevini'' (Inspection March).

Awards and recognition

* Before

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

in 2017, it was honored with the "Medal of Gratitude" by the Municipality of Tirana and the Mayor of Tirana. * It was awarded the Order of the Flag by President

Ilir Meta Ilir Rexhep Meta (; born 24 March 1969) is an Albanian politician. He served as President of Albania from 24 July 2017 to 24 July 2022. Previously Meta served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and he was Speaker of the Parliament of Albania f ...

in the framework of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Vlora War. In his speech, President Meta emphasized that the band "is the only professional wind orchestra in Albania, a worthy descendant of the National Band "Vatra", an Albanian-American marching band during the war.

References

{{Reflist Military bands Musical groups established in 1944 Military units and formations of Albania Military units and formations established in 1944 1944 establishments in Albania