The Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: Musique centrale des Forces armées canadiennes) is one of six full-time

Regular Force In the Canadian Armed Forces, a Regular Force unit or person is part of the full-time military, as opposed to being part of the Primary Reserve which has more flexibility. There are many bases and wings across Canada, and factors like trade, career ...

military bands in the Canadian Armed Forces. It is also the seniormost military band in the CAF. The band provides professional musical support for the representative institutions of the Canadian Forces, supporting the Department of National Defence and the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

in events throughout the

National Capital Region A capital region, also called a capital district or capital territory, is a region or district surrounding a capital city. It is not always the official term for the region, but may sometimes be used as an informal synonym. Capital regions can exis ...

. The Central Band of the CAF plays by permission of the Commandant of Canadian Forces Support Group (Ottawa–Gatineau) in Ottawa, and like all Regular Force military bands, is composed solely of auditioned, military-qualified musicians. Because of its previous history as the Royal Canadian Air Force's premier band, musicians parade and attend functions in the RCAF's uniform.

History

The band was originally created in 1940 as the Central Band of the RCAF (

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

). By 1964, the Central Band of the RCAF became the only Air Force band in service prior to the

Unification of the Canadian Armed Forces The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces. History A white paper was tabled in the Parliam ...

. In February 1968, the RCAF band merged with the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Band to become the National Band of the Canadian Armed Forces, which had servicemen from the Army, Navy, and Air Force in its ranks. Its first performance was given at a

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

festival in 1968. It was given its current name in 1970. Under its first director of music Lieutenant Commander William J Gordon, the band established itself as a senior band in the Canadian Forces, performing with the United States Army Field Band at

Centennial Concert Hall Centennial Concert Hall is a 2305-seat performing arts centre located at 555 Main Street in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, as part of the Manitoba Centennial Centre. The concert hall opened on March 25, 1968. It is the performing home of t ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

in 1970. In 1974, Lynn Hong, who was the first woman to join a military band in Canada, joined the band at the request of Major Derek Stannard. In March 1991, as

Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...

was being honored by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in a ceremony titled ''WELCOME HOME!'', the central band threw the first ball as they were opening the team's first game of the season.

List of directors

*M. Boundy (1940–1942) *Flying Officer E.A. Kirkwood (1942–954) *S. Vowden (1954–1955) *Flight Lieutenant L.D. Corcoran (1955–1960) *W. Boyce (1960–1963) *K.R. Moore (1963–1968) *Lieutenant Commander William J Gordon (1968–1972) *Major Derek Stannard (1972–1984) *Major K. Swanwick (1984–1986) *Major J.A. Underwood (1986–1987) *Major R. McCallum (1987–1990) *Major R.H.J. French (1990–1992) *Major J.D.D. Bouchard (1992–1994) *Major K.R. Killingbeck (1994–1999) *Major J.G.G. Bouchard (1999–2001) *Major J.G.P.A. Pineault (2001–2004) *Major Gerry Heslip (2004–2008) *Major Brian Greenwood (2008–2010) *Captain Peter Archibald (2010–2012) *Major Dave Shaw (2012–2016) *Captain John Fullerton (2016–2020) *Captain Marie-Perle Broadley (2020–2022) *Captain Catherine Norris (2022–present)

Recognition and activities

For over 70 years, the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces has provided professional musical support for military and Government of Canada events. The band regularly performs for Canadian Royalty, the

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...

and

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

, as well as foreign

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, and

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. It has also performed at many public concerts throughout

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and around the world. The band used to give annual performances during the changing of the guard ceremony on

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...

each summer until 1979 when those duties were assumed by the

Band of the Ceremonial Guard Band or BAND may refer to: Places * Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

. It also takes part in the Swearing-in ceremony of the Governor General of Canada. The band has also toured Europe frequently and has made appearances at several NATO music festivals. The band performed alongside the Band of Royal 22nd Regiment during the 2017 Invictus Games opening and closing ceremony.

Composition

The following ensembles serve within the CAF Central Band: * Canadian Forces Central Band mosbo6

Concert Band * Parade Band * Big Band * Jazz Combo * Serenade of Strings ensemble * 2 Brass Quintets * Woodwind Quintet * Cormorant Chamber Trio Five members of the band constitute the Canadian Forces Serenade of Strings who regularly perform at functions of the Governor General at

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main b ...

. On occasion, it is augmented with flute and clarinet players.

Albums

The Central Band of the CAF has released the following albums: *''Les Francais'' (1975) *''Voisee'' (1983) *''Canada Remembers'' (1996) *''Masque'' (2007) *''The Central Band in Concert'' (2019) *''Canada 1867'' (Unknown) *''Canadian Forces Present The Central Band'' (Unknown) *''Show Stoppers For Band'' (Unknown)

References

External links

The Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces

Official Marches of the Canadian Forces

The Central Band of the Canadian Forces
in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

The Central Band of the Canadian Forces Albums

Central Band of the Canadian Forces Brass Quintet
{{Authority control 1968 establishments in Ontario Bands of the Royal Canadian Air Force Canadian Armed Forces Musical groups established in 1968 Musical groups from Ottawa