The Fanfare du Palais National d'Haiti (Fanfare of the National Palace), also known as the Presidential Guard Orchestra () is a police band unit of the Republic of Haiti. The band uses French and American military traditions in its activities, as well as sports many styles native to Haiti and the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

region. It is part of the Security Unit and Presidential Guard (''L'Unité de Sécurité et de Garde Présidentielle'') in the Haitian National Police. It also provides musical accompaniment to the

Armed Forces of Haiti The Armed Forces of Haiti (french: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, (ANI) and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police). The Army was always ...

. In both roles as a police band and a

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 ...

, it performs the national anthem ''

La Dessalinienne "" (; ht, "Desalinyèn"; en, "The Dessalines Song") is the national anthem of Haiti. It was written by Justin Lhérisson and composed by Nicolas Geffrard. Etymology "La Dessalinienne" is named in honor of Haiti's revolutionary leader and fi ...

'' on special occasions. The band in its current form was founded in 1972 by Colonel Ipharès Blain, who directed the band from 1960 to 1991.

Occide Jeanty Occide Jeanty (1860–1936) was a Haitian composer, trumpeter, pianist and music director. Biography Occide Jeanty was born in 1860 in Port-au-Prince He was educated at Alexandre Pétion High School in Port-au-Prince. His father, Occilius Jeant ...

, who was one of Haiti's most revered military composers and the author of many revolutionary era marches was a member of one of the bands in its lineage. A street in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

was later named for him and a stamp was issued on his centennial in 1960. On its 45th anniversary in 2017, the band was given a reception at the

National Palace Buildings called National Palace include: *National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo *National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador *National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace *National Palace (Guatema ...

by President Jovenel Moise, during which Blain received awards from the National School of the Arts (ENARTS) and the National Theater of Haiti as well as a decoration of an Officer of the National Order of Honour and Merit. Blain died in August 2018 at the age of 96.

References

{{Reflist Haitian musical groups Police bands Military bands Musical groups established in 1972

See also

References