The

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. History The GDF was formed on 1 Nove ...

(GDF) Band Corps is 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 ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. It is a representative unit in the GDF whose role is to provide musical accompaniment for ceremonial functions. The band is currently composed of the following ensembles: *

Marching Band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

Concert Band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

Steel Band The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descripti ...

String Band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...

History

It was founded on 4 December 1967 as the GDF

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

which eventually was converted into a

drum and bugle corps Drum and bugle corps is a name used to describe several related musical ensembles. * Drum and bugle corps (modern), a musical marching unit * Drum and bugle corps (classic), musical ensembles that descended from military bugle and drum units retu ...

. It was under the original command of Sergeant Fitz Albert Ward. Members of the band were drawn from companies of the defunct

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

Volunteer Force. It was mostly brought out during regimental

military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

. By late 1972, a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

was established and unit had grown to a membership of 120 which included eight females, one of which being Sergeant Rosemary Wood, who became the GDF's first female vocalist. Three years later, the band had the following composition:

corps of drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

string band A string band is an old-time music or jazz ensemble made up mainly or solely of string instruments. String bands were popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and are among the forerunners of modern country music and bluegrass. While being active countr ...

, and

steel band The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descripti ...

. In early 2012, the band took part in a 6-month master class presided by a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

from the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. During this event, the tuba was played in the scale of G-Major for the first time in the corps' history. In February 2013, Claude "Sonny" Ault, who served as band director for many years beginning in 1974, was found dead as a result of an alleged suicide. Ault was responsible for nationalizing British military marches.

Steel Band

The GDF Steel Band was established in 1970, three years after the original band was founded. It was led by Corporal Archie McAllister It is currently one of the six top steel bands in Guyana. It often performed at mixed events with the rest of the corps, and particularly the corp's of drums.

Frontline band

The GDF Frontline band is the

string orchestra A string orchestra is an orchestra consisting solely of a string section made up of the bowed strings used in Western Classical music. The instruments of such an orchestra are most often the following: the violin, which is divided into first ...

of the band. Established in 1974 as the GDF String Band led by Andre Jackson accompanied by four members. It was followed by the creation of the World-Wind String Band in October 1975. It received high acclaim in both Guyanese and international circles. It was succeeded by Frontline Band in 1982.

References

{{Reflist Guyanese musical groups Military bands Musical groups established in 1967 Military units and formations established in 1967 Military of Guyana

History

Steel Band

Frontline band

See also

References