The Indian Army Chief's Band is the

Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...

's full-time music band. It was founded in 1990 as the official band of the

and the foremost in the armed forces. It also, as its name implies, represents the Chief of the Army Staff at events involving the COAS's presence. The band represents India in most important state events held in the Indian capital. It was raised in 1990 with bandsmen being drawn multiple

Indian military bands The Indian military bands consists of musicians from the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Navy and Indian Air Force, Air Force. Indian military bands regularly participate in international festivals and take part in celebrations dedicated to various nati ...

in order to "retain the true representation of the entire nation in one band". In April 2011, a string section was added, consisting of

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

s and

violins The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino pic ...

, elevating it to a symphony orchestra comprising 72 musicians. Outside of the

, it has also represented the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n nation at various military music festivals in

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and

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Structure

The band consists of the following ensembles: *Parade Band *Symphony Orchestra *Brass ensemble *Percussion ensemble *Woodwind ensemble *Jazz ensemble *Vocalist group Initially, the band played with percussion, brass and woodwind sections. Today, the band uses traditional Indian instruments such as the

Mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

, the

Tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...

, and the Carnatic. In addition other traditional instruments such as the

Santoor The Indian santoor instrument is a trapezoid-shaped hammered dulcimer, and a variation of the Iranian santur. The instrument is generally made of walnut wood and has 25 bridges. Each bridge has 4 strings, making for a total of 100 strings. It ...

Sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

and Jaltarang have been incorporated in the band.

Events

The band performs at ceremonial events with the Indian Army, including the

Presentation of Colours The Presentation of Colours is a military ceremony that marks an anniversary or significant event in the history of a particular regiment or similar military unit. This involves the presentation of a new version of the Military colours, stan ...

and the annual

Delhi Republic Day parade The Delhi Republic Day parade is the largest and most important of the parades marking the Republic Day (India), Republic Day celebrations in India. The parade takes place every year on 26 January at Rajpath, Kartavya Path, New Delhi. It is the ...

on the

Rajpath Rajpath (), officially named Kartavya Path (), and formerly known as Kingsway, is a ceremonial boulevard in New Delhi, India, that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan on Raisina Hill through Vijay Chowk and India Gate, National War Memorial to N ...

. In the latter, the band is not a marching contingent but rather is located away from the road in an area near the national flag during which it performs ''

Jana Gana Mana "" is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" in Bengali by polymath and activist Rabindranath Tagore on 11 December 1911. The first stanza of the song " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" ...

'' the presentation of honours by the

President's Bodyguard The President's Bodyguard (PBG) is an elite household cavalry regiment of the Indian Army. It is the senior-most regiment in the order of precedence of the units of the Indian Army. The primary role of the President's Bodyguard is to escort an ...

. It also performs at

state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in their official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is held ...

s held at the

Rashtrapati Bhavan The Rashtrapati Bhavan (, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrapati Bhavana''; ; formerly Viceroy's House (1931–1947) and Government House (1947–1950)) is the official residence of the President of the Republic of India at the western end of Rajpath, Rai ...

, hosted by the

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

for a foreign

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

. It also performs at community events in its vicinity.

Specific events

*The band took part in the

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Ca ...

in 2008. *In July 2009, Indian military bands, a bands from the three services, with the Army band being one, marched down the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with contingents from their respective services during the

Bastille Day military parade The Bastille Day military parade, also known as the 14 July military parade, translation of the French name of , is a French military parade that has been held on the morning of Bastille Day, 14 July, each year in Paris since 1880, almost with ...

to the sound of Indian martial tunes including '' Saare Jahan Se Achcha'', ''Haste Lushai'' and '' Qadam Qadam Badhaye Ja''. *In September 2009, the band visited

to take part in the

Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Moscow on Red Square. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guard units ...

. During its performance on

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

, it went under the name of the Orchestra of the Supreme Commander of Chief of the Armed Forces of India (). *In June 2012, the band The performed at the Jammu Garrison for over 5000 soldiers and their families at Zorawar Stadium in Sunjuwan Cantonment. *The Band was part of the Indian Army's Grand Symphony band that performed at Amity University, Noida campus during the 70th

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebrations in August 2016. *The band under the direction of Sub Nawan Khan took part in the

JSDF Marching Festival The is the main cultural military tattoo in Tokyo, which features guest bands from the Asia-Pacific regions as well as bands of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. It is regularly held at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo every November. The festival was e ...

. *In April 2017, the band performed at a concert sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

and the Indian Embassy in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. During the performance, three Vietnamese artists accompanied the band in performing the music arranged.

References

{{reflist Military units and formations established in 1990 Indian Army Indian military bands Musical groups established in 1990 1990 establishments in Delhi

Structure

Events

Specific events

See also

References