The Royal 22 Régiment Band is the regimental band of the

Royal 22nd Regiment , colors = Scarlet with blue facings (full dress and mess dress) , march = Quick: ''Vive la Canadienne''Slow: ''Marche lente du Royal 22e Régiment: La Prière en famille'' , mascot ...

. It is based at

CFB Valcartier Canadian Forces Base Valcartier (CFB Valcartier), now re-designated 2 Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier (2 CDSB Valcartier), is a Canadian Forces base located in the municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, north northwest of Quebe ...

(Valcartier Garrison) in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and is assigned to the 2nd Canadian Division Support Group. It is the only French-speaking regular military band in Canada.

History

The regimental band was formed in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

in 1922 with the 20 members of the former

Royal Canadian Artillery Band The Royal Canadian Artillery Band (french: links=no, Musique de l'Artillerie royale canadienne) is one of six Regular Force bands in the Canadian Armed Forces. Located at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton, the RCA Band provides music designed to suppo ...

. A year later, the band began performing at the Orpheum Theatre, in Quebec City and on radio station CKAC in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the ensemble gave performances primarily to encourage recruitment. The band has performed for the coronations of two Canadian monarchs (

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952. ...

in 1937 and

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in 1953). It was present at the 300th, 350th, and 400th anniversary of Quebec City. The band resided at the Quebec’s Citadel until 1988, after which time it moved to the Canadian Forces Base at Valcartier near Quebec City. Following a reorganization of

Canadian military bands Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

in July 1994, the regimental band was dissolved. 3 years later, it was reestablished. The band joined the ranks of the 2nd Canadian Division Support Group in 2006.

Notable activities

*The band has participated in the

guard mounting Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate an ...

ceremony at the

Citadelle of Québec The Citadelle of Quebec (french: Citadelle de Québec), also known as ''La Citadelle'', is an active military installation and the secondary official residence of both the Canadian monarch and the governor general of Canada. It is located atop Cap ...

continuously since 1945. *In 1967, the band was one of 17 bands that took part in the Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo. *For a number of years, the band, along with the Musique des Voltigeurs de Québec, hosted the

Quebec City International Festival of Military Bands The Quebec City International Festival of Military Bands (FIMMQ) was a major cultural event in Quebec City that notably included a military tattoo by Canadian and foreign military bands as well as display teams. It has taken place annually in Au ...

. *In 2007, the band marched in

O'Higgins Park O'Higgins Park (, formerly known as Parque Cousiño), with an area of around , is Santiago, Chile's second largest public park after Metropolitan Park. It is located in the center of the capital, in the Santiago Commune. The park, named after B ...

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

during the

Great Military Parade of Chile For more than a century the Military Parade of Chile or Great Military Parade of Chile (Spanish: ''Gran Parada Militar de Chile'' or ''Parada Militar de Chile'') has been a tradition within the Independence Day holidays in Chile. It is held in Sa ...

. *In 2008, the band took part in a parade as well as other events related to the

400th anniversary of Quebec City Quebec City's 400th anniversary, celebrated in 2008, commemorated the founding of Quebec City in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. Quebec City is the oldest francophone city in North America. Along with Acadia, the city represents the birthplace of F ...

. *The International Anthem of the Royal Golf Clubs, which commissioned by

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; French (masculine): ''Lieutenant-gouverneur du Québec'', or (feminine): ''Lieutenante-gouverneure du Québec'') is the viceregal representative in Quebec of the , who operates distinctly within the province ...

, was premiered by the band on 12 September 2017. *In February 2019, the band's brass quintet performed in

Kuujjuaq Kuujjuaq (; iu, ᑰᑦᔪᐊᖅ, i=no or iu, ᑰᔾᔪᐊᖅ, i=no, label=none, "Great River"), formerly known as and by other names, is a former Hudson's Bay Company outpost at the mouth of the Koksoak River on Ungava Bay that has become t ...

in the first visit of a military band in northern Quebec. *In December 2019, the band has been part of the Canadian delegation deployed in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Italian campaign (World War II).

Conductors

* Captain Charles O'Neill (1922–1937) * Captain E. Bélanger (1937–1961) * Captain Joseph Pierre Armand Ferland (1961–1965) * Major Jean-François Pierret (1965–1978) * Major Charles Villeneuve (1978–1980)https://theheritageofmilitarymusic.com/military-musicians * Captain Jean-Pierre Montminy (1980–1982) * Captain A. Dion (1982–1986) * Captain D. Bouchard (1986–1990) * Major Denis Bernier (1990–1994 and 1997–2002) * Major J. Destrempes (2002–2008) * Major Patrick Picard (2008–2012) * Major Eric Gagnon (2012–2016) * Captain Christian Richer (2016–2018) * Captain Vincent Roy (2018–Present)

References

External links

*
Biography of Charles O'Neill

The band at the Quebec Tattoo

The band playing the Hymn to the Fallen in October 2015Le Royal 22 Régiment Canada avec la Fanfara Bersaglieri Italia
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Musique du Royal 22e Régiment Royal 22nd Regiment Bands of the Canadian Army Musical groups established in 1922 1922 establishments in Quebec

History

Notable activities

Conductors

See also

References

External links