The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus ( be, Ваенна-аркестравая служба Узброеных Сіл Рэспублікі Беларусь, russian: Военно-оркестровая служба Вооруженных Сил Республики Беларусь) is the central

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 ti ...

service of the

Armed Forces of Belarus The Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus (, ) consist of the Ground Forces and the Air Force and Air Defence Forces, all under the command of the Republic of Belarus Ministry of Defence. Being a landlocked country, Belarus has no navy. In 20 ...

. The band was formed on 1 April 1950 as the Band of the

Belorussian Military District The Byelorussian Military District (russian: Белорусский военный округ, translit=Belorusskiy Voyenyi Okrug; alternatively Belarusian; ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces. Originally formed just before Wor ...

. It was expanded into a service in the 1990s after the

Independence of Belarus The politics of Belarus takes place in a framework of a presidential republic with a bicameral parliament. The President of Belarus is the head of state. Executive power is nominally exercised by the government, at its top sits a ceremonial pr ...

occurred. Its bands participate in

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 ...

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

s, and official ceremonies of Belarus. They perform domestically, regularly performing in the Central Officers House in Minsk, as well as other garrison clubs. The massed bands of the Minsk Garrison is an annual participant in the parades of the Minsk Garrison on

Victors Avenue Victors Avenue ( be, Праспект Пераможцаў, russian: Проспект Победителей) is a public avenue in Minsk, Belarus. History Until 1980, it was called the Park Highway. For a long time, the northwest center of Mins ...

since 2004. The repertoire of the band includes more than 500 compositions of the most important classical music composers and contemporary ones. Bands have performed in festivals in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, Sweden, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The band has also played in the

Spasskaya Tower The Spasskaya Tower ( rus, Спасская башня, Spasskaya Bashnya), translated as 'Saviour Tower', is the main tower on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin which overlooks Red Square. History The Spasskaya Tower was built in 1491 by th ...

military tattoo in 2013, 2016, and 2017. The band is commanded by its Senior Director of Music/Chief Conductor, Lieutenant Colonel Igor Khlebus, since 2019. The artistic director of the band is Colonel Evgueny Dovzhik.

Structure of the Service

As a grouping of military bands of the armed services of the republic the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces is composed of the following flagship units and other formations:

Exemplary Military Band

The Exemplary Military Band (also known as the ''Central Band of the Armed Forces''), is the senior-most military unit in the service. It was founded on the basis of the Staff Band of the

, which itself was founded on 1 April 1950. On 13 August 2003, the band gained the honorary title of "Honored Collective of the Republic of Belarus".

Band of the Guard of Honor

The Band of the Honor Guard Company of the Minsk Military Commandant of the Armed Forces of Belarus was founded on July 1, 1995, as the Military Band of the Minsk Garrison's Office. Since 2018, the band has used chromatic fanfare trumpets in its ranks. For 21 years until 2016, the commander of the orchestra was

Serguei Kostiuchenko Sergey Nikolaevich Kostiuchenko (Russian:Сергей Николаевич Костюченко) is a Belarusian military conductor. He is the former Chief Director of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, hold ...

. It works alongside the honor guard company in taking part in ceremonies in Belarus and abroad. The orchestra's repertoire is based on Belarusian, Russian and foreign music. The following have served as directors of the Band of the Honor Guard: * Lieutenant Colonel Igor Khelbus (1993–1995) * Lieutenant Colonel

(1995–2005) * Major Aleksandr Kantsyal (2016–present)

Cadet Bands

Cadet bands affiliated to the Band Service of the Armed Forces are drawn from military academies of the armed forces and ministries of the state. * Band of the Military Academy of Belarus * Band of the

Minsk Suvorov Military School The Minsk Suvorov Military School (MnSVU) ( be, Мінск Сувораўскае ваеннае вучылішча; russian: Минское суворовское военное училище) is one of the Suvorov Military Schools in Belarus a ...

Regional Bands

Together with the component bands of the MBSAFRB and the cadet bands of the Armed Forces, the regional bands from each of the military commandants are also components of the Band Service and are affiliated to the senior bands in Minsk. The bands of the regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while not being part of the Band Service, are also affiliated to it as well. * Band of the Baranavichy Military Commandant * Band of the Babruysk Military Commandant * Band of the Barysaw Military Commandant * Band of the Brest Military Commandant – Created on 3 August 2001 under the direction of Alexander Nosov, the band jas been led by Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Minich since 2007. * Band of the Grodno Military Commandant * Band of the Minsk Military Commandant * Band of the Vitebsk Military Commandant

Unit Bands

In addition to the baseline military bands, it maintains additional active-duty field bands that are assigned to an active duty unit, usually the size of a regiment/brigade, following the Russian tradition. These unit bands include but are not limited to: *Band of the

103rd Guards Airborne Brigade The 103rd Separate Guards Airborne Brigade is an airborne brigade of the Belarusian Special Forces. Its predecessor unit was the 103rd Guards Airborne Division (russian: 103-я гвардейская воздушно-десантная орден� ...

– Founded in 1945 on the basis of the 317th Airborne Regiment of the 103rd Airborne Division. In 2005, it became part of the Vitebsk Military Commandant's Office and since 2014 has been part of the 103rd Separate Guards Airborne Brigade. *Band of the 102nd Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade *Band of the 5th Spetsnaz Brigade *Band of the 6th Separate Guards Mechanized Brigade ( Grodno) *Band of the

11th Guards Berlin-Carpathian Mechanized Brigade The 11th Guards Mechanized Brigade is a unit of the Armed Forces of Belarus based in Slonim. The 11th Guards Brigade traces its history back to the 1942 formation of the 6th Tank Corps of the Soviet Army during World War II. World War II Formed ...

*Band of the 51st Guards Artillery Brigade *Band of the 30th Separate Red Banner Railway Brigade (Band of the Belarusian Transport Troops)

Bands of affiliated militarized formations

Exemplary Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

The Exemplary Band of the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

was founded on 20 July 1945 as a military band of the 21st Motorized Rifle Detachment of the Ministry of State Security of the USSR. On 28 April 1995, the band was re-branded as the band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. Its first concert in its new capacity took place on the Day of the Militia parade on 4 March 1995 at October Square. It is currently led by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Kalinin. It is also part of the Military Band Service of

Internal Troops of Belarus The Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (; ) is a Internal Troops - paramilitary law enforcement force in the Republic of Belarus under the national Ministry of Internal Affairs. All personnel are trained in the Internal Troops ...

Other bands of the MUS

*Band of the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs *Band of the 6th Separate Special-Police Brigade

Ensemble of the Border Guard Service

The Ensemble of the Border Guard Service is the official band supporting the everyday ceremonial activities of the

Border Guard Service of Belarus The State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, GPK ( be, Дзяржаўны пагранічны камітэт Рэспублікі Беларусь, ДПК;russian: Государственный пограничный комитет � ...

, which reports to the

State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus The State Border Committee of the Republic of Belarus, GPK ( be, Дзяржаўны пагранічны камітэт Рэспублікі Беларусь, ДПК;russian: Государственный пограничный комитет � ...

, rather than to the Ministry of Defense. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Border Guard Service Institute of Belarus, being an artistic ensemble for the institute. It is currently led by Captain Pavel Pashkin.

Bands of the Ministry of Emergency Situations

The Band of the Ministry of Emergency Situations is the official band supporting the everyday ceremonial activities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. It is an affiliated military brass band composed 25 musicians who have an extensive touring experience (performing at

military tattoos A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

). In 2014, the Military Band of the Grodno Regional Department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations took part in the 54th International Festival of Military Music in

, being greeted personally by Belgian Prime Minister

Elio Di Rupo Elio Di Rupo (; born 18 July 1951) is a Belgian politician who has served as the minister-president of Wallonia since 2019. He is affiliated with the Socialist Party. Di Rupo previously served as the prime minister of Belgium from 6 December 201 ...

Other musical units in Belarus

*The Concert Group of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces *

Belarusian Armed Forces Academic Song and Dance Ensemble The Belarusian Armed Forces Academic Song and Dance Ensemble () is a musical unit of the Belarusian Armed Forces that is stationed in Minsk. History The group first formed as a freelance unit on 17 February 1938 at a sanatorium for Red Army offic ...

List of directors

Directors of the Exemplary Military Band: * V. Shalygin – (1950–1952) * I. Mironovich – (1952–1959) * A. Mayzler (1959–1968) * P. Chebanenko (1968–1974) * B. Chudakov – (1974–1979) * J. Kraokotin – (1979–1983) * Mikhail Bersan – (1983–1990) * Colonel Alexander Fedorov – (1990–2004) * Colonel Vladimir Ermolaev – (2004–2008)https://news.tut.by/culture/84896.html * Colonel

– (2008–2019) * Colonel Igor Khlebus – (2019–Present)

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Official WebsiteOfficial YouTube ChannelBand of the Minsk Military CommandantThe Band of the Brest Military Commandant on YoutubeСергей Костюченко, начальник военно-оркестровой службы Вооруженных Сил Республики Беларусь на СТВThe band performing "Flag of our Fatherland" by Sergey Makey at the 2013 Minsk Independence Day ParadeРепетиция военного оркестра к параду на День независимостиПарад военных оркестров , новое видео с коптераВоенные оркестры в белорусской армии: исполнительские конкурсы
Military bands Belarusian music Military units and formations established in 1950 1950 establishments in the Soviet Union Musical groups established in 1950 Ministry of Defence (Belarus)