The Band of the City of New York Police Department, commonly known as the NYPD Police Band, is an American Police band which serves under the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The band currently has 70 members and is part of the NYPD Ceremonial Unit. The band's motto is as follows: ''Serve, Protect and Entertain''. The NYPD Band performs at department ceremonies, parades and community events across the city and in concerts around the world.

History

The band was founded in 1991, when the NYPD decided that it needed a ceremonial unit to provide musical accompaniment. It was originally founded with 12 members. The band had originally existed from 1901 to 1955 in order for the NYPD to be represented during official functions of the city.

Ensembles

Marching Band

The marching band is the premier ensemble of the NYPD Band. It is an annual participant in the

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

parade and the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

. It also performed at events such as the National Police Parade. It also took part in events such as the 2011 edition of 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 ...

, which included a performance of ''

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run up to World War II in 1938. The later version was notably recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature s ...

'' with the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble ( rus, Ансамбль Александрова, r=Ansambl' Aleksandrova; commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West) is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the e ...

of the

Russian military The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

. In May 2018, the band jointly performed with the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra from Israeli film ''

The Band's Visit ''The Band's Visit'' ( he, ביקור התזמורת, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) is a 2007 comedy-drama film, directed and written by Eran Kolirin, and starring Saleh Bakri, Ronit Elkabetz, Sasson Gabai and Uri Gavriel. It is an international co-pro ...

''.

Percussion Ensemble

The Percussion Ensemble, commonly known as the drumline consists of many different percussion instruments, including field snare drums, bass drums, cymbals, tenor drums, as well as alternative percussion instruments such as timbales, and shakers.

Jazz Ensemble

The Jazz Ensemble is composed of 18 members from the band. It was formed in 2005 as a subset of the marching band. It gives Jazz and Pop performances.

Steel Drum Ensemble

The Steel Drum Ensemble was formed in 2004 and performs during the Brooklyn West Indian American Day Parade and Bronx Caribbean Day Parade.

Longtime bandleader

Lieutenant Tony Giorgio was the founder and is the current director of the band. Giorgio is a graduate of

C.W. Post Charles William Post (October 26, 1854 – May 9, 1914) was an American innovator, breakfast cereal and foods manufacturer and a pioneer in the prepared-food industry. He was the founder of what is now Post Consumer Brands. Early life Char ...

(now the LIU Post) and has had training from musicians like Charlie Perry,

Jack DeJohnette Jack DeJohnette (born August 9, 1942) is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. Known for his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, ...

and Ron Gould. He is also a graduate of the

FBI National Academy The FBI National Academy is a program of the FBI Academy for active U.S. law enforcement personnel and also for international law enforcement personnel who seek to enhance their credentials in their field and to raise law enforcement standards, kno ...

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...

. He has been a member of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

since 1983. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1988 and Lieutenant in 1997. In 1996, Giorgio was awarded the New York City Police Foundation's Hemmerdinger award for excellence and outstanding contributions to Police Services in New York City. Giorgio retired in July 2019.

Main repertoire

The band's main repertoire includes, but is not limited to: * Amazing Grace *

Armed Forces Medley The Armed Forces Medley, also known as the Armed Forces Salute is today recognized as a collection of the official marchpasts/songs of the 6 services of the United States Armed Forces: Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and as of 2 ...

* America the Beautiful Bad Boys * Christmas Medley *

Fanfare for the Common Man ''Fanfare for the Common Man'' is a musical work by the American composer Aaron Copland. It was written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens and was inspired in part by a speech made earlier that year b ...

* Mission Impossible * Notre Dame Victory March * On Broadway * Star Spangled Banner * The Navy Hymn *

The Stars and Stripes Forever "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is a patriotic American march written and composed by John Philip Sousa in 1896. By a 1987 act of the U.S. Congress, it is the official National March of the United States of America. History In his 1928 autobi ...

* This is My Country

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Website of the NYPD

Official Website of the NYPD Band

Youtube: The NYPD Police Band at the New York City Saint Patrick's Day Parade

Youtube: NYPD Band - Serve, Protect and Entertain

"Ambassadors of music": NYPD mourns Alexandrov Ensemble deaths in fatal TU-154 crash
Musical groups established in 1901 Musical groups established in 1991 American police bands New York City Police Department 1901 establishments in New York City 1991 establishments in New York City Musical groups from New York City