The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band is the regimental band of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band is the oldest enlisted band in Canada.

The Band of The Royal Regiment of Canada The Band of The Royal Regiment of Canada is a Canadian military band that serves as the official regimental band of the Royal Regiment of Canada. It is the oldest permanently organised band in the Canadian Forces. It is based at Fort York in Toro ...

is the Canadian Force's oldest permanently organised band. Abbreviated to the RHLI Band, it has played an extensive role in the musical culture and history of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

History

It was created in 1866 by Peter Grossman, a German-born musician and instrumentalist, who created what was then known as the 13th Battalion Band, at the request of the commander of the 13th Battalion Voluntary Militia. Grossman, who had been the bandmaster of the Hamilton Artillery Band (founded in 1856), led the 13th Battalion Band until 1869. He was eventually succeeded in the long term by George R. Robinson, who was a graduate of the RSMS (

Kneller Hall Kneller Hall is a Grade II listed mansion in Whitton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It housed the Royal Military School of Music, training musicians for the British Army, which acquired the building in the mid-19th century. I ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He is best known for keeping the entire band in line with the latest developments in American military bands, adding

clarinets The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. ...

saxophones The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

french horns The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

flutes The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

oboes The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

, and

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s to the ensemble by the end of his tenure. During its first 10 years in existence the-40-piece band successfully toured areas throughout

Eastern Canada Eastern Canada (also the Eastern provinces or the East) is generally considered to be the region of Canada south of the Hudson Bay/Strait and east of Manitoba, consisting of the following provinces (from east to west): Newfoundland and Labrador, ...

and the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States, also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast, is a geographic region of the United States. It is located on the Atlantic coast of North America, with Canada to its north, the Southe ...

. In 1900 the band was invited to give a concert for the Maple Leaf Club of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. In 1901, the band was chosen to play at a state dinner in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

honouring of the

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

and

Duchess of Cornwall Duchess of Cornwall is a courtesy title held by the wife of the eldest son and heir of the British monarch. The current title-holder is Catherine, wife of William, Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall. Duchesses of Cornwall Until her husband' ...

(later

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

and

Mary of Teck Mary of Teck (Victoria Mary Augusta Louise Olga Pauline Claudine Agnes; 26 May 186724 March 1953) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 6 May 1910 until 20 Janua ...

). For many years, the band gave weekly public concerts in the regimental drill shed, while during the summer it often filled as many as five or six engagements a week. At the time of Robinson's retirement in 1917, his son William succeeded his father and served as bandmaster until 1924. All of Robinson's three sons were band members. He was succeeded by David Anderson, who served for 10 years before returning to lead the band for the rest of the 1930s. The band was disbanded in 1957, and the reconstituted in 1962 for the regimental centennial, supporting the RHLI for 10 years before it was disbanded again in 1972 and once again revived in 1992 under the direction of Major Michael A. Rehill.

List of directors of music

Ensembles

The RHLI Band is composed of the following ensembles: * RHLI Marching Band – It is the only ensemble of the band that is taken out to parade on the streets of Hamilton. It is the most notable part of the RHLI Band, also performing in military tattoos and ceremonial occasions. It performs in the traditional scarlet uniform of the RHLI and the regimental

Pith helmet The pith helmet, also known as the safari helmet, salacot, sola topee, sun helmet, topee, and topi) is a lightweight cloth-covered helmet made of sholapith. The pith helmet originates from the Spanish Empire, Spanish military adaptation of the na ...

. * RHLI Concert Band – Performs in symphonic settings. It usually performs any type of music. * RHLI Brass Quintet – It is five-piece musical group which consists of two trumpets, a horn, a trombone, and a tuba. Their musical repertoire main consists of all types of music. * RHLI Dance Band – It performs at many formal dinner events throughout the City of Hamilton. Also referred to as the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...

, its repertoire is much more diverse than the other 3 ensembles. It plays a variety of genres including smooth jazz, polka, and rock.The Dance Band is also referred to as a big band or a jazz band.

Present day activities

The RHLI Band musical schedule includes several activities: *

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 ...

* Regimental Dinners * Concerts * Regimental Holidays * State Dinners *

Presentation of Colours The Presentation of Colours is a ceremony that marks an anniversary or event in the history of a particular regiment. This involves the presentation of a new version of the regimental colour to a regiment or equivalent formation in the armed for ...

* Graduation Parades Since 1992, the band has also performed at numerous

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, festivals and celebrations. The following is a list of the numerous notable performances the band has given in its existence: * 1871 Peace Jubilee in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

* 1921

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Canadian Labour Day, ...

(the band won first place *

1939 royal tour of Canada The 1939 royal tour of Canada by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth was undertaken in the build-up to World War II as a way to emphasise the links between Britain and Canada. The royal tour lasted from 17 May to 15 June, covering every Canadian ...

84th Grey Cup The 84th Grey Cup, also known as The Snow Bowl, was the 1996 Grey Cup Canadian Football League championship game played between the Toronto Argonauts and the Edmonton Eskimos at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton, Ontario. The Argonauts won the game b ...

* 1998 royal visit * 2002 royal visit * 60th Anniversary of the

Dieppe Raid Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid (19 August 1942) was an Allied amphibious attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France, during the Second World War. Over 6,050 infantry, predominantly Canadian, supported by a regiment o ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

* 2016 Sounding Retreat in

Notes

References

External links

* {{official, https://www.rhliband.ca
Michael A. Rehill Official Website
Musical groups from Hamilton, Ontario Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment) Bands of the Canadian Army Musical groups established in 1866 1866 establishments in Canada