The Band of the Royal Military College is a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

of the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

that is located in

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the List of citi ...

. It is one of 11 bands that make up the

Australian Army Band Corps The Australian Army Band Corps (AABC) is the Australian Army's musical branch. It is roughly the equivalent of the Music Branch (Canadian Forces) and the Royal Corps of Army Music of the British Army. The Corps was formed on 2 August 1968 an ...

. Also known as the Duntroon Military Band or the RMC Band, it is the chief musical ensemble of the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state = ...

. It is regarded as one of the premier bands in the AABC today. Since January 1993, the band has been under the direction of Ian McLean, who was himself part of the band in the 1970s.

History

The Band of the Royal Military College was founded in 1916, as a part-time band composed from volunteers drawn from the riding staff. It was only in 1954 that they were officially established, when a band formed from members of the Regular Army was established at the college. In 1968 it became part of the

. In the 1980s, the band began performing shows for local charities, known as the "Strike up the Band" shows, a tradition that continues to this day under the name "Music at Midday", which happens six times a year. Since 2010, the band has been one of the aspects of the RMC dedicated on the memorial plaque at the ACT Honour Walk.

Ceremonies and activities

The Band of the Royal Military College is a 43-piece band that serves primarily as a symphonic wind ensemble and a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

. It supports all activities sponsored by the

Monarchy of Australia The monarchy of Australia is Australia's form of government embodied by the Australian sovereign and head of state. The Australian monarchy is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary government, while i ...

, the Governor General, the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

and the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...

. Being located in the ACT, it takes responsibility for community events in this area as well as supporting units such as the

Australia's Federation Guard Australia's Federation Guard (AFG) is a tri-service ceremonial unit made up of members from the Royal Australian Navy, Australian Army, and Royal Australian Air Force. Formed in 2000 for the centenary celebrations of Federation of Australia, it ...

in their ceremonial duties. Events in the capital in which the band has taken part include the Canberra International Music Festival and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra series. It has participated in overseas engagements in countries like

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

, and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It also primarily serves as the sole unit band of RMC Duntroon. Thus, it participates in the ceremonies and parades conducted at the college. One of the more notable of its foreign performances was in 2000, when it accompanied a detachment of the Australian Federation Guard to

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 ...

where, as part of the centenary celebrations of the

Federation of Australia The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia (which also governed what is now the Northern Territory), and Western A ...

, the AFG mounted the

Queen's Guard The King's Guard and King's Life Guard (called the Queen's Guard and the Queen's Life Guard when the reigning monarch is female) are the contingents of infantry and cavalry soldiers charged with guarding the official List of British royal res ...

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, with the RMC Band provided the music as the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' Guards Band. Recently the band has supported Australian troops serving overseas. The band is also present at graduation ceremonies and was essential to the RMC's

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 ...

ceremony by

Queen 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 Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

Ensembles

The ensembles in the band include the following: *

Concert Band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

Marching Band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

*Stage Band *Woodwind Quintet *Brass Quintet *Jazz Ensemble *Rock Band *Dixie Band (known as the Steamboat Stompers) *Saxophone Quartet *Clarinet Quartet *Woodwind Trio

Albums

The band has released the following albums: *''The Big Band Sound'' (1976) *''Graduation '80 (1980) *''Slam'' (1995) *''Soldiers of the Queen'' (music of the Boer War)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon Military units and formations established in 1952 Australian military bands Musical groups established in 1952 1952 establishments in Australia

History

Ceremonies and activities

Ensembles

Albums

See also

References