The Amur Waves International Military Bands Festival is an annual military music event and

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 ...

held in Khabarovsk on Lenin Square, Khabarovsk. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign

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 ...

folk group Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

s, and honor guards. The festival is considered to be one of the most significant events in the cultural life of the capital of the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

. Oleg Fedoseev is the current director of festival.

History

The idea of a

in Khabarovsk came from Lieutenant General

Valery Khalilov Valery Mikhaylovich Khalilov (; 30 January 1952 – 25 December 2016) was an Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he was the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Servic ...

, then in his position as director of the

Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia The Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation serves as the official service of military bands in active service within the Russian Armed Forces and formerly the Soviet Armed Forces. It is part of the Military Band Servic ...

, during his visit to the city in 2009 as one of the judges for the Nikolai Mikhailov Massed Bands Contest. Seeing the potential in the contest, Khalilov saw an opportunity to create a festival similar to the

Spasskaya Tower Military Music Festival and Tattoo The Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival is an annual military music event and military tattoo held in Moscow on Red Square. Participating in the festival are Russian and foreign military bands, folk groups, and honor guard units o ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The idea was endorsed by the Khabarovsk Krai government, and the Khabarovsk City Administration, and the Ministry of Culture of the Khabarovsk Krai. It was officially founded in 2012 by the Khabarovsk city administration. Since then, the festival has become hugely popular with spectators and participants. Sixteen military bands have taken part in the Festival in the since its foundation.

Events by year

*2012 – The inaugural festival was devoted to the bicentennial of Russia’s victory in the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

(commonly known as the French invasion of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

). *2013 – Eleven foreign military bands participated in the festival in 2013, which was devoted to 155th anniversary of the founding of Khabarovsk and the 75th anniversary of Khabarovsk Krai. Among the groups was the National Folk Group of Kandong-gu district of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. For the first time the festive opening of the Festival took place in front of the Transfiguration Cathedral. *2015 – The festival took place in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, instead of Khabarovsk this year. The event honored the 70th anniversary of the end of the

Second World War 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 ...

. Invitations to the festival were sent to more than 30 countries, including

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. *2016 – The festival celebrated its 5th anniversary in 2016. *2018 – The main performance was to honor the 160th anniversary of city and the 80th anniversary of the region, with the closing ceremony being attended by Governor Vyacheslav Shport. Transneft Far East became the general sponsor of the festival.

Notable performers

Domestic bands

* Military Band of the Eastern Military District * Military Band of the Central Military District * National Guard Exemplary Symphony Orchestra * Band of the Cultural Centre of the Altai Krai Police * Headquarters Band of the Northeast Group of Troops and Forces * Fiesta Drum Corps of the

Moscow Military Music College The Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College is one of the leading military music institutions in Russia. It is a separate branch of the Suvorov Military Schools in Russia, and the oldest of them all (opened 1937). History On Augu ...

* Band of the Far Eastern Higher Combined Arms Command School

Foreign bands

* Brass Band of the Military Music College of the National Defence University of Mongolia * International Celtic Pipes and Drums *

Central Military Band of the Korean People's Army The Central Military Band of the Korean People's Army (), also sometimes known as the Korean People's Army Marching Band or DPRK Army Orchestra is a North Korean musical group/marching band based in Pyongyang and is the sole military band of the ...

Band of the National Guard of the Republic of Kazakhstan The Exemplary Band of the National Guard of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( Kazakh: Қазақстан Республикасының Ұлттық гвардиясының үлгілі оркестрі, Russian: Образцово-показател ...

Singapore Armed Forces Band The Singapore Armed Forces Band (commonly known as the SAF Band) form the musical arm of the Singapore Armed Forces. Consisting of the SAF Central Band and the SAF Ceremonial Band, the SAF Band provides musical support for key events such as ...

SAF Central Band wows with original song
/ref> * Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Northern Army Band * Women's Wind Ensemble of

Daxing'anling Daxing'anling Prefecture (), also known as Da Hinggan Ling Prefecture, is the northernmost Chinese Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Prefecture-level, prefecture-level division, located in northwestern Heilongjiang Provin ...

References

External links

{{Commons category, The Amur Waves International Military Bands Festival
Official Website

Opening Ceremony
(2012)
The Third Day
(2016)
Stadium Performance
(2018) Military music Khabarovsk Festivals established in 2012 Music festivals established in 2012 2012 establishments in Russia Annual events in Russia Military of Russia Music festivals in Russia Military tattoos