Military Music Department of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces

The Military Music Department of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces serves as the official service of military bands and choirs in active service within the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Military Music Department of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
(Ukrainian) Військово-музичне управління Збройних сил України
ActiveMay 1992 - present
Country Ukraine
BranchArmed Forces of Ukraine
TypeMilitary Band and Choir service
RoleThe organization of military bands and choirs in the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Size1000+
HeadquartersKyiv
Nickname(s)MMD-GSAFU
Commanders
Senior Director of Music of the Armed ForcesColonel Volodymyr Dashkovsky
Notable
commanders

List of Directors General - Senior Directors of Music of the Armed Forces
Colonel Volodymyr Dashkovsky.

History

In May 1992, in accordance with the proposal of the Chief of the General Staff, the Military Music Department of the General Staff was founded. It was formed in the basis of the Headquarters Military Band of the Kyiv Military District, which at that time was the top military band in the Ukrainian SSR, part of the larger massed bands of the Kyiv Garrison, and one of the best in the Soviet Union. The MMD was also raised on the basis of existing Soviet Armed Forces military bands within Ukrainian territory, such as the HQ Band of the Carpathian Military District.[1] Since January 2015, a total of 41 bands are currently active within the MMD.

Activities

The MMD-GSAFU accompanies activities carried out by the President of Ukraine, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, and the Chief of the General Staff. It is also responsible for the accompaniment of activities carryed out by the regional garrisons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The military bands of the department are regular participants in the Kyiv Independence Day Parade, as well as participants in many military tattoo festivals and concerts in Ukraine and abroad. The military band department organizes the leadership of its bands, as well as oversees the training of musicians by the Military Music Centers of the different branches of the armed forces.[2]

In 2016, 20 musicians from the Band of the 44th Artillery Brigade broke a record by performing the Shche ne vmerla Ukraina nearly 300 metres underground in a salt mine.[3]

Composition
The National Exemplary Band in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2009.
The Band of the Donetsk Garrison in 2013.

The band service is made up of the following bands:[4][5][6]

The National Exemplary Band, as the foremost military band, is the largest in the armed forces, employing over 100 musicians. There are some limits to the number of musicians in each band, with the music centers of each armed service branch employing 52 members, and academic bands employing 21 members.

Current Formation of Massed Bands

Formation of massed military bands in Kyiv until 1998

  • Timpani (optional)
  • Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets, Field Drums (optional)
  • 1st and 2nd Marching Percussion
    • Snare drums
    • Bass drums and Cymbals
    • Turkish crescents (optional)
    • Multiple tenor drums (optional)
    • Glockenspiels
  • Trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorns
  • 1st Trombones
  • 2nd Trombones
  • Horns, Mellophones
  • Clarinets, Oboes, Saxophones, Bassoons, Flutes and Piccolos
  • Baritone horns, Alto and Tenor horns, Saxhorns, Euphoniums, Wagner Tubas, Tubas, Sousaphones

Formation of massed military bands in Kyiv from 2002-2003

  • Timpani (optional)
  • Chromatic Fanfare Trumpets, Bugles, Field Drums (optional)
  • 1st and 2nd Marching Percussion
    • Snare drums
    • Bass drums and Cymbals
    • Turkish crescents (optional)
    • Multiple tenor drums (optional)
    • Glockenspiels
  • 1st Trombones
  • 2nd Trombones
  • Horns, Mellophones
  • Trumpets, Cornets, Flugelhorns
  • Clarinets, Bass Clarinets Oboes, English Horns
  • Saxophones, Bassoons
  • Flutes and Piccolos
  • Baritone horns, Alto and Tenor horns, Saxhorns
  • Euphoniums, Wagner Tubas
  • Tubas, Sousaphones, Contrabass Bugles, Helicons

References
  1. https://www.radiosvoboda.org/a/25144911.html
  2. Ukraine Intelligence & Security Activities and Operations Handbook. 2006. ISBN 9780739716618.
  3. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jPRSCkzEb6Y&t
  4. https://archive.today/20160405205514/http://www.mil.gov.ua/ministry/struktura-generalnogo-shtabu/vijskovo-muzichne-upravlinnya-zbrojnih-sil-ukraini/
  5. "Положення про військово-музичні підрозділи Збройних Сил України". Законодавство України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2018-02-04.
  6. Ukraine Intelligence & Security Activities and Operations Handbook. 2006. ISBN 9780739716618.
  7. http://www.kremlin-guild.ru/kremlin-military-tattoo-en/participants/Ukraine/detail.php?ID=2589
  8. Ukraine Intelligence & Security Activities and Operations Handbook. 2006. ISBN 9780739716618.
  9. http://briz.if.ua/50267.htm
  10. http://orkestrdsst.ho.ua/#/
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