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

Military Music Department of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
(Ukrainian) Військово-музичне управління Збройних сил України
Active	May 1992 - present
Country	Ukraine
Branch	Armed Forces of Ukraine
Type	Military Band and Choir service
Role	The organization of military bands and choirs in the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Size	1000+
Headquarters	Kiev
Nickname(s)	MMD-GSAFU
Commanders
Senior Director of Music of the Armed Forces	Colonel Volodymyr Dashkovsky
Notable commanders	Colonel Gennady Grigoriev Major General Volodymyr Derkach

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.

List of Directors General - Senior Directors of Music of the Armed Forces

Colonel Volodymyr Dashkovsky.

• Colonel Gennady Grigoriev (May 1992 – 1995)
• Major General Volodymyr Derkach (1995-2014)
• Colonel Volodymyr Dashkovsky (2014–Present)

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 Kiev Military District, which at that time was the top military band in the Ukrainian SSR, part of the larger massed bands of the Kiev 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. By January 2015, a total of 41 bands are 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 Kiev 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.^[1]

Composition

The National Exemplary Band in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2009.

The Band of the Donetsk Garrison in 2013.

The band is made up of the following bands:^[2][3][4]

• National Exemplary Band of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
• Band of the Kiev Presidential Honor Guard Battalion
• Military Music Center of the Ukrainian Ground Forces
  • HQ Band of the Military Music Center Ukrainian Ground Forces^[5]
  • Band of the Western Operational Command
  • Band of the Northern Operational Command
  • Band of the Southern Operational Command
  • Band of the Eastern Operational Command
  • Regimental Band of the Novomoskovsk 194 Pontoon Bridge Regiment
  • Band of the 1st Tank Brigade
• Military Music Center of the Ukrainian Air Force
• Military Music Center of the Ukrainian Navy
  • Band of the Odessa National Maritime Academy - Ukrainian Naval College of Odessa
  • Mykolaiv Navy Band
  • Marine Division Band
• Military Music Center of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
  • Central Band of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
• Military Band of the National Defense University
• Military Band of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy
• Military Band of the Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University
• Military Band of the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technologies
• Military Band of the Ivan Bohun Military High School
• Military Band Service of the National Guard of Ukraine
  • Central Band of the National Guard of Ukraine
  • Band of the National Guard Military Academy of Ukraine
  • Band of the NGU National Honor Guard Battalion Kiev
  • Band of the National Guard NCO Training School

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 Kiev 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 Kiev 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

Gallery

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  The emblem of the Orchestra of the Guard of Honor.

External links

• The band on YouTube
• Band of the Military Academy of Odessa

References