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Based in Huddersfield, our Army Reserve Band is made up of a close-knit team of 30 superbly qualified, degree-standard musicians. From schoolteachers and professional orchestras, members of the Band are required to commit to at least 27 days a year to Army Reserve service.
Military bands are a staple at county shows where showgoers can relax in a deckchair with an ice cream enjoying a high quality live musical performance. The Band’s performances at Shrewsbury Flower Show coincided with the hottest days of the summer and tested the Band’s endurance but was a good advertisement for the British Army. Marching to the showground, playing an eclectic mix of music on the bandstand each day, followed by a massed bands marching display in the evening, the event was a great success. The only thing missing was the usual firework accompaniment, cancelled this year as the ground was tinder dry, but substituted with a spectacular laser show.
November is always a very busy month for the Band and this year was no exception. Once again, the Band attracted a large audience to its Festival of Remembrance at Huddersfield Town Hall, together with choirs from all over Yorkshire, followed by performance at Remembrance Sunday at Selby Abbey.
Ten members of the Band were able to take up the invitation to perform with the Albanian Armed Forces Wind Orchestra in early December. It was the 110th anniversary of Albanian Independence, as well as the formation of Albania Armed Forces. Musicians from nine NATO countries were invited to perform at concerts in several cities, including a massed bands concert live on Albanian TV. Bussed from venue to venue by Albanian police with sirens and blue lights, the musicians were treated like VIPs by the welcoming Albanian hosts.
Following the Christmas break, the Band was straight into concert performance mode owing to a rescheduling of an event from September due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The event was a concert to entertain veterans and families from around the Yorkshire area performed at the Army Reserve Centre Huddersfield.
Here is just a taste of what the Band of The Royal Yorkshire Regiment have been doing!