The Band's History
History of the RMC Band
Equally at home on the parade or in concert, the Band of the Royal Military College is the official band for all Regal, Vice Regal, Diplomatic and State functions held in the National Capital. The Band is also involved in community relations and since its formation in 1954, has played a prominent role in the musical life of Canberra.
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| Original RMC Band (1954) |
The background of the Band of the Royal Military College commences around the College's inception in 1911 with the first reference to the band appearing in the form of a cartoon from 1914. It was not until April 1954 that the Band officially became a fulltime unit in part due to the prompting of Governor General Sir William Slim. The Band became the first type 'A' military band with the inclusion of reeds in 1964 and became one of 12 bands to form the Australian Army Band Corps in August 1968.
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| Canberra Day Procession 1963 |
In 1979, in celebration of the RMC Band's 25th anniversary, a unique honour was bestowed upon the band when Governor General Sir Zelman Cowan, presented a sterling silver conductor's baton in recognition of the band's musical excellence. The baton is used to this day on the occasion of the Queens Birthday Parade at RMC when in the presence of the Governor General. This was followed in 2004 when Governor General Major General Michael Jeffery presented a custom made Drum Majors staff on the occasion of the Band's Golden Jubilee.
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| Governor General, Sir Zelman Cowan presenting the silver conductor's baton to MAJ Colin Fischer 1979 |
The popular concert series 'Music at Midday' commenced in 1992 under the baton of Major Ian Mclean, in conjunction with the Canberra Theatre. To date these concerts have raised in excess of $200,000 for local charities and have become much loved for their variety and flair.
In 1994 the Band recorded their first ever CD, "The Best of Music at Midday". By mid 1995 the CD was completely sold out so another CD, "Slam", was recorded and released in December 1995. It has received widespread critical acclaim and is available from the Band and at leading music stores. After many requests it was decided to record again in 1997. A second volume of "The Best of Music at Midday" The CD was launched By The Governor General, Sir William Deane, on the 20th september at the Royal Theatre.
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| Prime Minister Bob Hawke inspecting the band 1990 |
Highlights of the Band's history include: Trooping the Colour in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, representing Australia in Paris for the 50th anniversary of Armistice Day, and participating in the official openings of the Sydney Opera House and Parliament House, performing at the Royal Tournament in England in 1987, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace in 2000 and performing duties at Gallipoli on ANZAC Day, 2003.
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| Trooping the Colour in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 1988 |
The Unit's deployments have included support to the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville, the initial 'Tour of Duty' concert in East Timor and, more recently, in support of the Regional Assistance Mission in the Solomon Islands.
RMC Band Photo Album
RMC Band Photo Album (1913 - 2006) (PPS, 7MB)Note: in order to view this photo album Microsoft PowerPoint is required. If you do not have PowerPoint, a free PowerPoint viewer can be downloaded from Microsoft's website (click here
to be taken to Microsoft's download site).