Governor General's Foot Guards Band
La Musique des Governor General's Foot Guards
Active15 June 1872-Present
Country Canada
Branch Canadian Army - Primary Reserve
TypeMilitary band
RolePublic Duties
Size35
Part ofGovernor General's Foot Guards
HeadquartersOttawa
Motto(s)Civitas et Princeps Cura Nostra (Our Care is King and Country)
MarchQuick: Milanollo
Slow: Figaro
AcronymGGFG Band
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Captain Stefan Sikorski[1]

The Governor General's Foot Guards Band (French: La Musique des Governor General's Foot Guards) is an authorized Canadian Forces 35-piece brass and reed band. It consists of serving members of the CAF who parade on a part-time basis. It serves as the regimental band of the Governor General's Foot Guards (GGFG) and is the most senior band of the Canadian Army Primary Reserve.

Overview

The band during a Remembrance Day parade in Ottawa.

The band was formed soon after the establishment of the Governor General's Foot Guards in 1872.[2] Many of its members at that time were from the Band of the Ottawa Brigade of Garrison Artillery. In 1888, the band attracted controversy when it refused to perform at multiple events unless they were given adequate pay.[3] In 1891, the band was part of the funeral procession for Sir John A. Macdonald, the 1st Prime Minister of Canada.[4] The band made its first international debut in 1906 under its first director, John C. Bonner, when it travelled to New York City. During the visit, the band performed at the West Point Band, with the latter playing The Stars and Stripes Forever and the former playing God Save the King.[5]

Joseph T. Brown led the band at the opening of Madison Square Gardens in New York in 1925 and at the opening of the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie in 1937. The band made several appearances during the visit of George VI in 1939, including the Trooping of the Colour in front of Centre Block. After World War II the band's summer concerts were broadcast on local radio, and it participated in many massed band displays and tattoos on Parliament Hill. Its first major activity following the war was the coronation day ceremonies in front of Centre Block that included the Trooping of the Colour by the GGFG in front of Governor-General Vincent Massey.[6] Under Milne, the increased its role in the new Canadian Armed Forces, traveling to Washington, DC, Atlanta, and Toronto among other cities. It also regularly performs at state functions in Ottawa, particularly at Rideau Hall, the official residence of both the Canadian monarch and his or her representative. The band has recently taken part in military tattoos, including the RCMP Sunset Ceremony[7][8] and the Fortissimo Sunset Ceremony. The band has produced two recordings: On Parliament Hill (1972, Kanata KAN-8) and Changing the Guard (1982, GGFG FG-1002).[9][10] In 2015, the GGFG pipes and drums represented the Canadian Forces at the Bermuda Tattoo for the second time since 2009 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Bermuda Regiment.[11]

Directors

  • John C. Bonner (1872–1874)
  • James Carter (1874–1877)(1888–1895)
  • Arthur A. Clappé (1877–1884)[12]
  • Captain Joseph Miller Brown (1900–1923)[13][14]
  • Joseph T. Brown
  • Major F. W. Coleman
  • Captain Alex McCurrdie
  • RCMP Superintendent Edwin Joseph Lydall (1968–1970)[15]
  • Captain George Aubrey (1970–1977)[16]
  • Major James Ralph Milne (1979)
  • Lieutenant Colonel Frances Chilton-Mackay (2005–2016) (first female director)[17]
  • Captain Stefan Sikorski (2016 - 2023)
  • Captain Samantha Parent (2023 - present)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Governor General's Foot Guards Band returns to Perth". 16 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Beckwith, John; Hall, Frederick A. (15 December 1988). Musical Canada: Words and Music Honouring Helmut Kallmann. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 9781442633469.
  3. ↑ "Governor General Foot Guards Band 1888". The Ottawa Journal. 8 October 1888. p. 1.
  4. ↑ Collins, Joseph Edmund (1891). "Canada's Patriot Statesman: The Life and Career of the Right Honourable Sir John A. Macdonald".
  5. ↑ Andrew Ross, J. (21 May 2015). Joining the Clubs: The Business of the National Hockey League to 1945. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815652939.
  6. ↑ Burpee, Lawrence Johnstone (1953). "Canadian Geographical Journal".
  7. ↑ "RCMP's Canadian Sunset Ceremonies". todoCanada.ca. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  8. ↑ "RCMP Heritage Centre | Sunset Retreat Ceremonies".
  9. ↑ The Governor General's Foot Guards Band at Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, accessed September 1, 2019
  10. ↑ Ingenium Canada
  11. ↑ http://footguards.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2015-September.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwj0qeforP3mAhUBeawKHRneDow4HhAWMAh6BAgGEAE&usg=AOvVaw3ufn4NU6aHpnpqHDmSZ0FK
  12. ↑ "Arthur A. Clappé | the Canadian Encyclopedia".
  13. ↑ "Captain Joseph Miller Brown, Obituary". The Ottawa Journal. 8 October 1923. p. 13.
  14. ↑ Vermazen, Bruce (5 March 2004). That Moaning Saxophone : The Six Brown Brothers and the Dawning of a Musical Craze: The Six Brown Brothers and the Dawning of a Musical Craze. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-534732-6.
  15. ↑ http://canadianobits.com/ontario/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/427
  16. ↑ http://footguards.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/2012_june_guards_star.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjJ19if6dnmAhWCU80KHT24BjUQFjABegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw0DOhjiaaE9hc9oEuC5DGxy
  17. ↑ "GGFG Band's first female Director of Music retires". 29 July 2016.
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