The Valery Khalilov Moscow Suvorov Military Music College is one of the leading military music institutions in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It is a separate branch of the Suvorov Military Schools in Russia, and the oldest of them all (opened 1937).

History

On August 1, 1937, the conductor and director of music of the Central Military Band of the People's Commissariat of National Defense Major General Semyon Cherneysky founded the college, which was built as a boarding school for potential military musicians in the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

. Pupils ages of 12 and older at first spent 3 years in the boarding school.

Traditions

Shortly before its 80th anniversary the "Valery Khalilov" honorific title was bestowed on the college on December 26, 2016 by Ministry of Defence General of the Army Sergey Shoygu - a day after the

aircrash An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of f ...

that killed

Valery Khalilov Valery Mikhaylovich Khalilov (; 30 January 1952 – 25 December 2016) was an Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he was the Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Servic ...

and 91 others off Sochi while the

Alexandrov Ensemble The Alexandrov Ensemble ( rus, Ансамбль Александрова, r=Ansambl' Aleksandrova; commonly known as the Red Army Choir in the West) is an official army choir of the Russian armed forces. Founded during the Soviet era, the en ...

was on its way to perform for Russian troops deployed in Syria.

Special units

Band

The school maintains a

Marching Band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

(Russian: Марширующий оркестр) that is employed in ceremonial events hosted by the college, mostly made up of the musicians of the training band wing. The Suvorov College Band performs at the country's leading venues, including the Great Hall of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, the Moscow International House of Music, and the

State Kremlin Palace The State Kremlin Palace (russian: Государственный Кремлёвский Дворец), formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (Кремлёвский Дворец съездов), is a ...

. The central training band wing of the college plays not only in Russia, but also in

military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

events in Switzerland,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has been a regular participant in the

Spasskaya Tower The Spasskaya Tower ( rus, Спасская башня, Spasskaya Bashnya), translated as 'Saviour Tower', is the main tower on the eastern wall of the Moscow Kremlin which overlooks Red Square. History The Spasskaya Tower was built in 1491 by th ...

military tattoo festival since 2006. 2018 Moscow Victory Day Parade 31

Corps of Drums

The college is more famous internationally for its

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

, a participant in the

Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 The Moscow Victory Parade of 1945 ( rus, Парад Победы, r= Parad Pobedy) also known as the Parade of Victors ( rus, Парад победителей, r= Parad pobediteley) was a victory parade held by the Soviet Armed Forces (with the ...

and a regular participant in

Revolution Day Revolution Day or the Day of the Revolution refers to public holidays or remembrance days in various country held in commemoration of an important event in the country's history, usually the starting point or a turning point in a revolution that led ...

(1938 to 1990),

Victory Day Victory Day is a commonly used name for public holidays in various countries, where it commemorates a nation's triumph over a hostile force in a war or the liberation of a country from hostile occupation. In many cases, multiple countries may ob ...

(1965, 1985, 1990, 1995–2008, 2012-), and until 1968

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. Tr ...

military parades. The corps is led by a Drum Major and has been, for about 8 decades, the formation that has been beating the drum cadences that precede the march past segment of all the parades held on

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...

of national importance. The Corps's instrumentation includes snare drums, fifes,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

s, glockenspiels and during occasions, bass drums,

tenor drum A tenor drum is a membranophone without a snare. There are several types of tenor drums. Early music Early music tenor drums, or long drums, are cylindrical membranophone without snare used in Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music. They consi ...

s and chromatic

fanfare trumpet A fanfare trumpet, also called a herald trumpet, is a brass instrument similar to but longer than a trumpet, capable of playing specially composed fanfares. Its extra length can also accommodate a small ceremonial banner that can be mounted on it. ...

s. A

Turkish crescent A Turkish crescent, (a smaller version is called a çevgen or ''çağana'' (Tr.), Turkish jingle, Jingling Johnny, ' (Ger.), ' or ''pavillon chinois'' (Fr.)), is a percussion instrument traditionally used by military bands internationally. In some ...

from the college was used as its symbol in the Revolution Day and

Victory Day parades ukr, Парад Перемоги be, Парад Перамогі , nickname = Victory Parades , observedby = Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, some former Soviet countries , duration = 1 day , frequency = annual , scheduling = same d ...

from 1975 to 1990, later replaced in 1995 by the college's

colour guard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young ...

squad carrying the collegiate Regimental Color (a new color was granted to the institution in 2008), preceded in parades by the Commandant of the College.

Fiesta Drummers' Ensemble

The Fiesta Drummers' Ensemble () of the school was created in 2005. Its current leader is Mikhail Melnik, a teacher of additional education at the school. Over the years of its existence, the ensemble has been a participant in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (E ...

and the International Festival of Military Orchestras "Tattoo on Stage" in Lucerne, Switzerland. In 2014, the ensemble took part in the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics at

Fisht Olympic Stadium Fisht Olympic Stadium (russian: Олимпийский стадион «Фишт», p=ɐlʲɪmˈpʲijskʲɪj stədʲɪˈon ˈfʲiʂt, r=Olimpiyskiy stadion "Fisht", ''Olimpiyskiy Stadion Fisht'') is an outdoor stadium in Sochi, Russia. Located i ...

in Sochi.

Commandants of the College

* Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Bank (1937-1939) * Boris Lvovich (1939-1940) * Colonel Vladimir Zlobin (1940-1957) * Colonel

Nikolai Nazarov Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

(1957-1958) * Colonel Konstantin Kamyshov (1958-1960) * Colonel Arkady Myakishev (1961-1970) * Colonel Vladimir Volkov (1970-1975) * Colonel Vladimir Detisov (1975-1982) * Colonel Konstantin Romanchenko (1982-1986) * Colonel Arkady Dzhagupov (1986-1993) * Colonel Gennady Afonin (1993-2005) * Colonel Alexander Gerasimov (2005–Present)

Alummi

* Nikolai Mikhailov * Alexander Sladkovsky *

Serguei Kostiuchenko Sergey Nikolaevich Kostiuchenko (Russian:Сергей Николаевич Костюченко) is a Belarusian military conductor. He is the former Chief Director of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, hold ...

Gallery

File:2013 Moscow Victory Day Parade (02).jpg, Corps of Drums during the Moscow VIctory Day Parade. File:The Moscow military music school 03.jpg, During a concert in Moscow. File:Suworow-Kadetten in Bern 03 (5032046977).jpg, The cadets of the college

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

in Bern. (marching band formation) File:Suworow Kadetten Inkwil 01 11.jpg, Concert band formation File:Парад в честь 70-летия Великой Победы - 47.jpg, Corps of Drums on parade File:Red Square 1977-11-07-9.jpg, During the 1977 October Revolution Parade. Notice the Corps of Drums marching in the lead of the parade preceded by the Corps Drum Major and the College Turkish Crescent File:Alexander Sladkovsky-Kazan-Rakhlin-seasons-2014.jpg, Alexander Sladkovsky, an alumnus of the school and currently the director of the Tatarstan National Symphony Orchestra

References

{{Coord missing, Russia Suvorov Military School Music schools in Russia 1937 establishments in the Soviet Union