The New Zealand Army Band () is a

brass band A brass band is a musical ensemble generally consisting primarily of brass instruments, most often with a percussion section. Ensembles that include brass and woodwind instruments can in certain traditions also be termed brass bands (particularl ...

that primarily provides musical support for the

New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

at all state and ceremonial occasions. It was founded in 1964 by Captain (later Major) James Donald Carson (1934–2008) of the

Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment The Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment is the parent administrative regiment and corps of regular and reserve infantry battalions in the New Zealand Army. It was originally formed in 1947 with a singular Regular regiment and multiple reserve ...

. It is based out of Burnham Camp, which is the largest army base on the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. Presently, the New Zealand Army Band and the Officer Cadet School are the only units of the

that employ scarlet tunics as part of their

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is among the most formal wear, formal type of uniform used by military, police, firefighter, fire and other public uniformed services for official parade (mili ...

s. The

Campaign hat A campaign hat, sometimes called campaign cover, is a broad-brimmed felt or straw hat, with a high crown, pinched symmetrically at the four corners. The campaign hat is occasionally referred to as a Stetson, derived from its origin in the company ...

is also used as headgear for the band. 35-members strong, it includes a parade band, a concert band as well as rhythm sections and a vocalist. The band sports an official newsletter entitled ''Espirit De Corps'' that generally publishes two articles a year.

History

The band was founded in 1964 by Captain (later Major) James Donald Carson (1934–2008) of the

. At the time of its establishment, the number of army bands was reduced to seven, with the intention being that New Zealand Army Band would compensate that with a central band to represent the branch at all events. Its conception was based around the fact that it was the first professional band in the

New Zealand Military Forces The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...

. From 1965–1988, members of the Army Band were posted on a two-year cycle with the Band of the 1st Battalion,

, based originally at

Terendak Camp Terendak Camp is a Malaysian Army military base located in Sungai Udang, Central Melaka District, Melaka, Malaysia. It belonged to the Commonwealth of Nations before being handed over to the Malaysian Armed Forces in 1970. It is right next to th ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. These biannual postings continued until December 1988, when the regimental band was disestablished and members returned to the New Zealand Army Band. In 2012, it was one of three bands spared in the government cutback on military bands.

Marching displays

Noted

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 ' ('turn off the tap'), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeepers near military g ...

s has had the band travelling to

Bremen, Germany Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the German state of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven. W ...

;

Basel, Switzerland Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's third-most-populous city (after Zurich and Geneva), with ...

; Nanchang, China; Wonju, South Korea and

Edinburgh, Scotland Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. During its visit to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in 2018 for the

Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of ...

, the band was presented with the Pooley Sword after it was considered to be the greatest act of that year's show by other bands and the audience. The band's first performance was a concert in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in 1964. The Army Band celebrated its 20th anniversary in 1984 with an American-style

Big Band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

march down Queen Street. In August 1979, the band performed at the wedding services for their director Roger C. Carter. The drum major of the band uses a

tewhatewha A tewhatewha is a long-handled Māori club weapon shaped like an axe. Designed to be held in two hands, the weapon comes to a mata (point) at one end and a rapa (broad, quarter-round head) at the other. The tewhatewha (pronounced ''tefa tefa'') ...

, a long-handled

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

club weapon A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon or tool since prehistory. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caus ...

in the shape of an

axe An axe (; sometimes spelled ax in American English; American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for thousands of years to shape, split, a ...

, instead of a mace to give direction and keep time. More recently, a

Haka Haka (, ; singular ''haka'', in both Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English) are a variety of ceremonial dances in Māori culture. A performance art, hakas are often performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the f ...

display group was attached to the band.

Small ensembles

Source: *The Swing Band *Dance Band *Jazz Combo *Brass Quintet *The Bavarian Band

Quick marches

Leadership

The current senior appointments within the band are: * Director of Music – Major Graham Hickman DSD, FTCL, LTCL(T), Dip Man, Dip Applied Man, AIRMTNZ. * Bandmaster – Staff Sergeant Nick Johnson MA, PGCE, LRSM, LTCL, ALCM. * Drum Major – Staff Sergeant Kevin Hickman * Senior Instructor, School Of Music – Staff Sergeant Philip Johnston FTCL. * Senior Staff Composer/Arranger - Sergeant Riwai Hina

Honours

Major James Donald Carson was named in the 1974 Queen's Birthday Honours, where he was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, and in 1977 he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal () is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is physically identical in all realms where it was awarded, save for Canada ...

. The longest serving member of the band, WO1 Graeme Alexander Bremner (enlisted in 1965) was awarded the New Zealand Distinguished Service Decoration in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

. In 2017, Major Graham Ross Hickman of the band was similarly awarded in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

, for services to the New Zealand Defence Force and brass bands.

Discography

The band has released the following CDs: *''On Parade'' (1974) *''Entertainers Supreme'' (1976) *''Brass To Go'' (1977) *''Star Brass'' (1978) *''Brass on the March'' (1979) *''Chips and Other Tasty Goodies'' (1981) *''Royal Wedding'' (1981) - AUS #49 *''Conflict - Tunes Of Glory'' (1981) *''Chameleon'' (1999) *''An Album Of Two Halves'' (2001)

Gallery

File:NZ Army Band performance at Westpac Stadium - Flickr - NZ Defence Force (1).jpg, File:NZ Army Band performance at Westpac Stadium - Flickr - NZ Defence Force (2).jpg, File:NZ Army Band performance at Westpac Stadium - Flickr - NZ Defence Force.jpg,

References

{{Reflist Military bands of New Zealand Musical groups from Wellington City New Zealand Army 1964 establishments in New Zealand