From the Director’s Desk

RAN BAND NEWS EDITION NUMBER 16 19 JULY 2010

THE WIND ORCHESTRA PERFORMING ‘THE DIVINE COMEDY’ AT TRACKDOWN STUDIO

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK

Reading through the articles in this edition of RAN Band News has strengthened my confidence that the Navy Band is continuing to tell a very worthy story about its contribution to Navy, and is building upon its proud record of service. During the first six months of this year the band supported a number of major ceremonial events including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies to the Sea Power Conference, the Australian Defence Force contribution to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Australia, Navy’s contribution to the Gallipoli Pilgrimage, and the Gun Carriage Funeral Service for Rear Admiral Nigel Coates AM RAN. We also embarked 12 musicians in HMAS Kanimbla and stories about their journey and of their successes are starting to emerge. Four musicians also deployed to the Solomon Islands as members of a technical team for a tour sponsored by the Forces Advisory Council for Entertainment. The feedback that I have received about the role played by our band and our people at tasks around the country and overseas continues to be resoundingly positive. Our recording projects A Flagship Recital (Mark III) and Cruising Stations (Mark II) have been completed and the compact discs will be distributed to schools and libraries across the country. These recordings demonstrate the breadth of capabilities maintained by our band together with the expert skill of our people across classical and jazz disciplines and in ensemble performance. The band’s Annual Report for Financial Year 2009 – 2010 has been released and can be viewed on the band’s intranet site. This report shows our collective success across a range of activities throughout the nation.