Abu Dhabi International Defence Exhibition and Conference 2011

The evening was indeed overwhelming and we feel privileged to have shared it; we felt we were in the presence of a very big, very special family celebration. … The evening before we attended the Capitol Theatre and saw Mary Poppins … I must tell you though that Sunday evening topped Saturday and my daughter was absolutely beside herself. She hasn’t stopped talking about it since. However, like the Roman God, Janus, we must always be looking forward as well as backwards. Whilst we paid tribute to our veterans and the legacy they have passed on to today’s sailors, we must continue to focus on investing in the future of the Navy and the Navy Band, through organisations and programs such as the Naval Cadets, the Work Experience Program and school visits. Many of our Musicians acknowledge that it was exposure to a military band in their formative years that sparked their thoughts about pursuing this as a career. This year has seen a dramatic increase in the number of applications from 16 year olds for Work Experience placements with the Band. Three have already taken place and another six are lined up for the remainder of year. Pleasingly two of these have resulted from a Band visit to the students’ school. Two of the schools that the Sydney detachment has performed for this year also organised large groups of parents and students to be in the audience at the Centenary Concert. These linkages, networking and added value that spin off from the Band’s performances are what for me make our job satisfying and meaningful. Likewise, interest in auditioning for the Band has been high with some 15 enquiries to date that have progressed, or will progress, to auditions. As a result of some sustained advertising we are even managing to recruit some of those rare and endangered species, bassoon, clarinet and french horn players! It is pleasing to be able to report that we now have a full complement of french horn players for the first time in many years. Our music continues to travel far and wide. In the last few months requests for our CDs have come from Alaska, Canada, Sweden and the USA. Our music is played in the operating theatres at Albury Base Hospital to calm both surgeons and patients, and only recently we supplied parts for I Am Australian and Waltzing Matilda to a community band in Ireland to welcome in a cruise ship of Australian tourists!

ABU DHABI INTERNATIONAL DEFENCE EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE 2011

Article by Leading Seaman Martyn Hancock

Whoosh!...Aaaaaaaaaaagh!...Splat,ouch…splat,ouch..splat, ouch…phew, it’s over! Sitting in the front seat of the world’s fastest roller coaster, being catapulted from 0-240 kilometres per hour, in little over four seconds, has to be one of the most exhilarating rides that can be experienced. Add to that a few unsuspecting mosquitoes that, at those kind of speeds, become tiny painful exploding paintballs that make a mess of your shirt and you’ve got the ride of your life!...Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi. However, that of course is not the reason why we were enjoying our visit to the United Arab Emirates. Back in February, 30 musicians from Sydney and Melbourne detachments, including Lieutenant Commander Paul Cottier from the Defence Force School of Music, were fortunate enough to travel to Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates to participate in this year’s International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX 2011). Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, IDEX 2011 was the 10th anniversary of this biennial event. This year turned out to be the largest event to date with more than 60,000 visitors, 1,060 exhibitors, four naval ships from the United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and France, as well as military bands from New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates, and of course Australia. It was a privilege to be part of such a large international event, and our participation was a huge success, not only demonstrating our professional musicianship and drill but also for strengthening international relations.