Military Band of the Black Sea Fleet

Military Band of the Black Sea Fleet
военный оркестр экипажа Черноморского флота.
Active	February 24, 1947 – present
Country	USSR Russia
Type	Military Band
Garrison/HQ	Sevastopol
Commanders
Head of the Orchestra	Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Khalilov
Ceremonial chief	Captain 3rd Rank Alexander Sviridenko

Military Band of the Black Sea Fleet is a military band unit of the Russian Armed Forces. It is a branch of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia. It has performed tasks assigned during official visits of the ships of the Black Sea Fleet to countries with diplomatic with Russia since 1980. Since December 2009, the orchestra has been led by Senior Lieutenant Mikhail Khalilov.

History

It was formed on February 24, 1947 in the city of Sevastopol. In 1966, the orchestra was reorganized as the Headquarters Military Band of the 34th Black Sea Fleet. In 1989, the orchestra provided musical accompaniment for a meeting between the President of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, and the U.S President George H. W. Bush on the island of Malta. Following the fall of the USSR and the division of the Black Sea Fleet between Russia and Ukraine, the musicians of the orchestra remained faithful to the adopted oath and retained the full orchestra. From 1996 to the present, the orchestra demonstrated its art, delighting fans of wind music in Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Tunisia, Greece, France, Italy, Portugal, Montenegro. The orchestra has performed at international festivals of military bands all over the world, most notably in Nice, and Sevastopol.

In 2001, the Ministry of Culture of Russia granted the Orchestra the honor of opening the Festival of Russian Culture in the city of Cannes, France. On February 9, 2012, the 34th Military Band of the Black Sea Fleet was given it's current name.

See also

• Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia

Military Orchestra of the Eastern Military District