The Royal Australian Navy Band (RAN Band) is the Royal Australian Navy's official musical branch. The band comprises two full-time detachments and four part-time detachments positioned across Australia, and is one of the few platforms in which Navy can deliver its message to the people of Australia. The current director of music is Commander Cassandra Mohapp.
History
In 1893, the New South Wales Naval Brigade Band comprised 22 personnel. Another of the very early naval bands was the Band of the Victorian Naval Brigade which was present (as a band of the Commonwealth Naval Force in 1901) at the arrival of the US Navy's "Great White Fleet" into Port Phillip Bay in 1908.
On 21 June 1913, six musicians (recruited in Melbourne) were sent to the United Kingdom to join up with a number of ex-bandsmen from the British Navy to form the Royal Australian Navy Band. The members of the band returned to Sydney on 4 October 1913.[3]
During WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, musicians of the band performed at concerts for Australian troops.[4]
The Ceremonial Drums of the RAN Band were commissioned by the Government of Australia on July 10, 1961 to mark the 50th anniversary of the band's naming. The set consists of eight side drums, two tenor drums and one bass drum.
Repertoire
The repertoire of the RAN Band includes but is not limited to:[7][8]
