This year, the Combined Band together with the Song and Dance Company of the Russian Airborne Forces (Russian Ministry of Defense) became the most numerous participant of the Fifteenth Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival.
Lieutenant Colonel Vladislav Tvyordyi, Head of the Song and Dance Company of the Russian Airborne Forces and Chief Conductor, said that the Combined Band included seven regiment bands along with the band of the Ryazan Airborne Command Higher School named after General of the Army Vasily Margelov, while the song and dance company gained students from a choreography college as an asset. The performance also features the cadets of the Honor Guard Unit of the Ryazan Airborne Command Higher School demonstrating their arm-drilling skills.
"This year, the Combined Band includes 90 members. Regiment bands arrived from Novorossiysk, Pskov, Tula, Ryazan, Kubinka and Bear Lakes. If we talk in general, how many people are there on the cobblestones during our performance, we get about 200 people. Our group is the largest. In this regard, I would like to express gratitude to all the bandmasters, military conductors, choreographers, and choirmasters who participated in the preparation of this anniversary program," said the chief conductor.
At the end of the performance, when the musicians were performing the VDV song (composed by Denis Maidanov), the cadets of the Honor Guard Unit unfurled the flag of the Airborne Forces with an area of about 1200 square meters, which covered the entire stage. In 2020, in honor of the 90th anniversary of the troops, the flag was dropped from a light aircraft and deployed at an altitude of 2000 meters above the ground. During the year the flag is stored in the Ryazan Airborne Command Higher School named after Vasily Margelov.
"It’s quite a spectacular moment, a true showstopper. Of course, we would like to keep it unfurled on Red Square a little longer, but the performance time is limited. Indeed, our performance lasts a little longer than the rest", revealed Vladislav Tvyordyi.
This year, the Central Band of the Russian Boarder Guard Service showcased one of the most memorable performances. Colonel Andrey Kapralov, Head and Artistic Director of the Band, said that this year’s program was called "Go, Russia".
"Today, we will present the program titled "Go, Russia", consisting of two parts: the first part features prominent Russian classical music pieces composed by Modest Musorgskiy, namely the excerpts from the Pictures at an Exhibition suite, while the second part consists of Russian popular hits", said Colonel Kapralov.
The ensemble also surprises the audiences with dynamic dance passages, dazzling acrobatic tricks and a great fire show. The dance of the leading pair on a special platform, executed as a Zhostovo tray, becomes the performance's highest point.
The sixth night of the Festival also welcomed the Military Band and Honor Guard Unit of the 154th Preobrazhensky Regiment, the Central Band of the Russian Navy named after Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (performing together with the Young Alexandrovs and Znamenskie Drummers ensembles), the Great Military Band of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, the Egyptian Military Symphonic Band, the Central Military Band of the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Suvorov Cadet Band of the Moscow Military Music College together with the Girl Drummers Band of the All-Girls Boarding School (the Russian Ministry of Defense), the Band of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff, the Exemplary Band and Honor Guard of the Belarus Armed Forces, the Merry Notes Children's Violin Ensemble, the Panghat Performing Arts Group, the Boonwattana School Marching Band, the Military Band of the Russian National Guard Forces Chief Department for the Krasnodar Region.
Among the guests of honor was the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Russian Federation, Shri Pavan Kapoor.
The Festival is carried out following the Order of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, under the aegis of the Public Council headed by Mr. Alexander Zhukov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Moscow Department of Culture.
Photo: Maria Moskvitsova, Georgiy Basalaev
