The Central Band of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force will take part in the Twelfth Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival in Moscow. It was announced today, May 30, in Tokyo at the meeting of the Russian Foreign Minister and Minister of Defense with their Japanese counterparts.
The Central Band of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) was founded in 1951 as the Band of the National Police Reserve, the predecessor of the JGSDF. It’s been over 68 years that the band has been representing Japan and so far has covered more than 1400 official events with participation of prominent political and public figures from more than a hundred countries. Hence, in 2015 the Japanese Prime Minister acknowledged the work of the band awarding it a special letter of gratitude.
The Central Band took part in cultural events of the 1964 Olympics held in Japan, performed at the Twenty-first Century Music Festival and at several Japan Band Clinic master classes. It is a permanent participant of traditional wind bands festivals and concerts of the capital district. It takes part in various celebrations dedicated to the Japan Self-Defense Forces usually held in Nihon Budokai Sports Center as well as in joint concerts of the ground, navy and air branches of the JSDF. The band has several CDs recorded. While actively touring around Japan, musicians of the band teach and instruct their younger colleagues from the Ground Self-Defense Force.
The Central Band of the JGSDF successfully represents its country abroad. It participated in various international festivals in Korea (2002, 2004, 2011), Finland (2014) and Great Britain (Edinburgh, 2017). It staged performances together with the bands of the US Army and Marines, with the Staff Band of the German Armed Forces, performed at the Midwest Band Clinic Conference. Since 2015 musicians of the band has served as music instructors to the Defense Forces of Papua New Guinea, contributing to the international music exchanges.
The band is the prize-winner of various national and international competitions:
- Fifty-fifth Arts Festival of the Japanese Ministry of Culture (2000, The Kings Go Forth CD);
- Eighteenth Award of the Japanese Wind Music Academic Association (2008);
- Military Bands Award named after Colonel John Howard (2009);
- Fiftieth and Fifty-fifth Award of the Japanese Recording Academy for the best wind music album (2012, 2017, Best of March 2&3 CD);
- Edinburgh Royal Military Tattoo for the best performance (2017).
Colonel Higuti Takahiro is the head of the Central Band of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. A tuba graduate of Musashino Music Academy, he began his military career as an officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, so leading the former 1st Combined Band (now, the 15th Band of Okinawa Island), the 12th Band of the Gunma Prefecture and the Band of the North Army (Sapporo). Meanwhile, he taught conducting at the Tokyo University of Arts. As a conductor, Higuti Takahiro was part of cultural events of the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano and the first performance of the JGSDF Central Band abroad at the Gangwon-do Festival in Korea in 2002.
In 2014 Higuti Takahiro became the head of the Central Army Band (Itami). In 2017 he was transferred to lead the Central Band of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. In August, the same year, they went to Great Britain to take part in the Edinburg Royal Military Tattoo where they won the prize for the best performance.
Colonel Higuti Takahiro is a member of the Japanese Wind Band Conductors’ Association.
At the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival the JGSDF Central Band will perform music pieces composed by Japanese and foreign authors. Thus, they are going to amuse the audience with the world-popular Kalinka song by Ivan Larionov and music from Stravinsky Firebird ballet as well as Charles Leroux’s Army March, Sharaku by Takahashi Shinya and the 1964 Tokyo Olympics Fanfare and March by Imai Mitsuya and Yûji Koseki.
