London Band Week Honours, 2024

Bournemouth Youth Marching Band, Dorset, United Kingdom

The Bournemouth Youth Marching Band celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2024. The band was originally known as the Talbot Corps of Drums and reformed under its current name in 2013. The band's motto is Amici Per Musicam which means Friends Through Music.  Entirely volunteer led, run and supported, the traditional British military style marching band has a full range of brass and woodwind instruments plus percussion, bell lyres (glockenspiels) and bugles.
In November 2023 the band was honoured to be awarded the King's Award for Voluntary Service.

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Christ's Hospital School Band, West Sussex, United Kingdom

Christ's Hospital is a school with a royal charter located to the south of Horsham in West Sussex. The school was founded in 1552 and received its first royal charter in 1553. Since its establishment, Christ's Hospital has been a charity school, with a core aim to offer children from humble backgrounds the chance of a better education. In 1728, Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, suggested to the Governors of Christ’s Hospital in London that thirty boys at the school should be encouraged to take up music in order to provide a pool of talent for national choirs, bands and orchestras. However, it was not until the summer of 1868 that the band was founded that now regularly accompanies the pupils as they march into the quadrangle and to the Dining Hall for lunch. Nevertheless, the modern band is still more than one hundred and fifty years old and now performs not only at the school at Horsham but also off site, especially in London on Saint Matthew’s Day in September.

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Hertfordshire Showband, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

Originally established in 1972 as the Potters Bar & Little Heath Scout & Guide Band, the band quickly became a significant part of Potters Bar's and Hertfordshire's music community. In the late 1980's, the band transitioned into The Marching Blues and in 2006 made a more significant change, establishing the foundations for the band today, the Hertfordshire Showband. The band became World Champions and gold medal holders in two divisions at the World Music Contest, Kerkrade, in July 2022. Hertfordshire Showband pride themselves on their fun and upbeat music genre as well as their adaptable performance style. The 60 strong band is administered by the Hertfordshire Band Academy and caters for young people and adults.

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His Majesty's Royal Marines Band Service, Hampshire (HQ), United Kingdom

The Royal Marines Band Service is the musical wing of the Royal Navy and an independent element of the Royal Marines. It currently consists of five bands plus a training wing – the Royal Marines School of Music at HMS Nelson – and its headquarters is at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, Portsmouth. One of the world’s most versatile military bands, combining a commitment to excellence, discipline and an active life supporting the Naval Service.  Bands: RM Band Scotland; RM Band Portsmouth (Royal Band); RM Band Plymouth; RM Band Collingwood; RM Band CTCRM; Royal Marines School of Music.

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Marching 110, Ohio, United States of America

The Ohio University Marching Band is the 225-member marching band at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. Nicknamed the "Marching 110," referring to the original number of members in the band, the Ohio University Marching Band is known around the world for its unique marching style and choreographed dance moves. Founded in 1923, the OUMB has performed over 40 NFL halftime shows, at NYC's Carnegie Hall, in three Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade, and internationally in Canada, Ireland, Italy and France. Today, the number "110" symbolizes the 110% effort expected of its members during each and every rehearsal and performance - the requirement needed to field as part of the “The Most Exciting Band in the Land”.

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Medina Marching Band, Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

Medina Marching Band was founded in 1976 by the late George Urry. Over the years the band has enjoyed many competitive successes and is a welcome sight at parades, shows and events across the country. The band is made up of young people from various backgrounds with a mixed musical knowledge. Wearing unmistakable red jackets, white helmets and caps, the band caters for novice students and experienced players alike. They share a desire the to play a musical instrument and strive to follow the traditional marching band style.

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Ohio University Wind Symphony, Ohio, United States of America

The Ohio University Wind Symphony is one of four concert bands in the School of Music. This auditioned ensemble’s membership is selected from among the finest wind and percussion performers in the university. Dedicated to the performance of outstanding repertoire from the Renaissance to the present, the Wind Symphony utilizes a flexible approach to instrumentation, allowing for stylistic accuracy in the performance of wind music by the world’s greatest composers. As the premier concert band in the School of Music, the Wind Symphony performs approximately six campus concerts each year, and has performed for conferences of the College Band Directors National Association, the Society of Composers, Inc., the World Projects Band and Orchestra Festival, the Women in Music Conference, a subscription concert performance on the Southern Ohio Performing Arts Series, at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and in Ireland and Italy as part of a European Tour in 2013. In 2017 the Wind Symphony commemorated the Ohio University School of Music centennial by making its debut performance at New York City’s famed Carnegie Hall.

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Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps, London, United Kingdom

The Romford Drum & Trumpet Corps is a youth military style marching band, based in the London Borough of Havering (Romford, Essex). As one of the oldest independent youth marching bands in the country, the band has a proud history with performances throughout the UK, including marching displays, parades, carnivals and concerts. The band’s music portfolio covers a wide breadth including military marches, film themes, popular music and brass classics, often featuring solos from some of the band’s talented musicians across our brass, woodwind and percussion sections.

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The Dragon Band, Texas, United States of America

The Round Rock schools are over 100 years old, having been founded as an official Independent School District in 1913, which makes Round Rock High School one of the oldest public schools in central Texas. The Dragon Band is one of the largest student organisations on the campus of Round Rock High School, which is comprised of almost 4,000 students and is classified as a Texas 6A school. Averaging at approximately 340 students, The Dragon Band accounts for just under 10% of the campus student population. The band program boasts two marching bands, four concert bands, jazz band, a winterguard program and two full orchestras, as well as numerous instrumental chamber ensembles. The students are highly active in the Texas Music Educators Association All State Ensembles audition process. The Varsity Marching Band is well known as one of the strongest marching bands in the United States, ranking 8th in the 2023 Bands of America Grand Finals. Round Rock is a growing community just north of the capital city of Austin, TX.

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The Duke of York's Royal Military School Marching Band, Kent, United Kingdom

The Duke of York’s Royal Military School was founded in 1803 for children of the British Armed Forces. The school's Military Marching Band, incorporating a corps of 28 drummers and buglers, are recruited with selection based upon their musical talent. Participating in the Band helps students appreciate the value of teamwork and gives them the chance to show off their considerable instrumental skills. The Marching Band, lead by a student Drum Major, truly comes into its own on renowned occasions such as the school’s prestigious Grand Day, and has had the great honour of playing at events including the England v Argentina rugby game at Twickenham, the Metropolitan Police Passing Out Parade at Hendon and more recently at the King’s Coronation in 2023.

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