By Graham Davis

The RAN’s Director of Music LCDR Phil Anderson wields the baton at the Goosens Hall recital. Photo by ABPH Bill Louys

Take 60 professional RAN musicians, put them in a perfect acoustic recital hall and give them a modern symphony to play and you come up with a one word result—“wow!”

This was the outcome at the Eugene Goosens Hall in the ABC Ultimo Centre on August 1, when the Sydney detachment of the RAN Band, supplemented with musicians from the Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane detachments, performed the Third Symphony Opus 89 by James Barnes.

“I believe it was the first time an RAN band has done a full symphony,” conductor and the RAN’s Director of Music, LCDR Phil Anderson said.

More than 300 people applauded the band at the conclusion of the symphony.

Among them was CDRE Russ Crane, the Systems Commander and since July 1, the titular commanding officer of the RAN’s seven band detachments.

Also present were members of the Capalaba High School Band, in Sydney for a school’s band festival.

James Barnes was commissioned by the US Airforce Band in Washington in 1994 to compose the symphony.

For the percussion section the symphony provides plenty of leg work with the musicians darting from drum to triangles and from xylophone to xylophone, as they execute Barnes’ score.

The symphony was one of three presentations by the band on the night.

The musicians opened with the Konigsmarch by Richard Strauss.

The band used historic sheet music, much of it frayed and dog eared and stamped for the German Navy’s U-Boat Training Division Band. The music had been taken by the German’s submarine training division band when, with German troops, it had invaded Norway in the early stages of World War II.

When the Royal Marines retook Norway they found the band’s music left behind and it was dispersed to bands of the Commonwealth including that of the RAN.

The Flying Dutchman Overture by Richard Wagner followed the Konigsmarsch. The presentation, dubbed A Flagship Recital ended with ABMUSN Tracy Bourke leading the guests in the Australian National Anthem.
Three days later the first inquiry was made as to how reservations could be made for another recital by the band at the same venue on October 3.

Called “Sound of Waves” the October 3 concert will feature the wind orchestra, the Commodore’s Chamber Ensemble, the Admiral’s Own Show Band and the Ceremonial Ensemble with “Beat to Quarters and Ceremonial Sunset.”

LCDR Anderson will share the baton with LEUT Paul Cottier and LEUT Steven Stanke.

Musos wow Mindil beach crowd

By LEUT Kirsty Boazman

Cutting loose at the Mindil Beach Markets, a small group from the Sydney detachment of the RAN Band. The resumption of the markets heralds the dry.

The dry season has descended in Darwin. Among other things, that signals the re-start to Sunday night Mindil Markets.

On Sunday July 20 hundreds turned out to pick their way over the myriad of food and trinket stalls. Most stayed into the night, not because of the bargains but the jazz party being thrown by a small group from the Sydney detachment of the RAN band.

They’d never performed in this combination before. They were relying on borrowed Army amplifiers. They had just stumbled off a plane after playing the Harman Ball all night, and they sounded sensational.

Many who had come to sit and watch the sunset turned instead to enjoy the 10 piece ensemble.

ABMUSN Damian Dowd and ABMUSN Heather Wright belted out more than two hours of favourites from Diesel, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and The Commitments, which had young and old dancing under the trees until the Darwin sun slipped over the horizon.

Twenty four hours later the jazz had been packed away and the drums rolled as the same musicians added the pomp to a Ceremonial Sunset at the start of Exercise Kakadu VI.

The band transformed itself to herald the end of another perfect Northern Territory day at MC’s cocktail party, which spilled across the decks of HMA Ships Warramunga and Arunta at Darwin’s Fort Hill Wharf.

The Ceremony ended in a volley of gun fire and a crescendo of Advance Australia Fair - to the delight of the civilian gathering and a number of French sailors who had watched the ceremony from their ship FNS Floreal.

Navy band aids medical research

By Deanna Nott

A jazz combo from the Royal Australian Navy Band has wowed guests at this year’s South Australian Medical Research Trust (SAMRT) black-tie dinner in Adelaide.

CPOMUSN Doug Antonoff, who leads the South Australian Detachment of the RAN Band, said the jazz combo gave a superb performance at the Celebration of Life - on a cold August night function.

“Five members of our band performed at the beginning of the function as a special welcome to guests who have donated funds to the SAMRT,” said CPO Antonoff.

“We enjoy supporting charity events of this nature and also see these activities as an opportunity to promote the Royal Australian Navy and the different types of functions we volunteer to be involved in.”

Defence also made significant contributions to the function’s main auction. The event raised more than $42,000 for the organisation.

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