Biggest, best military band of National Day parade puts on show
BEIJING. October 1. KAZINFORM A 1,300-member military band, which is dubbed by its conductor as "the biggest and best" band in China, is scheduled to present a non-stop two-hour show Thursday as a grand military parade and a civilian pageant proceed; Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
It is the first time for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) military band, which contributed to previous 13 national military reviews, to have a crew composed of selected performers from the three armed forces -- army, navy and air force, said Yu Hai, head of the military band in an interview.
It is the first time for performers dress in three-service uniforms on such an occasion. The army is olive green, navy white and air force blue.
Previously, performers only sported army uniforms, said Yu, who is also general conductor of the live performance to mark the 60thanniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The performers to play live on Tian'anmen Square are selected out of 2,000 military musicians in 46 military bands across the country.
"The band consists of the best performers in the military, it is also the biggest band in terms of staff and the best in performance quality," Yu said. On Oct. 1, 1949, a military band composed of 200 performers played for the first time the national anthem of the PRC on Tian'anmen Square with instruments seized from enemies.
On July 10, 1952, the band size expanded and outnumbered 1,000 following Chairman Mao Zedong's proposal.
Mao said the country should have a performing band composed of one thousand military musicians during national military review and civilian pageant given the huge population of the country and large ground area of Tian'anmen Square; Kazinform cites Xinhua.
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