Musical Unit of the Spanish Royal Guard

The Musical Unit of the Spanish Royal Guard (Spanish: Unidad musical de la Guardia Real España) is the official music service of the Spanish Royal Guard of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to providing ceremonial honours and music to the King of Spain, the Spanish Royal Family, and public officials. The musical unit is one of many battalion sized units in the regiment, with over 100 professional musicians in its ranks who are chosen from the non-commissioned officers of the Military Music Corps. It is one of the more senior and representative bands in the Spanish Armed Forces, with its repertoire covering a wide range of Army, Navy and Air Force music. The entire unit is currently under the baton of the conductor of the Military Band of the Royal Guard, Colonel Musician Enrique Damián Blasco Cebolla.

History

The Musical Unit of the Royal Guard was first organized as a singular musical group on February 19, 1874, with its first director being Martín Elexpuru. Its current structure dates back to 1998 and since then it has been constituted by the Symphonic Band, Marching Band and the Fife Section.

Present Day

Among their obligations are the following:

Being present at military parades
Honoring foreign heads of state on their state visits to Madrid
Support the everyday ceremonial activities of the Regiment
Take part in the guard mounting ceremony at the Royal Palace of Madrid every Wednesday from noon to 2pm
Giving concerts at the Royal Palace on behalf of the regiment
Performing drill at military tattoos domestically and internationally

The marching band has performed it precision marching drill throughout Europe, with notable performances being in London, Paris, Cologne, Bucharest, and Moscow.