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8Wing CFB Trenton Volunteer Bands

8Wing CFB Trenton Volunteer Bands provides musical support for parades, ceremonies, and functions for 8Wing and the surrounding communities.

They include the 8Wing Band and 8Wing Pipes and Drums, and are composed of both military and civilian members.

8Wing CFB Trenton Band

8 Wing Canadian Force Base (CFB) Trenton is proud to be home of the oldest Air Force band in Canada.

In 1939, Bandmaster (BM), Warrant Officer, Class II (WO2) Tommy Cooper, organized the first volunteer band at Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Trenton. Later that year a set of band instruments was purchased in order to perform during the royal tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. This was the first time Canada’s reigning monarch came to visit the Dominion. As such, the Trenton volunteer band toured Ontario with the King and Queen, performing for the Governor General, political leaders and visitors from around the world.

8Wing Band personnel originally consisted of enlisted tradesmen who volunteered their musical skills after working hours. Today, the band continues to be comprised entirely of volunteer musicians. They include; members of the Regular Force, Reserve Force, and retired Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, as well as members of the local civilian community - who proudly donate their time and musical abilities to provide support to the CAF in the Trenton region. This has the dual purpose of enhancing Wing operational effectiveness by fostering high morale and esprit de corps, and by helping Canadians connect with the RCAF through positive community relation activities.

In recent years, the band has performed from the parade square at CFB Trenton to outreach engagements in Holland, Germany and the United States.

The 8Wing CFB Trenton Band performs as a concert band, but its members also provide other musical groups such as an 18-piece big band, a show band, and jazz ensembles. The band is currently accepting new members on brass, woodwind and percussion instruments. Previous playing experience is required, however all inquiries are welcome. For more information about the 8 Wing Band, please contact WO Martin Labbe.

If you are interested in booking the 8Wing CFB Trenton Band for a performance, please fill out and return the 8 Wing Bands Request Form.

8 Wing Bands

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8Wing CFB Trenton Pipes and Drums

Officially formed in January 1963, 8Wing CFB Trenton Pipes and Drums is a Canadian Armed Forces Military Support Band, comprised of members of the Regular Force, Reserve Force, and civilian volunteers from local and outlying communities in and around the Quinte West region.

Its primary role is to support 8Wing CFB Trenton and its lodger Units in ceremonial and official functions, but the band also supports many civil and community events in the surrounding area.  The band has also thrilled audiences around the globe, including performances in the USA, Russia, Europe, and Scotland.  At home, the band is a local fixture, regularly performing at schools, seniors' homes, and a host of civic and military events each year.

Solo pipers from the band are a frequent sight at community events throughout Belleville, Trenton, and the surrounding areas.  On the Base, the Pipe Major (or his designate) performs at mess dinners, Change of Appointment parades, Honourary Colonel Investitures, and a variety of other functions supporting military tradition.  Additionally, the Pipe Major holds the solemn honour of piping for our fallen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and airwomen, whose return home is marked by their Repatriation Ceremony.

The Band also has a long and storied history of success in competition, both in Canada and abroad.  They won the Grade 4 North American Championships back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, winning Ontario Grade 4 Champion Supreme in 2018, and placing 4th in Grade 3 at the North American Championships in 2019.

Would you like to join the Band? 

8Wing CFB Trenton Pipes and Drums is always accepting new members and students, and we welcome volunteers of all age and experience levels.  Members of the Band receive professional, full-time instruction on a very flexible schedule.  For Military personnel serving at 8Wing, active membership in the band is also classed as an official Secondary Duty.  Though the band is categorised as a volunteer band, the Pipe Major and Drum Instructor are Regular Force musicians, whose full-time duty is leading, training, and administering the Band.   Their passion for their craft, and professional commitment to the Band, ensures it is always ready to serve, when called upon by 8Wing CFB Trenton or the surrounding community.

The 8Wing CFB Trenton Pipes and Drums are currently under the direction of Pipe Major (Sgt) Alan Buchanan, and Drum Instructor (Sgt) Mark Passmore.

If you are interested in booking 8Wing CFB Trenton Pipes and Drums for a performance, please fill out and return the 8 Wing Bands Request Form.

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