Navy Band Kiel
Navy Band Kiel is a military band of the German Navy responsible for raising the esprit de corps or morale of personnel of the Navy. The 50 professional musicians has an area of responsibility for the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It also covers the entire coastal region of Germany on the North and Baltic Seas, with the states of Lower Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as the cities of Bremen and Hamburg.
The band has 6 ensembles:
- Concert band
- Egerland band
- Nighttime-Band
- Brass quintet
- Clarinet quartet
- Brass quartet
- Woodwind quintet
- Ocean´s 12
Brief history
Navy Band Kiel was set up on 1 June 1956 under the designation Navy Band Ostsee in Eckernförde. At the same time, Navy Band North Sea in Wilhelmshaven was established, and was affiliated to the Ostsee Band and was housed in the band's base at Kiel Airport. At first, there was a lack of personnel and instruments, so the ability to continue operated depended solely on cooperation between the two bands. In July 1957, cooperation ended and Navy Band North Sea was able to return to its intended location in Wilhelmshaven. In March 2014, the band in Wilhelmshaven was dissolved and merged with the Baltic Sea Band to become Navy Band Kiel, which became the sole official band of the Navy until 2019, when Navy Band North Sea was reinstated with the new name of Navy Band Wilhelmshaven.Directors
- Lieutenant Hermann Schäfer
- Frigate Captain Johannes Schäfer
- Corvette Captain Horst Wenzel
- Frigate Captain Manfred Peter
- Frigate Captain Friedrich Szepansky
- Lieutenant Commander Inga Hilsberg