Asia-Pacific Bandmasters Gathered For Inagural Meeting
By Abu Wahab

Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium, 31st July 2006 – In conjunction with this year’s Tattoo, the BIT 2006  became the locale for the inaugural meeting of the Asia-Pacific Bandmaster Association (APBA) and was led by the Chairman of BIT 2006, Col. Pg. Hj. Azmansham bin Hj. Mohamad. All thirteen participating contingents namely; Australia, China, Jordan, Indonesia, Singapore, Oman, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Malaysia as well as representatives from the Brunei contingent were present.

With a vision “To Bring Together People from all Around the World, Regardless of Race Language or Religion, to Share and Enjoy the Music and Splendour of Music”, they hope that the meeting will promote and facilitate band exchanges between the various armed forces, increase interaction between armed forces through music exchanges as well as to enhance bilateral as well as multilateral ties between countries through their military bands.

Issues discussed during the meetings included the roles of military bands, perceived benefits, commissioning of new works, exchange of information and experiences such as tattoo production, musical training opportunities and tattoo networking and coordination. Another breaking proposition was the meeting to be held annually on a rotational basis to establish a progressive forum for dialogue rather than a one time symposium.

With the formation of this association, a foundation now exists for mutual engagement and the continuation of forging links with bandmasters from the Asia-Pacific region.