This Saturday, August 27, Alexander F. Sklyar, a popular Russian artist, made his debut at the Spasskaya Tower International Military Music Festival in Moscow’s Red Square. He performed the "Moscow Routes" song together with the Suvorov Cadet Band of the Moscow Military Music College named after Lieutenant General Valery Khalilov.
For the first time, famous Russian rock musician, frontman and founder of the Va-bank popular band, Alexander F. Sklyar, took part in the Spasskaya Tower Festival and stirred standing ovations for his dynamic performance.
As the musician admitted, his collaboration with military bands has a long history that began with friendship with Valery Khalilov, one of the founders of the Spasskaya Tower Festival, prominent conductor and composer. “We treated each other with deep respect. I was flattered to learn that he had seen my peculiar style of performing. It was he who invited me to perform at a conservatory. And it was due to him that I, a rock musician, for the first time performed with a big symphony at the conservatory. Since then, I have been great friends with the Central Military Band of the Russian Ministry of Defense,” said the artist.
Alexander F. Sklyar also noted that it was an honor for him to get the invitation to become part of the Spasskaya Tower Festival, which this year is celebrating its fifteenth birthday. According to him, performing on Red Square is a very special moment for every artist. "This place is the true embodiment of Russia’s eclectical history. "We, the Russian people who live here, understand that this is a sacred place", noted the musician.
The musician also mentioned his young colleagues with whom he shared the stage tonight. “The fact that the organizers invited me to perform with young guys from the Khalilov School is pleasant and very symbolic. All the guys are great fellows, I am pleased to perform with them, and I hope they are also pleased,” said the artist.
The second day of the Moscow grand music celebration took all the guests on a fantastic musical journey.
The President’s Band performed a very elegant medley of Tchaikovsky compositions, while the Honor Guard of the Presidential Regiment wowed the stands with their high-end arm-drilling skills. With rifles in their hands, 36 members of the unit were moving as a single person in precise and synchronized motion. Meanwhile, the Band of the Russian National Guard Forces Chief Department for the Krasnodar Region brought to Red Square Cossack prowess and Kuban vibes.
Then, it was the turn of the Panghat Performing Arts Group from India to showcase their traditional music and outfits. Bright colours, gorgeous garments decorated with peacock feathers and golden embroidery, national music vibes and dances lit up the Red Square.
The Combined Band of the Central National Guard District Headquarters dedicated their performance to the 115th anniversary of Sergei Korolev. The ensemble performed the March of the Cosmonauts, the suite Time, Forward, and the song Gravity of the Earth, completing their program with the legendary song, the anthem of all astronauts, Grass at the House.
The Boonwattana School Marching Band from Thailand is among the debutants of the 2022 Spasskaya Tower Festival. The Festival's young guests captured the hearts of Moscow audiences, receiving a standing ovation.The musicians, whose ages range from 12 to 18, performed Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D and Randall D. Standridge’s Winds of Change. The dancers of the school, with colored flags and butterfly wings, added lightness and airiness to the whole performance, becoming a valuable asset to the show.
The overall joyful atmosphere of the night on Red Square was also created by the Military Band and Honor Guard Unit of the 154 Preobrazhensky Regiment, the Central Band of the Russian Navy named after Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (performing together with the Young Alexandrovs and Znamenskie Drummers ensembles), the Central Band of the Border Guard Forces, the Great Military Band of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, the Egyptian Military Symphonic Band, the Exemplary Band and Honor Guard Unit of the Belarus Armed Forces, the Military Band of the Armenian Armed Forces General Staff and others.
The night finished with a performance by the Festival’s combined band under the lead of Major General Timofey Mayakin, Head of the Military Band Service of the Russian Armed Forces. To the sounds of the prominent Farewell of Slavianka, the magnificent fireworks lit the sky high above Moscow’s Red Square.
The Festival is carried out following the Order of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, under the aegis of the Public Council headed by Mr. Alexander Zhukov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Moscow Department of Culture.
