Principal Music Band of the French Army

The Principal Music Band of the French Army (Musique principale de l'armée de terre, MPADT) is the seniormost military band in the French Army. As the army's main harmonic band, it plays in all types of grand ceremonies, such as the Bastille Day Military Parade and Victory in Europe Day. As a musical ambassador for the army, the MPADT contributes to the prestige of many official ceremonies and gives honor to high ranking French personalities. It is frequently asked to represent the country abroad in military tattoos and military parades in countries such as the United States, Canada, South Korea, Israel, India, Bulgaria, and Russia. It is operationally attached to the 43rd Infantry Regiment. The band leadership is organized into the following roles:
 * Commandement des Musiques de l’Armé de Terre (C.M.A.T): Colonel Stéphane Brosseau
 * Commander of the MPADT and Chief of Music: Michel Moisseron
 * Music Director: Stéphane Fougeroux
 * Assistant Music Director: Maxime Aulio

The band was created in Rochefort in 1945 by Jean Avignon, under the name of Colonial Brass Band and then Music Band of the French Marines. By 1958, the band had become an important component of Army life and Army culture. In 1978, Minister of Defence Yvon Bourges ordered that the MPADT become largest of the five musical formations in the army. Since 1991, the MPADT has been located in the Satory area of Versailles, Yvelines.

Composition
The MPADT is composed of 96 professional musicians and NCOs who are recruited into the following ensembles of the band by competition or audition:


 * Ceremonial Band – Performs during military parades, state visits, state dinners, and other solemn events where the band can perform stationary and non-stationary drill.
 * Wind Orchestra – Deals with a broad repertoire covering all classical and modern literature. The ensemble pays particular attention to so-called light music, thus promoting the balance between the popular tradition of the concert and the modernism of a repertoire that is often unpublished.
 * Special Groups – the wind quintet, brass quintet or saxophone quartet offer a more different approach to performances in more restricted and enclosed settings by differentiating the style and instrumentation of the group. The string quartet performs at prestigious events like receptions in embassies or ministries, often performing more classical music than the other ensembles, although it does indeed have a broad repertoire.