Hands Across the Sea

The Band of the Grenadier Guards will bring 350 years of tradition to Central Jersey when the group performs at the State Theatre in New Brunswick and the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.

By: Susan Van Dongen

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The Band of The Grenadier Guards (above), along with the Pipes and Drums of the Scots Highlanders, will perform at the State Theatre in New Brunswick Jan. 25 and the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton Jan. 28.


   Think of the Queen of England’s Royal Guards and visions of crimson tunics, tall, furry black hats and deadpan expressions come to mind. They’re the men who stand stock still near Buckingham Palace — the ones American tourists go up to and hassle to see if they’ll flinch.
   But they’re not just dressed up dandies marching up and down the square — to paraphrase an old Monty Python skit. In addition to their ceremonial duties, such as the traditional Changing of the Guard, the guards really do protect the Royal Family. That’s why the ancestors of the existing Grenadier Guards were founded in 1656 — to keep Oliver Cromwell’s cronies away from King Charles II, who was exiled in Flanders.
   They’re also not toy soldiers, but dedicated members of the British army who have been deployed as medics in modern wars, including the Gulf War.
   The Band of the Grenadier Guards will bring 350 years of tradition to Central Jersey when the group performs at the State Theatre in New Brunswick Jan. 25 and the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton Jan. 28. The Pipes and Drums of the Scots Highlanders are also touring with the Grenadier Guards, bringing the number of musicians, marchers and dancers to nearly 80. It’s part of a large-scale "hands across the sea" tour — a salute from Great Britain to the United States.

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"The Above, the fife and drum corps of the Band of the Grenadier Guards.




Founded in 1778, the Pipes and Drums of the Scots Highlanders, left, are relative newbies compared to the Grenadier Guards.


   "This is the first such trip the group has taken in 15 years," says music director Maj. Denis Burton, 45, speaking from his home in London. The "Salute to America" combines both the Band of the Grenadier Guards and the Scots Highlanders performing traditional British and American military music. Along with precision marching, the distinctive sound of bagpipes, drums and brass, and Highland dancing, the groups also are known for their magnificent ceremonial garb.
   Founded in 1778, the Scots Highlanders are relative newbies compared to the Grenadier Guards. They’ll sport the elegant kilts and other accoutrements of the Scottish guard, with tartans representing the Mackenzie, Gordon and Cameron clans.
   For the Band of the Grenadier Guards, it’ll be the scarlet tunics with gold braid, black trousers and black "busby" hats. Maj. Burton jokes that the red color was originally selected to hide the blood in battle. The vibrant hue is a long tradition with the British army attire. After all, think of the Redcoats in the Revolutionary War.
   "It was a very distinct color at the time," Maj. Burton says. "The uniform has changed little. People will be very familiar with the scarlet tunics and the bearskin cap, which they see the guards wearing at Buckingham Palace. Of course, the red is not sensible to wear in combat, and when we’re not fulfilling ceremonial tasks, the soldiers wear regular camouflage."
   The hats have serious historic symbolism — just a little something the regiment wears to remind them of Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.
   "The cap is a battle trophy from the Grenadiers’ victory over the French Imperial guards," Maj. Burton says. "The French were wearing (the hats) during the battle and before that, and in fact imported the bear fur from (provincial) Canada."
   The Band of the Grenadier Guards began as a kind of oboe ensemble — originally consisting of 12 musicians playing the 17th-century hautbois, the double-reed ancestor of the oboe. The band has expanded to include other woodwinds, brass, drums and percussion. Prospective members undergo a tough audition to earn a slot in the elite group and are also required to endure the rigors of basic military and combat training.
   Since the group has been around for centuries, there are quite a few legacies — current members with ancestors who were in the band, including Maj. Burton, whose father was a musician in the 1950s.
   The group also has two female musicians in the band — a flutist and a cornet player.
   "We started taking women into the band around 1996," Maj. Burton says. "We were the first guards to do so, although women are in the vast majority of other (units) in the British army."
   Stationed at Wellington Barracks in Central London near Buckingham Palace, the Band of the Grenadier Guards has performed for the Queen’s Birthday and the Mounting of the Queen’s Guard, which tourists would recognize as the daily ceremonies at Buckingham Palace.
   "We play the music for the Changing of the Guard," Maj. Burton says. "The Queen has five (regiments of) guards, and the grenadiers are the senior of those five."
   For the concerts, the Band and the Highlanders will alternate and combine to play a variety of music, with one sequence featuring the Grenadiers past and present.
   "We have an 18th-century band to contrast with the current, and we’ll gradually build up to the present," Maj. Burton says. "Then the Highlanders will be doing the music of Robbie Burns (as well as) their regimental retreat sequence.
   "In the second half the Grenadiers will be doing our ‘hands across the sea’ portion, playing American marches by Sousa, as well as (military) music from England. The Highlanders will return to do some dancing. Then for the finale, we’ll combine again to do a tribute to the (branches of the) U.S. forces, a military hymn — which is the British equivalent of ‘Taps’ — and the traditional British retreat."
   Maj. Burton says the tour is one way of telling the United States that our "mother" still likes us — our mother country, that is — even when it seems much of the world doesn’t.
   "We’re celebrating the links between the U.S. and the United Kingdom," he says. "They’re as strong as they’ve ever been, and that’s what we’re celebrating through music."
The Band of the Grenadier Guards and the Pipes and Drums of the Scots Highlanders play at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick, Jan. 25, 2 p.m. Tickets cost $20-$45. For information, call (732) 246-7469. On the Web: www.statetheatrenj.org; and at the Sovereign Bank Arena, 550 S. Broad St., Trenton, Jan. 28, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $25.50-$35.50. For information, call (609) 520-8383. On the Web: www.sovereignbankarena.com. The Grenadier Guards on the Web: www.grenadierguards.org.uk