South Australia’s police service was the first in the nation to form a band, when it established a volunteer brass band in 1884. In 1957, the ensemble was given approval to operate full time, and 17 years later changed to a military concert band, with the introduction of woodwind instruments.
The Band of the South Australia Police has gone on to achieve international acclaim, playing at military tattoos in Scotland, Germany and Switzerland, along with performing at Her Majesty The Queen's 90th birthday celebration in 2016. Senior Constable 1st Class Neil Percy, who plays the trombone and euphonium, has been there for most of these events. In his own words, he shares what the past 44 years with the band have meant to him.
One hell of an audition
I had always planned to be a musician, I started playing when I was seven years old on the cornett, before learning the trombone and then picking up the euphonium (a medium-sized 3-4 valve brass instrument) along the way. I also studied at school as a musician and played in bands outside of school. Then I heard about this job – actually my mum put me on to it – and so I auditioned here in 1978. It took a little while to hear back from them, but soon enough the head of the band at the time said, 'yes, we’ll take you' – and the rest is history. I’ve been with the South Australia Police Band for 44 years now, having started in April 1979. I still remember my first day. I was pretty scared coming into an environment with all these police officers and here I was, fresh out of school. It was a whole new world.
Sworn to serve
All the members of the normal police band are sworn in police officers, we just perform a different role – we are essentially the public relations side of the police. For me, I’ve always seen the role as the front line of the police department in the public's eye. We quite often go to schools, and this can often be the first time a child has come in to contact with a police officer. We always say to them, ‘we are police officers, we are normal people doing special jobs in the community to keep people safe’. That first impact in a child’s mind can be a powerful thing, and we hope as that child grows up, they have a positive rapport with the police department and see officers and think, ‘these are ordinary people doing a special job in the community’.
Makeup of the band
The band has a number of ensembles that come from the nucleus of 26 and it can do everything but a string quartet. It’s a versatile band, sometimes we’ll be a full concert band, a jazz group or rock band, sometimes we’ll be out on the march, then we’re at schools or in small groups. The variety is great and because I play both the trombone and euphonium I tend to play in different groups.
Favourite song to perform?
The Festive Overture by composer Dmitri Shostakovich. It has lots of fast playing and because I’m a brass player, I like the impact of the brass.
Did you know?
In 2016, the South Australia Police concert band was named as a State Heritage Icon for its connection with communities, helping to build relationships and deliver safety messages through the universal language of music and entertainment. The Band of the South Australia Police is based on the long tradition of military and service bands throughout Australia and around the world.
For more information, visit SA Police.
