A military band will most often conjure images of big brass sections and monstrous drums, epaulettes, pomp and ceremony, and possibly a man with a baton out the front leading the march.
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But the reality is somewhat different for the men and women of The Band of the Royal Military College Duntroon.
These are seasoned, professional musicians who can pivot at the drop of a hat, or the drop of an order, to whatever music style is required. Yes, that includes Taylor Swift.
The Band of the Royal Military College Duntroon is a full time army band, and as officer commanding and music director, Major Matthew O'Keeffe said, "it's all we do and we do it a lot".
Later this month Major O'Keeffe will bring a selection of the band to tour the Far South Coast.
Tying in with the centenary celebration of the Bega Soldiers Memorial on May 25 in Bega, the band will also play shows in Merimbula and Narooma.
"In the old days we used to train the musicians, train young soldiers who wanted to join the band," Major O'Keeffe said.
"Most of the guys now are university qualified or have significant industry experience. And they have to be trade qualified from the outset.
"They join, they do their recruit training, they do everything else that a soldier does in the army - learn how to shoot and keep fit...and then go straight to a band.
"We are fussy and it's all by audition, so they have to meet a certain standard."
As a result the band does not tend to recruit many young, fresh out of school musicians.
While many university graduates generally embark on their army career as a young officer, fascinatingly, the band corp is the only corp in the Australian Army that recruits only soldiers.
"So we grow all our own officers out of the ranks," Major O'Keeffe said.
"I actually started at the Royal Military College as a soldier and had done about 12 years in the band before being selected as an officer."
In 2023, Major O'Keeffe led the band for Anzac Day on the Western Front in France. This is just one of the extraordinary places the band has played, including combat zones where they serve to boost morale.
Major O'Keeffe believes the band to be the "greatest musical chameleons in the industry".
"We are very busy working for the Governor General here... when a new ambassador comes and presents their credentials...we're there to greet them and play the national anthem with a full band.
"But then we can just as easily turn around on the same day and send out a rock band to go and play at a ball ...or our rock band was playing for Skyfire this year in Canberra."
Though Major O'Keeffe will not firmly commit to including Taylor Swift on the Far South Coast set list, he reckons there's a pretty good chance a song could make the cut.
"It will be a very, very casual show - there will be no pretence, no pomp and ceremony - just come in and enjoy the music on a Sunday afternoon at Club Narooma, and pretty much the same with all the other venues...it's always a fun show," he said.
The Band of the Royal Military College Duntroon is playing Merimbula RSL Club Friday, May 24; St Patrick's Catholic Church Bega Saturday, May 25; and Club Narooma Sunday, May 26. The Club Narooma show is free.
Contact the venues for further details.
