Finnish Defence Force's MILjazz tour is continuing – among the artists representatives from allied countries

The Defence Force's arrangement of the military music tour MILjazz continues in Northern Finland this Saturday. This year, the tour will be visited by international military music from allied countries. Among the participants is the NATO Jazz Orchestra, which consists of the SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) International Band under NATO's European command. The band is arriving in Finland from Mons in Belgium.

The MILjazz tour has two parts. The first eight stops of the tour happened in June. The second part of the tour, which takes place in August, is in northern Finland. In the last part of the tour, there are shows in Rovaniemi (2.8), Oulu (4.8), and Kokkola (6.8).

This year, the MILjazz tour is going to feature an exceptionally large amount of international military music from allied countries. In the first part of the tour, Germany's armed forces' Big Band Der Bundeswehr performed in three locations. In August, NATO's official military orchestra, the NATO Jazz Orchestra, will also be joining the Armed Forces' MILjazz tour.

According to the The Chief Conductor of the Finnish Defence Forces, Commander (Mus.) Timo Kotilainen, international cooperation helps develop military music:

“Such activities increase knowledge in multicultural environments and provide useful information about the working methods and programmes of allied countries' military bands. At the same time, it keeps the discussion about the role of military music in a changing world alive.”

The NATO Jazz Orchestra is part of the SHAPE International Band which operates under NATO's European Command. The SHAPE International Band has been the official musical representative for NATO's Commander in Europe (Supreme Allied Commander Europe, SACEUR) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) since 1983. The NATO Jazz Orchestra, focusing on jazz, mainly consists of American musicians and has 15 to 18 members. The band is arriving in Finland from its base in Mons, Belgium, and is set to perform at the Defence Forces' MILjazz tour on 4th August in the square in Oulu.

The place info for the MILjazz tour is in the concert calendar:
https://konserttikalenteri.puolustusvoimat.fi