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The Guards Band The Representative Orchestra of the President of the Republic, the Guards Band is the oldest continuously operating professional orchestra in Finland. The band was established in 1819. Nowadays the official representative band of t...

The Guards Band Saxophone Quartet The Guards Band Saxophone Quartet is well known for its performances as a stylish and versatile chamber music ensemble in concerts as well as representative and entertaining celebrations. The quartet performs diff...

The Guards Band Unit The Guards Band unit consist of 25 musicians. The band gives out concerts and performs within the Defence Forces' events and private festivals and gatherings. Facebook Share on Facebook Twitter Share on Twitter LinkedIn Share ...

The Guards Combo The Guards Combo is an exquisite party band featuring a first-rate vocalist, tight rhythm section and five wind instruments. The Guards Combo has provided tunes to dance to in a variety of events held by the Defence Forces and pri...

The Guards Brass Septet The septet is a band that fosters and develops the tradition of the most Finnish of all ensembles, the brass septet. In addition to touring Finland, the band featuring seven brass players and two percussionists has played i...

The Dragoon Band The Dragoon Band is a 34-member symphonic wind orchestra. The band's domicile is in Lappeenranta, in connection with the Army Academy. The Dragoon Band performs mainly in Eastern Finland. In 1921, a dragoon brigade and a band were...

Parade Band The Conscript Band’s Parade Band consists of three sections: wind orchestra, drum group and rifle drill group. The main purpose of the Parade Band is to perform at the Defence Forces’ largest events, such as the Flag Day and the Indepe...

Senior conductor Major (mus.) Jaakko Nurila Conductor Captain (mus.) Risto Sojakka Risto Sojakka is a versatile musician and conductor. He graduated as a Master of Music from the University of the Arts’ Sibelius Academy in 2019 and has completed h...

In the course of their colourful history, military bands have performed in compositions as large as 250 musicians and taken numerous trips to perform abroad.

Ensembles The Guards Band consists of 42 full-time musicians. One of the duties for the Helsinki-based band is performing at The Independence Day’s reception at the Presidential Palace. Most of the daily performances are fulfilled with the band un...

Finnish Defence Forces contacts and media contacts.

Contact information Guard Jaeger Regiment PO BOX 6 00861 Helsinki Finland Switch board +358 299 800 Official/administrative matters: [email protected] Feedback and customer service: [email protected] Guard Jaeger Regiment Commander, Colonel Ari Le...

Conductors Chief Conductor Captain (mus.) Juhani Valtasalmi Captain (mus.) Juhani Valtasalmi (born in 1978) started in the post of the Senior Conductor of the Lapland Military Band on 1 March 2024. His previous posts were with the Conscript Band o...

Conductors Chief Conductor Major (Mus.) Ville Paakkunainen Ville Paakkunainen (born 1978) served as the chief conductor of the Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces 2017-2020. Before that, he served as the conductor of the Guards Band, the ...

We defend Finland together – national parade on the Independence Day of Finland in Kouvola this year The Finnish Defence Forces will celebrate the 108th Independence Day of Finland by way of a national parade on 6 December in Kouvola. The theme of...

3.11.2025 | The Finnish Defence Forces will celebrate the 108th Independence Day of Finland by way of a national parade on 6 December in Kouvola. The theme of the parade is We defend Finland together. The review of troops will take place at Kouvola Finnish baseball stadium, and the pass in review on Salpausselänkatu. The Finnish Defence Forces’ and other agencies’ equipment and activity will be available for familiarisation at Sumulaakso. The events are free of charge.

26.8.2025 | The 109th Cadet Course and the 92st Midshipman Course graduate from the Bachelor of Military Sciences programme on 29 August 2025. The Supreme Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, President of the Republic Alexander Stubb will promote the 173 graduates to the rank of Lieutenant in the Presidential Palace's Hall of State. The graduation day with its traditional ceremonies will be a memorable event for the young officers.

26.8.2025 | The 109th Cadet Course and the 92st Midshipman Course graduate from the Bachelor of Military Sciences programme on 29 August 2025. The Supreme Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, President of the Republic Alexander Stubb will promote the 173 graduates to the rank of Lieutenant in the Presidential Palace's Hall of State. The graduation day with its traditional ceremonies will be a memorable event for the young officers.

26.8.2024 | The 108th Cadet Course and the 91st Midshipman Course graduate from the Bachelor of Military Sciences programme on 30 August 2024. The Supreme Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, President of the Republic Alexander Stubb will promote the 164 graduates to the rank of Lieutenant in the Presidential Palace's Hall of State. The graduation day with its traditional ceremonies will be a memorable event for the young officers.

9.5.2023 | The concert Together We Secure Finland (Yhdessä turvaamme Suomen) will be held at Musiikkitalo, Helsinki at 7pm on Monday 15th of May. The joint concert of the Finnish Defence Forces and the police will be attended by the Guards Band and the Helsinki Police Band.