Jamaica Military Band performs for Karl Binger

On Sunday, the Jamaica Military Band will return to the Hope Botanical Gardens with a free 'Concert in the Garden' beginning at 4 p.m.

The afternoon event will take place at the Shell Bandstand, opposite the Hope Zoo, and will be dedicated to the memory of Karl Binger, a former executive director of Nature Preservation Foundation, operators of Hope Gardens and Hope Zoo. Binger passed away on Sunday.

Guests of honour at the concert will be the custos of St Andrew, The Honourable Marigold Harding, and Dr Ossie Harding.

The Jamaica Military Band is the oldest continuous-service unit of the Jamaica Defence Force. It consists of descendants of the first West India Regiment, which was formed in 1795 in the Windward Islands.

Members of the Jamaica Military Band wear the unique Zouave uniform and are part of one of two units in the world to don the dress, the other being the Barbados Regiment Band.

various performances

The Jamaica Military Band has performed in various Caribbean countries, including Guantanamo Bay - the United States base in Cuba - as well as Barbados, Haiti, Bermuda, The Cayman Islands and Puerto Rico. In addition, the band has toured several cities in the United States, including New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Miami.

In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Jamaica Military Band in 2007, a combined Jamaica Military and Jamaica Regiment Band visited the United Kingdom as part of the annual military exchange. They were there in support of the Jamaica Defence Force contingent which engaged in ceremonial duties, including the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. They spent six weeks there.