Fédération des associations musicales du Québec

Fédération des associations musicales du Québec

Fédération des associations musicales du Québec (FAMQ). Non-profit organization established 1972 and comprising bugle, drum, and trumpet bands, parish bands, choreographic ensembles, and majorettes of Quebec. It is partly subsidized by the Ministry of Recreation, Hunting, and Fishing of Quebec. In 1950 a number of schools set up bugle bands patterned on those in the army and thus spearheaded a popular movement. Next, bands began to be formed in the Patronages or 'Patro' (drop-in centres for adolescents) run by the religious community of St-Vincent-de-Paul and soon spread throughout the province. In 1951 a drum and bugle band from Preston (later Cambridge), Ont, the Scouts, created a sensation at a concert in Shawinigan featuring 52 brass bands. The Laval Patro's Clique Alouette, established in 1952, became the first drum and bugle band of this type in Quebec. Others followed and ca 1956-8 the first association of Quebec drum and bugle bands, with Gérard Filion as president, was established in Shawinigan. The Quebec section of the CBA was formed at another competition and lasted several years; among its members were The Emperors, The Gladiators, and the Verdun Olympics. Subsequently an all-girls section was formed in Drummondville. In 1968 the mixed bands, the girls section, and the Association of Trumpet Bands merged to form the Association musicale du Québec, which was active until 1972.

In 1990 FAMQ represented 66 groups, recruited through variety concerts presented in the municipalities and schools as well as through the efforts of local newspapers. The quarterly review, Marche et Manoeuvres and the bulletin La Pause information are distributed throughout Quebec. FAMQ also has published eight technical manuals for the bands' activities. Each year competitions are held between the different Quebec ensembles, as well as those of Ontario and the USA. The Festival musical du Québec (a provincial championship of bugle and drum bands) is held annually in August. In 1980 a new category was launched: choreographic ensembles, of which Quebec's are among the best in the world. An annual international competition is held in Montreal each March. Among the bugle and drum bands are the Châtelains et Châtelaines de Laval, who have won several championships, including the girls' world bugle band championship in Denver, Col. in 1978. They also won the international championships held in Montreal in 1981 and 1982.