All women BDF band gain viral fame on the floor of BIDEC

Clad impeccable red uniforms, when those young women presented tunes from Arabic and Western repertoires one by one all eyes on the floor widened with excitement. The sight, amid those awe-inspiring defence hardware and battle-hardened generals, represented a powerfully symbolic contradiction for the curious onlookers.

But when the harmonious music started filling the BIDEC floor, more and more eyes gathered around to make them a viral sensation. Mobile cameras popped up in all hands as the performance continued to display an impressive mastery over their instruments. All these were happening on the floor of the second edition of the Bahrain International Defence Exhibition and Conference (BIDEC) 2019 which concluded Wednesday.

In action were the members of Bahrain Defence Force band. The band formed in 2014 after rigorous training to meet high standards made their first public appearance during Bahrain’s Women’s Day celebrations in 2018. The members are well versed in most music genres and instruments like saxophone, trumpet, Tuba and clarinet.

The team also have experts in “jerba”, a Gulf folklore instrument. Although the first batch graduated in 2017, it is only in 2018 that the band made its first public appearance. The 42-member band won numerous accolades in the few public appearances it had made. Officers said that they are looking forward to more prominent participation.