The Celtic Massed Pipes and Drums band has participated in previous Spasskaya Tower festivals. When asked what keeps them coming back again and again, David Johnson said that it is the uniqueness of the event.
“In Western Europe we do lots of such events, but nothing anywhere like what we do in Moscow. The Russian people are so nice and friendly and they love Celtic pipe music,” Johnson said.
He noted that his band had participated in numerous military tattoo festivals, including those held in Edinburgh. He added that, unlike the ones held in the West, which are “too commercialized and a mixture of everything,” the Spasskaya Tower festival is more regimental, military and professional.
Speaking about the performance they are preparing for this year’s event, he said that 2017 is the tenth anniversary of the show and they will bring in a very large outfit of 120 pipes and drums to march up and down Red Square performing traditional Scottish dances they usually perform in Edinburgh.
“This is going to be a very unique act and I’m sure that the audience will love it.”
When asked how the Spasskaya Tower festival has changed through the years, David Johnson said that when it started it was totally new to the public and has certainly improved ever since becoming much more professional both musically and also in the l in the form of administration, looking after the participants, etc.
When asked what he expected from this year’s anniversary event, David Johnson said that he believed that it was going to be a real celebration.
“I think it’s going to be probably the best event ever held on Red Square as far as the Spasskaya Tower festival is concerned,” David Johnson said.
The Spasskaya Tower festival, formerly known as Kremlin Military Tattoo, is an annual music fiesta staged in front of the historic fortified complex in the heart of Moscow.
For the week Moscow’s Red Square will be transformed into a stage for some of the world’s best military and classical musicians performing live for an audience of thousands near the Kremlin’s iconic Spasskaya Tower.
More than 1,500 performers from 40 countries have taken part in the festival since it was launched 10 years ago.
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