The Fiji Police Band is one of the most well-known bands in the country.
On September 27, 1975, The Fiji Times published a story on Viliame Bale, who joined the band three years after it was formed.
He was a constable at the time and the article said he had also served the Royal Fiji Military Forces band for eight years – four years of which were spent in Malaya where ceremonial occasions kept them busy.
Mr Bale’s principal instrument was the euphonium, but in his position he was expected to have good working and theoretical knowledge of every instrument under his command.
He went to England to study music and within the first six months he found the going tough.
A three-year bandmaster’s course at the Royal Military School of Music at Twickenham, England qualified him for the position he later took up in 1975, as Director of Music at the Fiji Police Force.
“I thought I could play the euphonium, until I went to the school.
“When I arrived I found I couldn’t play my instrument at all.
“Men there came from the Guards, and all the best regimental bands of the British Army,” he said.
But he persevered and after passing his initial six- month acceptance period, he went on to complete the standard three-year course. He studied theory, harmony, instrumentation and oral courses.
He had set standards to pass every year.
“For my first six months, I felt like coming home,” he said.
“But I persevered and finally met the extremely high standards.” Mr Bale went to England under a British government scholarship.
