The Harmonie Municipale de Dudelange (HMD) is an amateur symphonic wind orchestra based in Dudelange, Luxembourg. Ranked among the finest wind bands in Luxembourg, the band's repertoire includes many different styles, such as original wind band music, classical transcriptions and soloist pieces, big band and jazz. This variety of styles as well as the level of difficulty presents a continuous challenge, which is gladly accepted by the 70 musicians of the orchestra. In our archive section you'll find the complete history of the band as well as excerpts from various performances which allow you to see for yourself.
First of all, there are no strings, except for a string bass, if needed. The violins are replaced by clarinets, the celli by saxophones. The entire ensemble consists of mostly woodwind and brass instruments. This includes the less common instruments such as oboe, bassoon and contra bassoon, bass and even the contrabass clarinet, which are not used in a marching band.
A little bit of History
In 1886, some musically motivated citizens founded the first wind band in the small village of Dudelange. Although this band was dissolved 9 years later mainly due to financial reasons, it is still considered to be the base for what is known today as the Harmonie Municipale de Dudelange. On the 11th July 1896, this band was resurrected under the name of Musik-Gesellschaft Düdelingen (music company of Dudelange). With the rise of the steel industry, a few years later, on the 4th August 1907, Dudelange had more than 1000 inhabitants and therefore was declared city of Dudelange; at the same time, the band was renamed to Harmonie Municipale de Dudelange (HMD, Wind Band of the city of Dudelange).
More historical facts down below.