Military band
Military bands in the Mongolian Armed Forces and the preceding Mongolian People's Army followed the Russian model and utilized many Russian aspects used in the 20th century. Prior to the expansion of China's Qing Dynasty into what is now Mongolia, traditional Mongol Empire-era instrumentation was used in bands for hundreds of years. During a visit of the Bogd Khanate Prime Minister Tögs-Ochiryn Namnansüren to St. Petersburg, Russia in late 1913 and early 1914, he an artillery band was present to perform for him. Impressed by the military band, he requested that the Russian government give him brass musical instruments so that he could form a local band of close to a dozen musicians. This gave way for what would become the first modern military band in the country. The country currently operates three military bands: The Military Band of the General Staff, the Military Music College of the National Defense University and the Mongolian Military Song and Dance Academic Ensemble. Notable Mongolian military musicians include Colonel Navaany Tserenpil (1914–1978, commonly called the "Mongolian March King"), Ganbat Yondondüichiriin (born 1951) and Pürevjavyn Khayankhyarvaa (born 1935). As part of the expansion of the army in the late 1960s, the Minister of Defense organized the Music Group of the Civil Defense, which has since 2009, been known as the Emergency Services Band under the National Emergency Management Agency.