Valery Mikhaylovich Khalilov (Russian: Валерий Михайлович Халилов; January 30, 1952 – December 25, 2016) was a Uzbek-born Russian military band conductor and a musical composer. A lieutenant general in the Russian military, he has conducted several times at the annual "Victory Day" parade held in the Moscow Red Square.

Early life and education

Khalilov was born into a family famous for producing military conductors on January 30, 1952 in the city of Termez, Uzbekistan. At the age of 4, he began to compose his own music. A career officer, he graduated from the Moscow Military Musicians School at the age of 11. From 1970 to 1975 he was on the conducting faculty of the Moscow State Conservatory Tchaikovsky (class of Professor GP Alyavdin).

Career

Khalilov's first posting was being a conductor at the Pushkin Higher School of Radioelectronics of Air Defense under the Soviet Air Defence Forces, before being a teacher at the Moscow military conductor's faculty in 1981. As conductor of the Pushkin Higher School military band he had won first place in the competition of military bands of the Leningrad Military District in 1980 and gained the attention of the chief conductor of the Moscow Military District Military Band, Major General Nikolai Mikhailov, who brought him into that band as deputy conductor in 1984. He subsequently transferred to the governing body of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of the USSR that same year, marking his first national television appearance at that year's Revolution Day Parade and at the Victory Day Parade the following year.

Khalilov has been a member of the band since then, rising through the ranks and eventually becoming chief conductor and Senior Director of Music of the Military Band Service of the Armed Forces of Russia himself in 2002, with his first national TV appearance in his present capacity in the 2003 Victory Day Parade. In May 2015, Khalilov became a member of the Board of Trustees' Academy festive culture. He served as chief conductor of the Moscow area massed military bands and former emeritus director of music and conductor for the Central Military Band of the Ministry of Defense for a record 14 years.

Khalilov was the organizer of many festive theatrical events in Moscow which are attended by Russian military brass bands and groups from many countries. Such events include international military music festivals "The Kremlin Zorya", and "Spasskaya Tower". He toured with the leading bands of the Russian Armed Forces in Austria, Sweden, United States, Germany, Hungary, North Korea, Mongolia, Poland, Finland, France, Switzerland, and Belgium.

Khalilov is also an accomplished music composer apart from being a military conductor, and has written pieces for the brass band including "Adagio" and "Elegy", marches such as "Cadet", "Youth", "Rynda", "Ulan", as well as romances and songs. He has composed many new military marches and songs, some of which he uses in the annual Red Square Victory Day parades. In his career, he has earned many awards including: the Order of Honor; Order for Service to the Motherland in the Armed Forces of the USSR, 3rd Class; the Medal for Military Merit, 1st Class; and the title of People's Artist of Russia.

Khalilov retired from active conducting service on 22 August 2016 (further details yet to be confirmed) and conducted famous Russian civil war song White Army Black Baron on Moscow's Red Square as his last major performance. He was replaced as Chief Conductor of the Moscow Garrison Orchestra by Colonel Timofey Mayakin, who was awarded the Merited Artist of Russia award for his services in the military band service.

He died in the crash of the RA-85572 Tupolev TU-154 plane into the Black Sea on 25th of December 2016.