New Tattoo coxswain ready to make magic happen
By Sara White,
The Aurora
Behind the curtains of the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a coxswain, someone who makes everything happen in the months before the largest annual indoor theatrical production in the world takes the stage, June 27 to July 1, at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
In 2025, Warrant Officer (WO) Eric Sproul, bandmaster at 14 Wing Greenwood and a longtime former member of the Stadacona Band of the Royal Canadian Navy, takes on the role. It’s the first time since the show’s 1979 start that a Royal Canadian Air Force member has served as the coxswain. It’s a traditionally navy role in a traditionally navy city, and WO Sproul is only the second Canadian Armed Forces musician to do it.
“I love the Tattoo,” WO Sproul says.
A trumpet player with both the West Kings District High School and Cadet bands as a youth, WO Sproul volunteered with the 14 Wing Brass and Reed Band in Grade 11. That summer, the Ottawa Central Band was performing at the Tattoo and picked up a few Greenwood musicians to fill out their numbers, including WO Sproul. He’s been to almost every annual Tattoo since.
Following last year’s show, WO Sproul said he felt particularly inspired.
“I wanted to do more with the Tattoo, and the public appearance of the event,” he says. “I know they are always looking for a Tattoo coxswain – it’s usually a couple ranks above me. But I offered: if they were ‘scraping the barrel,’ I’m here.”
The 14 Wing Brass and Reed Band did a combined event on November 11 with the Stadacona Band in Halifax, a group WO Sproul has been involved with for 20 years. As Tattoo 2025 started taking shape, WO Sproul got the call.
“I know the Tattoo production crew from back in my Army days on the guard, I’m comfortable with the show, and I’ve got the skillset. I’m well-positioned to do it.”
As coxswain, WO Sproul will be the senior non-commissioned member overseeing all Canadian Armed Forces operations involved with the Tattoo: the bands, guards, flags, storesmen, transport, ammunition and small arms custodians, medical services, and liaison officers, including representatives from five visiting foreign governments. He’ll also work to match all of that seamlessly with the show’s civilian production and logistics team.
“So, I’m punching above my weight quite a bit here,” he says. “There are a lot of moving parts. Then, once the show starts, from sunrise to sunset, I’m on the ground, making sure people are happy.”
This means that, for the first time in all his Tattoo appearances, WO Sproul won’t play a single note. He’ll rely on several 14 Wing band volunteers to help lead any practices affected by his Tattoo commitments, especially as he gets closer to the show and his pre-production duties are formalized into a Canadian Forces Taskings, Plans and Operations order.
“Music will be in the back seat, and I’ll miss that,” WO Sproul says, “but this is such an interesting part of the show. My favourite part is the international gathering of everyone involved with the show – it’s a re-reunion every year.”
