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Throughout
its existence St. Philip Band has had a very central role in
the social and cultural life of Zebbug. During the first century
of its life St. Philip Band was one of the few bands giving
concerts and playing band marches in most of the feasts around
Malta. At one time this went up to as many as eighty musical
services in a one-year period. This intense activity gradually
wound down as many other bands were set up or matured in almost
every village and town.
In
1944, St. Philip Band was chosen to represent all the band clubs
of Malta and Gozo in performing a musical programme to mark
the occasion of the donation of a Sword of Honour to Lord Gort,
then Governor of Malta. It was presented by Rev. Loreto Callus,
president of St. Philip Band Club, on behalf of the other clubs
in the presence of the highest civil and ecclesiastical authorities
of the time.
The
imposing façade of the club is adorned with several commemorative
plaques commemorating prominent Zebbug personalities of national
fame or testify to several memorable events such as that of
1944 and the twinning of Zebbug and Agira in 1997.
So
far the club has had 20 Presidents and 19 Musical Directors.
The current President is Dr. John Attard Montalto B.A. (Hons.),
LL.D., MEP, a member of the European Parliament and an ex-Minister
of the Malta Government. The present musical director is Mro.
Richard Bugeja FLCM.
What
started off as a musical band has grown into a large club with
many and varied interests and activities, with St. Philip Band
being at the core. This entails good organisation and a lot
of hard work which is carried out voluntarily without any remuneration.
Indeed the people directly involved are the first to contribute
financially to the club’s needs. At present the club is
managed by an Executive Committee with the support of the Women’s
Section, the Youth Section and several sub-committees for the
Band, the Feast and Social & Cultural Organising Committees.
 The
running of a school of music for all ages has been and still
is a primary activity and tuition is given free of charge every
week. Students are even lent a musical instrument by the club
which they can keep for as long as they need. Nowadays some
twenty musical services are performed in public every year,
varying from full blown concerts to street band marches.
Club members are active all the year round. Participation in
the feast of St. Philip in Zebbug is naturally the main focal
point. This includes the band, fireworks, street decorations
and social activities for all the club members.
The
club manages a fireworks factory that manufactures a variety
of sky rockets and Catherine wheels which are all fired during
the second week of June on occasion of the feast of the patron
saint of Zebbug. The members manufacturing these fireworks are
all volunteers who work all year without any remuneration. The
club however provides them with the raw materials at its expense.
This activity involves some twenty people organised and functioning
as a closely-knit team.
Another
highly popular activity is an annual Good Friday Exhibition
held inside the club premises during the ten days prior to Easter.
In separate halls are exhibited: The Last Supper and The Crucifixion
scenes presented with artistic life-size statues, the work of
well known artist Alfred Camilleri Cauchi. In a third hall,
a set of miniature statues represent the Via Crucis. A fourth
section will be opening this year: the Burial of Jesus, set
in an underground war shelter.
In
December 2004, a Christmas exhibition was put up comprising
some 200 exhibits belonging to forty different exhibitors hailing
from most villages of Malta. Many small cribs and many more
statues of baby Jesus made from different materials were on
show.
 Various
social activities are organised regularly such as outings, dinners,
coffee-mornings, parties, dinner-dances and travel tours abroad
for members their families and friends.
Every year the club publishes two booklets: one on the occasion
of the Good Friday Exhibition and the second prior to the Feast
of St. Philip plus an annual calendar. In 2001 the club published
a 275-page well-researched book (in Maltese) which documents
the history of the band and the club. It can be obtained from
the club in paperback or hardcover form.
On
top of all this, there is the day-to-day running of a social
club and bar which opens daily for its approximately 1000 members
and their friends.
Philip
Balzan B.Sc.(Hons.), PGCE
Vici-Segretaru u PRO
14 ta’ Novembru
2004
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