The Hellenic Naval Band ( el, Μπάντα του Ελληνικού Ναυτικού) is a Greek

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

which was established in 1880. It is located at the military base in

Votanikos Votanikos ( el, Βοτανικός, ) is a neighborhood located 3 km west of the downtown part of the Greek capital of Athens. The area is named after a nearby botanical garden situated to the southwest (Athens Botanical Gardens). The easter ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. For more than a century, the band has performed at major state events in Greece on behalf of the Hellenic Navy, as well as on radio and television, and toured extensively abroad. The band participated in the opening ceremony of the 1896 Summer Olympics and in the 2004 Summer Olympics, as well as in several military music festivals in the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The current bandmaster of the band is Lieutenant Commander Georgios Tsilibaris.

History

The Greek Navy during the Second World War A15183

The first musical unit of the Hellenic Navy was formed in January 1890 and consisted of 22 musicians who enlisted as volunteers. The unit became a permanent member of the Flagship of the Fleet. After the Balkan Wars, the number of musicians increased through the expansion of the navy and the enlistment of new volunteers as a result. In August 1925, the School of Musicians and Buglers was founded at the Administration Directorate of the

Salamis Naval Base The Salamis Naval Base ( el, Ναύσταθμος Σαλαμίνας) is the largest naval base of the Hellenic Navy. It is located in the northeastern part of Salamis Island (Cape Arapis), Greece and in Amphiali and Skaramangas. It is close to t ...

. From 1932 until 1936 the School of music was transferred on

Poros Poros ( el, Πόρος) is a small Greek island-pair in the southern part of the Saronic Gulf, about south from the port of Piraeus and separated from the Peloponnese by a wide sea channel, with the town of Galatas on the mainland across the ...

, only to be transferred back to Salamis from in 1936, where it would stay until 1941, just before the Battle of Greece. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and the Axis occupation of Greece, the band followed the Greek fleet's exodus to the

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, installed on the ''Ionia'' passenger ship (until 1943) and on the

Greek cruiser Georgios Averof ''Georgios Averof'' ( el, Θ/Κ Γεώργιος Αβέρωφ) is a modified armored cruiser built in Italy for the Royal Hellenic Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship served as the Greek flagship during most of the first hal ...

(from 1943 onwards). In 1946, the School moved to the Palaska Training Centre in Skaramanga, where it has remained until today. Apart from the School, there are now two permanent bands, one at the Salamis Naval Base and one at the

Crete Naval Base Crete Naval Base ( el, Ναύσταθμος Κρήτης, ''Nafstathmos Kritis'') is a major naval base of the Hellenic Navy and NATO at Souda Bay in Crete, Greece. Formally known in NATO as Naval Support Activity, Souda Bay (NSA-Souda Bay), a ...

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. It has participated in International Military Music Festivals abroad, including those in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

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and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

References

{{Reflist Greek military bands Hellenic Navy Musical groups established in 1890 1890s establishments in Greece