The King's Own Band, founded in 1874 as La Stella, is a Maltese

philharmonic An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ce ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

based in the country's capital

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

. The Band was renamed to La Nazionale, La Nazionale Vincitrice and later to The Prince of Wales Band in 1885. The King's Own Band is the current name of the Band which was given by

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

in 1901 upon advancing to the throne of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Early history

The first Band Club, or philharmonic society as they were known, to be set up in Valletta, was known as La Nazionale due to their location in the capital city of

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 ...

. Colloquially this band was and still is referred to as Ta' l-Istilla. The reason is that the promoters of this society had in mind their participation during the feast day of

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

in 1874, one of the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

s who has his feast celebrated in Valletta, and the symbol of the saint is a star, Stilla in Maltese. The band's name has changed multiple times due to the historical circumstances. The first name that was given to the band club was that of La Nazionale. This name immediately reflects the aim of the founders, that it would not only be the band club for the feast of St. Dominic, but also a national one as it was born in the capital city of Malta, Valletta to foster more appreciation for this type of music around the island. Its participation in the various localities of Malta was to confirm this commitment. The second name was that of La Nazionale Vincitrice, adding the appellation that it was victorious. This was given to the band club by its own admirers in order to recognise the achievements and successes that had been registered. Another change in name occurred in 1885. The Prince of Wales, who had visited Malta three times during the 1860s, was asked to grant a new name to the band club, namely The Prince of Wales Band. This was to be retained till 1901 when the Prince was crowned the King of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. The Committee made a formal request to have their name changed once more. From a letter dated 4 March 1901 the

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

communicated the decision to the Governor of Malta, Sir F. Grenfell. The band was to be officially known as King’s Own Bandpa. This Royal connection of the band with the British monarchy was continued throughout the years. In 1903 the king paid an official visit to the islands, arriving in Malta on 16 April. The King’s Own Band was invited to play in the Palace Square during that evening when a dinner was held in the Palace on the occasion of the Royal visitor. Later during the same visit, the King presented a banner to the Band Club inside the Palace. Unfortunately that same banner was destroyed 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 opposin ...

when the club premises were hit during one of the aerial attacks. In 1954 the Governor of Malta presented another Royal standard in lieu of the lost one. While in 1967, during her visit to Malta, Her Majesty,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

presented another Royal Banner to the King's Own Band. In 1936, The King's Own Band was the first local band club to play the National Anthem of Malta in public to commemorate the National Day, 8 September. The King’s Own Band Club served as an important social, political and musical club for many people. Being also situated in Valletta, it has always attracted particular attention from foreign visitors to the islands. Thus, when His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, visited the club’s premises on 28 November 1952, he stated :"I hope that this my visit to the King’s Own Band Club will be interpreted as if I had been to all the band clubs of Malta." The King's Own Band still bears the title of Eccellenza (Excellence), a tribute to the high level that the band had achieved in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

(1912) while participating in the Grand Concours International de Musique.

Later history

The band is composed of about 95 musicians. The band performs throughout the year, starting in March in preparation for the feast of St. Joseph in Rabat – Malta, through October/November in a grand finale in the form of the Annual Concert.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Official website
Maltese musical groups Musical groups established in 1874 1874 establishments in the British Empire