Philharmonic Society of Corfu: History and Key Facts

The Philharmonic Society of Corfu (FEK), also known as the "Old Philharmonic", is a music-educational organization based in Corfu.

The Philharmonic Society of Corfu was founded on September 12, 1840, with the initial goal of becoming the first Greek music academy organized on European standards. The reason for its establishment was the prohibition by the British administration of the island of the participation of the British army band in Orthodox religious events—and particularly in the procession of the holy relic of Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of the island—due to the death of the King of the United Kingdom, William IV, in 1837. The new philharmonic was also known on the island by foreigners as "La Banda Grecca".

Its first Artistic Director was the composer Nikolaos Halikiopoulos Mantzaros, who retained this office until his death in 1872.

The Philharmonic had a fully organized teaching program in both the theory and practice of music. Its students, who for the first time in modern Greek history were able to learn music regardless of social class, had the opportunity to be taught by professional musicians and teachers basic music theory, harmony, counterpoint, morphology, orchestration, and composition.

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