Philharmonic
Artesia DES Philharmonic (Portuguese)
How it all began
The Artesia DES Philharmonic was founded in 1972. We are the second oldest Portuguese band in California. In January 1972, the first steps were taken that resulted in the origin of the band, when a group of men, looked for the possibility of forming a musical group to play in a “Dança de Espada” (typical carnival dance). These men were so successful in carrying out this project that a few months later – in August 1972 – they were asked to play at “Dia dos Portuguêses” – promoted by Ercilio Cardoso and the football group “Eagle Soccer Club” – at Parque Do Artesia. The first piece of music they played was a Passo Dobrado called “O Your Trumpet”.
The main organizer of this Philharmonic was Antonio Diniz Coelho who played the Tuba, copied music and did the transpositions, invited musicians, rented instruments and bought uniforms. He was a tireless man for the Artesia DES Philharmonic.
From then on, the idea of founding a Portuguese music band took life. On the 27th of July 1973 the band played for the first time at the “Espírito Santo” festival in Artesia, under the name of Banda Portuguesa de Artesia.
Our Band Now
This year we have a total of 50 musicians. We rehearse an average of two days a week for most of the year. Our rehearsal room is in the Portuguese Hall of Artesia DES, adjacent to the football club room. The room has been enlarged and improved for better sound quality and working conditions. Every year, two directors represent the Philharmonic in the Commission of the Portuguese Hall of Artesia DES. There, we get approval for many of our plans that require finance. In order to provide a good quality music level, our musicians voluntarily sacrifice many hours a week away from their families. In general, our player is a person with a passion for music and a keen interest in keeping traditional celebrations lively. We have already represented our city of Artesia in several locations, including the Azores (1986, 2002, 2017) the East Coast of the United States (Fall River, MA 1997) and Canada (Toronto 2007). We were the first organizers of the California Philharmonic Festival in 2004 and we organized the festival for the second time in 2016.
