The crowd cheered and clapped as the statue of the patron saint was brought out from the parish church in all its glory. Huge colourful flags flying rippled with the wind against the brilliant blue sky. Vibrant street decorations intensified the joyful feeling of the feast being celebrated. Yet certainly, this festive atmosphere would have been much different were it not merrily animated by the music of the village band.

It was during such a joyful celebration, back in November 1973, that Alexander Vella, together with his younger brother Raymond and a group of friends, decided that they wanted to play a more significant part in this spectacle by joining the Żejtun Band Club.

Vella, who was 15 at the time, remembers that his father was very pleased about this, since he was also a member of the same society. However, he made it clear to his sons that if they wanted to succeed in their venture, they had to take things seriously by studying very hard.

It was not difficult to be accepted by the club since the primary aim of this society, founded in 1933, has always been that of giving an opportunity to anyone who wants to learn to play a brass or woodwind instrument. In fact, students were given free music lessons by professional teachers and maestros and once they passed the theoretical sphere, they were even lent an instrument to practise on. The society trusted that this standpoint would serve to gain new valid members who would enhance the reputation of its band.

From his very first lesson, Vella realised that this was not going to be an easy task.

“You had to be really determined to become a bandsman in order to stay on, because instead of the instrument that you thought that you were going to play, you found yourself confronted with a set of written musical notes which you had to learn by heart.

“I had never learnt music before and although my dad could teach me, he refused to do so, as he insisted that I should pay attention to what my teacher told me during the lessons. Indeed, after I had initially failed to understand anything during class, I only tried my luck twice with my father but on both occasions he reproached me and warned me not to waste my teacher’s time. After that, I never dared to ask him for any help again.”

The same disciplined attitude was also present during class.

“Our teacher, Edgar Lowell, was a great maestro but he was very strict. He expected students to attend regularly to music lessons and to pay attention at all times. I recall clearly that during our first lesson, he held out his open hand in front of us and while he started to point out at it, he told us that God had given us five fingers with four spaces between each of them, so that we could be reminded that there were nine basic notes to remember.

“From then on, we were expected to strive hard on our own and to persevere to learn without asking for too much help. We had to learn to use our instinct and our ears in order to understand the correct music sounds and rhythms. One mistake during a lesson would have been enough for our teacher to send us back home to study properly until we learnt to keep up with the rest of the group. Praise was something unheard of and we would realise that we were doing well only when the teacher provided us with a new set of notes to try out.”

This is a far cry from how the Żejtun Band Club students are taught today. Isaac Scicluna, who is 11 years old and presently the youngest bandsman of this society, was attracted to join this group in the same manner as Vella. He also shares a similar family background in music, since his father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather had all been keen bandsmen.

Like Vella, Scicluna was confused at first when, just eight years old, he discovered that he must learn to read music notes and to study theory before being able to play any instrument. However, the similarity between Vella and Scicluna ends here, since in the meantime, the perspective of our culture had changed from one based on discipline to one that is founded on a more supportive role. In fact, Scicluna says that both his parents and his teacher were always there to help him when he needed their assistance.

“On the first day I was introduced to music notes and I started to learn their names, type and value,” he says. “Then I was given a handout with written music notes and I was instructed to copy and study them. My father helped me to find my way until I was confident enough to continue alone. Yet in reality, even if you have the support, your progress depends very much on your ambition to learn because lessons get tougher the more you get involved. Moreover, you need to manage your time well in order to coordinate school studies and also to find time to dedicate to the band.

“Since I am left-handed, I had to train myself in order to get used to keep the beat with my right foot and to count the notes with my right hand in order to be uniform with the rest of the group. After some time, I was also asked to sing the notes so that my ears could become adjusted to the sound of the music in preparation for the instrument that I would play.”

Whereas Vella spent more than three years studying the theoretical part, Scicluna was considered to be ready to start learning to play his instrument within a year and a half. On the other hand, when it came to the choice of the instrument, Vella was recommended to play the saxophone due to his long stature, but he had insisted that he wanted to learn the clarinet like his father. Scicluna, who had originally longed to play the saxophone, had to accept to play the clarin, because his fingers were still too short for the saxophone and his lips were more suited for the other instrument.

After four years of training, Vella started to play with the Żejtun Band Club and soon he was also engaged to play with other bands too. Today, at the age of 53, he has an experience of 37 years with his village band and able to play a number of other instruments. In 2012, Vella and his wife Jane donated a set of 50 velvet banderoles embroidered with gold in remembrance of their involvement with the Żejtun Band Club, and in celebration of the 80th anniversary from its foundation.

Meanwhile, 2013 was of great significance to Scicluna and his family since he was officially introduced as the youngest bandsman in the Żejtun Band Club. Interestingly, this celebration was quite unusual as generally a new bandsman is admitted within the village band only during Good Friday. However, due to the sudden death of Fr Eric Overend, the Żejtun parish priest, many of the events had to be postponed to a later date and Scicluna had the opportunity to play for the first time during the annual musical programme of 2013.

Today, both Vella and Scicluna look forward to more years of service with the Żejtun Band Club and although there is a wide difference in their age, the two bandsmen agree that they want to keep on playing for as long as they can. Until now, Scicluna has only played with his club but he has already participated in some important functions such as at the funeral of the former minister Wistin Abela.

“A band’s role is mostly that of delighting the public with its music. Yet there are also other occasions which are more sombre,” says Vella.

“Although throughout the year I like to listen to funeral marches which the band plays during the Good Friday activities, when I find myself playing at a funeral, I feel emotional. My sensitivity to such events became even more acute when our band played during my father’s funeral and it was then that I could clearly sense the pain and sadness coming from the different instruments. It resembled the symbolic cry of a society that was mourning the loss of one of its members.”

Scicluna agrees.

“I do feel awkward too when I play at a funeral, but I am also aware that this is our way of showing respect. In the meantime, I look forward to brighten up the celebrations during the coming festive season.”