The bands of the Philharmonic Societies represent a cornerstone of musical culture on the island of Corfu. They mainly consist of wind and percussion instruments; however the Philharmonic Societies usually undertake a much broader musical activity that includes choirs, string instruments, piano, theory lessons, etc. They have a remarkable duration over time, with the first Philharmonic Society being founded in Corfu in 1840. The wider participation of people involved in them is also impressive, with resonance throughout the island of Corfu. Today, there are 16 active Philharmonic Societies on the island, including hundreds of members spanning all age groups (Καρδάμης, 2019).

Given that Philharmonic Societies have played—and continue to play—a vital role in the musical education of the country, this Round Table will bring together conductors representing four philharmonic bands from the island of Corfu. The discussion will address key issues related to the operation of the Wind Bands and Philharmonic Societies, which may be of great interest to many music educators across the country. Topics will include: How is music taught within Philharmonic Societies? How do they manage to provide free music education without fees? How do they choose music teachers? Is being a good musician enough to make someone a good teacher? Furthermore, how does a long-standing tradition of discipline and hierarchy in musical training align with the needs of today's students and modern pedagogical principles? What does it mean for a student to feel part of a larger musical community? And finally, what keeps members of a Philharmonic Wind Band united despite differences in age, education, professional involvement in music, and other factors? (Dubois et al., 2013· Powell et al., 2017· Goodrich, 2019).

At this round table we will have the pleasure and honor to talk with the conductors from four Philharmonic Bands of Corfu: from the Corfu Philharmonic Society (founder. 1840), the Mantzaros Philharmonic Society (founded in 1890), the Corfu Philharmonic Society “Spyros Samaras” (founded in 1958) and the Corfu Philharmonic Association “Kapodistrias” (founded in 1980).

• Social musical settings
• Historical and cultural perspectives and contemporary educational practices
• Meaningful musical experiences
• Music and communities

Sokratis Anthis: Sokratis Anthis was born in Corfu in 1952. He studied trumpet at F.E. Mantzaros and at the Hellenic Conservatory of Music. In Greece he has taken part in the most important musical events since 1975 and in many recordings for the Greek Radio and Television, too. He has performed with chamber music ensembles in most European countries and in many others countries, and as a soloist with many orchestras in Greece and abroad, etc. He has been one of Manos Chatzidakis close associates for twenty years and participated in all his concerts and recordings. He worked as a solo trumpet in the Orchestra of the National Opera (1975-1990), the State Athens Orchestra (1980-1991), the National Symphony Orchestra of ERT (1976-2003) and the Colours Orchestra. He is a founder member of the chamber music ensemble “N. Mantzaros” and of the Brass quintet MELOS BRASS. He was Associate Professor at the Department of Music Studies, Ionian University, and is now a visiting professor. Since August 2013 he is a Conductor and Art Director at the Philharmonic Band of Corfu “Mantzaros”.

Zoe Dionyssiou: Zoe Dionyssiou is Professor of Music Education at the Department of Music Studies, Ionian University, Greece, directs the MA Program “Music Education in school and the community” and coordinates a series of community music education programs. She is co-editor of the journal Musical Pedagogics, author of the book "Didactics of Music: Views, approaches, perspectives" (2025), co-author of three other books and editor in two music education repositories: “Euterpe” and “Singing Greek with Mariza Koch’s songs”. She serves as a Commissioner in the Early Childhood Music Education Commission (ECME) of ISME (2022-2028) and as a member of the National Committee of Greece at the International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance (ICTMD).

Costas Zervopoulos: Born in Corfu, Greece, in September 2nd 1970, where he took his first music lessons. He studied in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Faculty of Arts, Department of Musical Studies), Musicology and Musical Pedagogy. Being, also, a flutist, he further studied in the Ionian University (PhD in Musicology, his thesis is available in https://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/20917 ). Working as a music educator in the Secondary Education in Greece, since 1998, he has been Headmaster of the Music School of Corfu (2012-2017), Headmaster in the High School of Kassiopi (since 2017). He is the Music Director of the Philarmonic Band “Spiros Samaras” in Corfu, since 2012 and Headmaster of Skripero High School since July 2023. As a musicologists he has participated in many conferences and meetings, he participated in a major project of digitizing transcribing and publishing music score archives of Ionian Islands Philarmonic Bands (http://musicarchives.dlib.ionio.gr/musicarchives/) and is currently working on publishing all the settings in music of the Hymn to Liberty, the magnum opus of Nikolaos Halikiopoulos Mantzaros (Corfu, 1795-1872).

Michael Michalopoulos: Michael Michalopoulos began his musical studies at the Philharmonic Society of Corfu , later at the "Kapodistrias" Philharmonic Union of Corfu, as well as at the Corfu Conservatory and the National Conservatory of Greece. He studied wind orchestra conducting at the Istituto Superiore Europeo Bandistico (Italy) and collaborated with distinguished conductors such as Jan Cober, Fulvio Creux etc. He has conducted wind orchestras in Greece, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria, and USA. He has composed 3 original works and arranged over 1,350 works for wind bands and wind ensembles. As a guest lecturer-Conductor he has taught in seminars on conducting and wind band repertoire in Greece and abroad and regularly participates in international juries. He is Conductor of the "Kapodistrias" Philharmonic Orchestra and regularly writes articles about the Wind Band music and its history.

Spyros Prosoparis: Born in Corfu in 1979. He studied orchestra conducting, classical percussion instruments and composition in Greece and the Netherlands. He organized and directed the Piraeus Municipality Philharmonic Band. As a musician and conductor of symphony orchestras, bands and musical ensembles he participated in Greece, Cyprus, the USA, the Netherlands, Poland and Serbia. He has composed 170 musical works and has arranged over 1070. Many of them have been performed in Greece, USA, Canada, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, Turkey and South Korea. Some of his work for wind bands are published by MOLENAAR EDITION. In 2020, he released a CD with his works performed by the historical band of the Philharmonic Society of Corfu, of which he is Director of Schools and band conductor since 2010.

Theocharis Raptis: Theocharis Raptis is Professor at the Department of Early Childhood Education, University of Ioannina. He pursued his degree at the University of Ioannina and at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany. He obtained his Magister degree in Music Education from the University of Munich and completed his doctoral thesis there as well. Ηe was a fellow of the Panagiotis & Effie Michelis Foundation. He currently serves as the Director of the Laboratory of Arts and Teaching Applications at the Department of Early Childhood Education (UoI). Additionally, he holds the position of Deputy Director of the Postgraduate Studies Programme and co-edits the scientific journal Musical Pedagogics. His primary research interests encompass music education in early childhood, the philosophy of music education, systematic music pedagogy, and the interplay between music education and emotions.