Since 1866, music has passed from hand to hand. From the first instruments to major tours, this is the story of a community that never stopped playing.
The band’s centenary · 1966
History, chapter by chapter
More than years. Generations.
Explore the band’s journey, from its founders’ initiative to today’s stages.
Chapter 011866–1878
A village finds its voice.
On 1 January 1866, a group of Relva residents founded a band to bring distinction to their village and teach music to younger generations. Its name honours the local patron saint: Nossa Senhora das Neves.
Manuel Inácio Brasil was the first conductor. António Ferreira de Benevides was a leading supporter, and Guilherme Pereira Rangel offered the new band an anthem. Its public debut took place on 9 October 1866, at the Nossa Senhora do Rosário procession in Relva. In 1878, under Guilherme Tavares de Matos, the band appeared at Santo Cristo with 50 musicians and 40 new instruments.
Chapter 021879–1954
A new name. The music continues.
On 29 June 1879, the institution adopted the name Banda Popular Progressista Relvense. Support from benefactor families helped renew its instruments and sustain its musical activity.
The band benefits from the patronage of the Fonte Bela and Raposo de Amaral families. Losing that support brought hardship: worn instruments, inadequate uniforms and financial pressure. Minutes from 1948–1950 record instrument repairs and a return to the Santo Cristo procession in 1949. That year, José Germano Carreiro succeeded Alberto de Chaves as conductor. Musicians, members and officers kept the band active.
At its centenary in 1966, the board restored the name Filarmónica de Nossa Senhora das Neves. José de Oliveira was president and Manuel Medeiros was conductor.
José de Oliveira led the association from 1965 to 1988. Manuel de Almeida Medeiros devoted around fifty years to the band, more than three decades as conductor. The band’s history also includes his brother João de Almeida Medeiros and successive generations of local musicians. Teaching and community life carried the music from one generation to the next.
The first tour beyond São Miguel took the band to Santa Maria in August 1992. Azambuja followed in 1994, Terceira in 1996, and a tour to meet emigrant communities in 1998.
Photographs of the 1998 tour to Canada and the United States record those encounters with emigrant communities. In 1999, the band visited Rio Maior and Seixal. Under president João Manuel Almeida Soares, another major project became reality: its own headquarters opened on 8 December 2000, within the Centro Cívico da Relva.
Relva’s collective merit diploma in 2005, victory in the Filarmonia competition in 2010, and the Azorean civic merit insignia in 2016 marked different forms of recognition for the band.
On 19 September 2010, the band won the first Filarmonia band competition at Coliseu Micaelense, conducted by Hélio Soares. Its 150th anniversary opening concert took place there on 23 January 2016. On 16 May that year, in Vila Franca do Campo, it received the Azorean civic merit insignia.
The 160th anniversary looks to the future: training new musicians, working with guest artists and creating projects that reach new audiences.
The recent archive includes concerts, festivals and collaborations such as The Black Mamba in 2024, and Ronda da Madrugada in Santa Maria in 2025 and Pico in 2026. The music school, youth band, FISA and CLARINANDO carry forward the mission to teach, share and make music together.
Our journey
Travel through our history.
1866 — 2026
1866Origins
1 January · 9 October
The first beat.
Filarmónica Nossa Senhora das Neves was founded on 1 January 1866, named after Relva's patron saint. Its first performance took place on 9 October, beginning a story that would span generations.
The historical record recalls support from the Raposo do Amaral family and continued activity, even during financial difficulties.
From the first conductor to today, generations of conductors have given the band its voice. The list also includes occasional substitutes.
1866
Manuel Inácio Brasil
First conductor, associated with the origin of the band’s motto.
1949
José Germano Carreiro
Succeeded Alberto de Chaves during the institution’s recovery.
1966
Manuel de Almeida Medeiros
Conductor at the centenary; more than three decades devoted to conducting.
Manuel Inácio Brasil
Guilherme Tavares de Matos
Augusto Baptista
Carlos Manuel Simões
Sargento Bastos
Alberto Narciso Ribeiro
Alberto de Chaves
João Ferreira dos Santos
José Germano Carreiro
Ernesto Medeiros
Manuel Medeiros
João de Almeida Medeiros
João Rosado
Luís Guerreiro
Hélio Soares
João Rosado and Luís Guerreiro also served as occasional substitute conductors.
The people who sustained this story
Music needs people.
Honouring those who served the band, and the many musicians, members, families and officers who sustained its history.
1965–1988
José de Oliveira
President for 23 years, he led the centenary board that restored the band’s original name.
From 1995
João Manuel Almeida Soares
President during the major 1990s tours and the opening of the band’s own headquarters in 2000.
First woman president
Paula Medeiros
The first woman to lead the band, in the first decade of the 21st century.
150th anniversary celebrations
António Raimundo
President of the board elected in 2015, he received the Azorean civic merit insignia on the institution’s behalf in 2016.
From Relva to the world
One band, many destinations.
Tours and encounters
Santa Maria
August 1992 · 25 e 26 October 2025
The first tour beyond São Miguel was in August 1992. The band returned to Santa Maria on 25 and 26 October 2025 for two concerts with Ronda da Madrugada at Atlântida Cine. The board confirms at least three visits; the other visit’s date awaits identification in the archive.
