In the period 20–28 October, on weekdays at 10 am and 12 noon, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra will welcome preschool youngsters at the Belgrade Philharmonic Hall as part of the series of children’s concerts. Directed by conductor Aleksandar Kojić and featuring actor Vladislava Vaca Djordjević as the narrator, the orchestra will perform the programme Say Hello to the Orchestra, based on the scenario by Mina Ćirić.
 
On top of the music by Australian composer Sean O’Boyle, children from Belgrade kindergartens will hear an interesting story about orchestra instruments, told in an amusing way adapted to their age, which brings them closer to the world of classical music. The creation of original scenarios is a novelty in the BPO’s planning of children’s programmes. Accordingly, young playwright Mina Ćirić wrote the story Say Hello to the Orchestra about a Composer and her friends from the orchestra – the instruments having an argument among themselves, so that she has to find a way to reconcile them and make the concert possible.
 
“My task was to come up with the text that would link twenty Sean O’Boyle’s short pieces and integrate them into a single story. Each of them is a small monologue of an instrument, which is why I introduced the Composer character to translate the musical language of her friends. The music and text in Say Hello to the Orchestra interweave with each other and lead the dialogue”, Mina explained the text, which combines the two things she like the most – music and writing for children.
 
The Composer, trying to reconcile arguing instruments and to present their “problems” to the audience, will be played by Vaca Djordjević. She will introduce the capricious, know-it-all Miss Piccolo, Percussions and their complaints about having too small roles in compositions, Bassoon who is trying to be taken seriously, while everybody sees him as a clown, and the calm and independent Oboe who always pretends to be “cool”.
 
With the Say Hello to the Orchestra programme, the Belgrade Philharmonic continues the traditional series of children’s concerts. As usual, in October, the programme is dedicated to preschool kids. The second part of March is reserved for younger school children.