After three days of listening to candidates’ performances, the auditions for the second edition of the Belgrade Philharmonic’s Orchestral Academy – The Philcademy, intended for music academy students and graduates, are complete. Out of 92 candidates from Serbia and the neighbouring countries, 52 best ones have been selected for the opportunity to learn about orchestral performance from the BPO musicians, in the period 20 November – 1 December 2017.

“We still hadn’t processed the amazing impressions from our first open-air concert and the very next day we started auditioning the candidates whom we will be mentoring through the second edition of The Philcademy. Young musicians’ enthusiasm and keenness to learn from us once again made us proud, even though we thought that it couldn’t get any better than what we experienced in front of 25,000 people. Almost all of the candidates joined us for the concert picnic and they were really watching us with great exhilaration”, said Miroslav Pavlović, concertmaster of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra.

The selected candidates have shown genuine appreciation for the opportunity given by the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, confident that it would be an excellent and significant experience that they lacked in their formal education. After their work with the mentors, the Philcademy trainees will join the orchestra for preparation of the final concert under the baton of Daniel Raiskin, Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, scheduled on 1 December at the Kolarac Foundation Grand Hall.

“The Philcademy project is a part of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra’s long-term development agenda. Moreover, our musicians have shown a high level of social responsibility by helping their young fellow musicians to be prepared, not only for joining the Belgrade Philharmonic, but also for any audition in the world. In this way, taking the role of the mentors, the BPO musicians are sharing their precious experience acquired through collaboration with celebrated conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Michail Jurowski, Cristian Mandeal and many others. By teaming up with the new Chief Conductor Gabriel Feltz, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra is giving a unique contribution to the training of musicians in Serbia, giving them the opportunity to learn from the members of the best orchestra in the region”, said Ivan Tasovac, Director of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra.