Trainees of the Philcademy – the Belgrade Philharmonic’s first orchestral academy, accompanied by the orchestra members, will give the final concert under the baton of Fabrice Bollon, on Tuesday, 15 November (Belgrade Philharmonic Hall, 7pm). The concert performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No 7 and Stravinsky’s Firebird will be the crown of collaboration of young Philcademy trainees and experienced BPO musicians.
 
In the course of the Philcademy, 49 music academy students and graduates first had separate section rehearsals with the BPO musicians, who were their mentors for a week. The BPO orchestral academy was launched at the initiative of the orchestra’s musicians, who presented the finesses of orchestral performance to their younger fellow musicians, with the idea to help them as much as possible in their professional training.
 
A regular guest of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Fabrice Bollon was chosen to prepare the final concert since he is a conductor with ample experience in similar learning projects. He believes that their significance is, above all, in discovering talented young musicians and offering them an opportunity to decide whether they are prepared to pursue a career or professional orchestral musicians.
 
“In programme preparation, it takes more patience than with a professional orchestra to identify the problems and devise solutions. However, one thing that I realised in projects of this kind is that students are sometimes more patient that professional musicians, who tend to lose patience if you insist on some detail too much”, says conductor Bollon, revealing his excitement ahead of the final concert: “The trainees are motivated, but also nervous – which is quite normal. Nervousness is good when it pushes you to be even better, but sometimes it can be blocking.”
 
To ensure that the final concert is a complete success, the Philcademy trainees will be assisted by the BPO musicians, who have earned the trainees’ trust by giving them advice about co-working in an orchestra, following the lead of section principals and the conductor. Although entirely innovative in our community, similar learning concepts have a long-lasting tradition around the world. The tickets for the final concert are available at the Belgrade Philharmonic Box Office, as well as via the online ticket sale system.