The BPO Invests in New Generations of Players and Conductors

The Final Concert of the Belgrade Philharmonic’s Second Orchestral Academy – the Philcademy – is scheduled on Friday, 1 December under the leadership of Daniel Raiskin (Kolarac, 8pm). The concert in which the Philcademy trainees will play shoulder to shoulder with the orchestra’s experienced musicians will be free for the audience coming to hear and support the new generation of orchestral musicians.

In the auditions held in June this year, the best 48 students and graduates from the academies in Serbia and the region were selected for the Philcademy, where they will be given the opportunity to pursue further professional training and acquire experience in orchestral performance. In addition to musicians from Serbia, applications for the programme also came from young fellow musicians studying abroad, as well as from last year’s trainees who were delighted with the experienced they gained in the BPO’s First Orchestral Academy.

Slovenian trombonists Matjaž Kafol and Matic Kovač already have experience in playing in Slovenian orchestras, but they did not want to miss the opportunity to practice with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra:

“Learning from the phenomenal BPO musicians is a precious experience to us. It is especially valuable to also learn from such a remarkable conductor as Daniel Raiskin, who has directed the world’s finest orchestras. Although there is a lot of work involved, the ambience is wonderful and we enjoy our time in Belgrade so much”, said the young Slovenian musicians.

Together with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra players, the Philcademy trainees will perform Beethoven’s Symphony No 1 and Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra.

Beside new generations of musicians, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra also offers a unique opportunity to young conductors. In December, it will organise auditions for the Conductors Forum international masterclass, which will be led by BPO Chief Conductor Gabriel Feltz in June 2018.