The Belgrade Philharmonic has started its concert series for schoolchildren from the first to the fourth grade, which will take place from 21-29 March,  weekdays at 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon. In addition to a completely new story, a musical fairy tale, “The Witch and the Maestro”, the Belgrade Philharmonic has prepared a unique gift for the children – a book containing the story, illustrations, and the music performed by the orchestra.

The story was written by Conductor Howard Griffiths, a long-time collaborator and frequent guest of the Belgrade Philharmonic. The music was composed by Fabian Künzli. Once again, Philharmonic Orchestra members Slavica Perić and Tamara Marinković Tomić, are the narrators and the children are first introduced to the strange inhabitants of a village – the String family, the Woodwind family, the Brass family, and the Percussion family, and then they meet a little witch and her big secret, which will be revealed by the good Maestro. Conductor Aleksandar Kojić will lead the Belgrade Philharmonic, which will tell an exciting story full of surprises through super-entertaining music.

After the concert, the schoolchildren will receive a music book “The Witch and the Maestro” published by the Belgrade Philharmonic. Not only will the children be able to read the story and look at the illustrations, but they can also listen to the music played by the orchestra at the concert by scanning the QR code in the book.

“I am a conductor, and a conductor needs imagination; lots of imagination. That’s why I have created this story for you. Why did I become a conductor: simply because it is one of the most beautiful callings in the whole world. And because I love music, because it’s a language that everyone understands,” Howard Griffiths wrote in the introduction to the book that has been written and translated in English, German, Turkish, and Serbian, and is planned to be translated into Polish, Russian, and Chinese.