As he explains the difference between a violin and a viola, Igor Aleksić, a professor at the Faculty of Arts in Niš, manages to keep the full attention of primary school pupils gathered at the Centre for Professional Development in Education in Leskovac.
This interactive educational approach, which actively engages children through a guided concert format, was successfully repeated a few days later at the Cultural Centre in Prokuplje and the Public Library in Pirot. Between engaging lessons about musical instruments and the history of music, some of the most talented students of the Faculty of Arts in Niš—soloist Marica Stanković and violinists Tadija and Lazar Mutavdžić—performed some of the most renowned works of classical music.
Ode to Joy is a programme that successfully complements music education for younger primary school students. Children learned who Beethoven was and why he composed the melody that later became the Anthem of Europe, how string instruments function on the inside, and why a violin sounds different from a viola. Through a “musical journey through time,” they were introduced to the evolution of music-listening technologies—from radio sets and gramophones to compact discs and today’s streaming services. The children were encouraged to approach the instruments, ask questions, and actively participate.
The young musicians’ repertoire included some of the most celebrated pieces of classical music, such as Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No. 5, and Strauss’s The Blue Danube. For many of the several hundred children who attended, it was their first opportunity to experience a classical music concert, learn about concert etiquette, and discover more about the history and characteristics of string instruments.
The impact of the programme was evident throughout the performances. In conversations following the concerts, teachers, educators, and parents stressed the importance of such initiatives in communities where children rarely have the opportunity to attend cultural events. According to Aleksić, the programme also established direct cooperation between local cultural institutions, primary schools, and Europe House Niš, with the aim of continuing and expanding this collaboration to other cities across southern Serbia.
The project was implemented as part of the Europe House Niš programme during Europe Month, which is organised each year by the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia.