Music Is Powerful – Let Us Sing Together: A Decade of Music Art Project’s “Music of Hope” Program
Click for Serbia congratulates its partners at Music Art Project on a decade of dedicated work within the Music of Hope program. This anniversary is being marked today with a performance of the children’s opera Brundibár at the Madlenianum Opera and Theatre, symbolically rounding off ten years of continuous work with children and consistent investment in their musical education and development.
Today, the Serbian premiere of Brundibár, an opera by Czech composer Hans Krása, will be performed at Madlenianum. The production has been realized under the artistic direction of Marijana Mijanović, directed by Aleksandar Nikolić, and conducted by Milan Nedeljković. More than fifty children and young people from the Music of Hope program will take the stage, together with professional artists and project alumni.
The significance of this premiere also lies in the way it came to life. Preparing the production required long-term collaborative work, in which musical skills are developed alongside responsibility toward the group, listening to others, and a clear division of roles. This process forms the foundation of the Music of Hope program and gives meaning to the public performance as the result of collective effort. The choice of Brundibár was not accidental either.
The Opera Brundibár
The opera follows the story of a brother and sister, Aninka and Pepíček, who try to earn money to help their sick mother. In the town square, they encounter Brundibár, an organ grinder who prevents them from singing and presenting themselves to the public. Their first attempt fails, but once other children — as well as the animals from the square — join them, they succeed, united, in defeating Brundibár. As the opera concludes:
“Music is powerful, it brings joy to all — let us sing together!”
The storyline is simple and clear in its message. Brundibár speaks about solidarity, the value of collective action, and how an individual voice changes when it becomes part of a group. For this reason, the opera is often performed with children and young people, as it allows the idea of togetherness to be experienced directly through performance.
Why was this particular opera chosen to celebrate a decade of work? Within the Music of Hope program, it naturally reflects the way children are engaged in the artistic process. Participants come from diverse backgrounds and, through choirs and orchestras, enter an artistic journey that requires continuity, cooperation, and mutual trust.
Music of Hope
Over the past ten years, the Music of Hope program has brought together more than 2,800 children and young people in 11 cities across Serbia. They have participated in orchestras and choirs and delivered more than one hundred public performances in Serbia and abroad. The program is free of charge for all participants.
In addition, Music of Hope has been developed in line with international practices in music education based on collective music-making, including the El Sistema methodology.
We congratulate our partners and friends from Music Art Project on ten years of Music of Hope and wish them continued work in the same spirit and rhythm.
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