The eleventh Serbian New Year’s concert, organized by the Serbian Educational and Cultural Society (SECS) Prosvjeta, was held in the pleasant atmosphere of the Vienna Concert Hall (Ehrbar Saal).

The guests included members of Austrian institutions, Ms Gudrun Kugler, Mr Maximilian Krauss and others, and head of the Representative Office of the Republic of Srpska in Austria, Mr Mladen Filipović, assistant minister for cooperation with the diaspora from the Republic of Srpska, Ms Helena Krnetić, envoys from the Ministry without portfolio in charge of coordinating activities and measures in the field of relations with the diaspora of the Serbian Government, Mr Milivoje Ćosić and Mr Zoran Anđelković, and representatives of Serbian organizations, Ms Cica Rajković from Jedinstvo, Mr Milan Vidović from the Serbian Center, Mr Saša Stanković from Serbian Folklore Association, Serbian students and others.

The concert is traditionally a bridge between cultures and has best shown Serbian musical culture, announced the Viennese Prosvjeta.

The event was opened by Serbian Ambassador Marko Blagojević, who commended Prosvjeta’s work and the idea of this concert, which, according to him, best connected cultures and people.

The stage saw exceptional performers, Trag ethno group from Banja Luka and SECS Prosvjeta children’s choir.

The ethno group Trag delighted the audience with its musical virtuosity and performance of traditional melodies.

Children were also in the spotlight, as the SECS Prosvjeta children’s choir was among the performers.

The president of Prosvjeta Vienna, Marko Sarić, noted the deep historical and cultural ties between Austria and Serbia, the centuries of Serbian people contributing to the development of Vienna and the whole of Austria, and emphasized the need to raise mutual ties to a higher level, stating that the best way to do this was dialogue, education and culture.

Prosvjeta’s little choir, under the direction of Vera Simić, was met with ovation, and the audience sang along with the ethno group Trag, which performed Kosovo and Metohija melodies, cheerful gypsy poskočica, Sevdalinka, Serbian and Montenegrin traditional songs.

Trag group member Hilda Hrekes, an Orthodox Syrian, sang a version of the song Ruse kose curo imaš in Arabic and Serbian, which caused a special ovation in the audience.

In addition to being a musical event, the concert was also an opportunity for a joint gathering and celebration of Serbian culture in the heart of Vienna.

The concert took place on Saturday, 13 January, and yesterday a ceremonial presenting of New Year’s packages to the children of Prosvjeta Serbian supplementary schools in Vienna was organized in Vienna’s Alberthall with the support of the Republic of Srpska Representation in Austria and other friends of Prosvjeta.

The packages were handed out by the founder and manager of Prosvjeta schools, Srđan Mijalković, with the assistance of Prosvjeta teachers and team.

Source: Serbian Educational and Cultural Society Prosvjeta Austria - RTRS - SRNA - Dunav.at

Photo: Dunav.at