The performance of the Military Orchestra and the playing of the German anthem caused special attention in the German media that accompanied Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his short visit to Macedonia last weekend. According to the newspaper “Spiegel”, the brightest point of Chancellor Scholz’s Balkan tour was precisely the performance of the national anthem of Germany by the Macedonian Military Orchestra.
The text of the German “Spiegel”, entitled “The German with hope in his luggage”, began with the statement of the journalist Melanie Amann, one of the reporters in the numerous press team that accompanied the chancellor on the Balkan tour, that the brightest point of the entire trip was – the extraordinary performance of the national anthem of Germany by the Military Orchestra in Skopje!
“And the winner is… the Military Orchestra in North Macedonia. At no other stop during Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s trip to the Western Balkans did the German national anthem sound as strong and ecstatic as it did in Skopje,” wrote journalist Amann.
Other German diplomats, politicians and journalists present at the official reception of Scholz in front of the headquarters of the Macedonian Government in Skopje were also delighted by the performance of the national anthems of Germany and North Macedonia before the start of the talks between the German Chancellor Scholz and his Macedonian counterpart Kovacevski.
The conductor of the Military Orchestra, Lieutenant Colonel Goran Ilijevski in his conversation with Nova TV expressed his great satisfaction with such recognition. “This is a very significant recognition and honour for us”, he said.
The Lieutenant Colonel adds that the preparations made by the Military Orchestra for the reception of the German Chancellor and for the German national anthem were thorough and carried out with special attention and responsibility, and therefore they are proud of the given compliment.
“It is a recognition of the dedication with which we approach the performance of the anthems during official state receptions with military honors,” said Ilijevski.
The modesty with which this undoubted world recognition is accepted is another confirmation that the conductor and his orchestra are a dedicated and functional team.
The Military Orchestra of the Army, as we were told by the Army, is part of the Honour Guard Battalion and participates in military ceremonies, celebrations of Army unit days, commemoration of significant dates and military honours and ceremonies. In order to become a musician in the Military Orchestra, one must have previously completed appropriate musical education in the section for wind and percussion instruments. They told us that the candidates should be healthy and have psychophysical fitness as any other candidate applying for employment in the Army.
“The musical instruments used in the Military Orchestra must have high standards, they must be of verified quality and properly maintained and serviced,” answered Lieutenant Colonel Ilijevski to our question to reveal more about how his army “unit”, whose main weapon is music, not bullets,
works.
“The instruments are the key for the quality of the performance, but we always emphasize that the human potential of the Military Orchestra is what actually makes the difference to exceptionality,” reveals Ilijevski.
The Military Orchestra is the only professional brass orchestra in the country that performs protocol tasks by participating in state events, military celebrations and ceremonies. They have cooperation with members of orchestras from partner countries by organizing public events and concerts with a diverse musical program. On several occasions, the Macedonian Military Orchestra has already held joint concerts in Skopje with the military orchestras of the USA, Bulgaria and Greece, as well as with the Norwegian Military Orchestra, which is part of the Royal Guard of Norway.
This speaks a lot about the musical synchronization with the military orchestras from around the world, and is another confirmation of the great success that follows the work of the Military Orchestra of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.
“We always approach these tasks with special enthusiasm, with creativity in the interpretation of the works themselves, with professionalism in the preparations and with particular dedication during the performance. That is why we consider that concerts and public events are our promotion and part of the heritage that remains in a suitable form of record for future generations”, said Lieutenant Colonel Goran Ilijevski, who is the conductor of the Military Orchestra.
Source: Нова ТВ
