A great man is one who collects knowledge the way a bee collects honey and uses it to help people overcome the difficulties they endure - hunger, ignorance and disease!
- Nikola Tesla

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
- Franklin Roosevelt

While their territory has been devastated and their homes despoiled, the spirit of the Serbian people has not been broken.
- Woodrow Wilson

The American Capital Enchanted by the Belgrade Philharmonic

The concert at the Strathmore Music Center in Washington D.C was the third performance on the U.S. tour and, once again, the audience was completely enchanted. They first stood up for the American and Serbian national anthems at the beginning of the concert, but as the orchestra’s last tones reverberated in the hall they were on their feet again, calling for encore.

The Belgrade Philharmonic’s orchestra not only connected the Serbian and American audiences, but it also gathered members of the U.S. diplomatic corps. Beside the US Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby, the concert was also attended by his predecessor Mary Warlick.

“I feel so much joy to be in the Strathmore Center tonight for this exceptional concert of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. It has been a while since the last time I had the chance to hear them and I remember with affection all those delightful nights I spent at Kolarac. It is a great pleasure to welcome the Belgrade Philharmonic in America and an excellent opportunity for your orchestra to share its talent with the American people. Thank you so much for coming”, said Mary Warlick.

Ambassador Michael Kirby has followed the Belgrade Philharmonic in all concerts of the American tour so far. “Washington is a unique experience. After Chicago and Cleveland, two cities with longer music traditions, only the first-class orchestras come to play in the Strathmore Center. A large audience showed up and the concert was excellent. Each of the concerts was different due to diverse acoustics of the halls. Among the audience, there were many Americans. I think it was wonderful that The Legend of Ohrid was included in the programme and that a piece written by a Serbian composer was presented.”

In addition to the U.S Ambassador to Serbia, guests at the concert also included members of the diplomatic corps and the US Department of State officials.

Following the concert in the prestigious Strathmore Center, the Belgrade Philharmonic will conclude its U.S. tour on 9 October, with a concert in Carnegie Hall, New York.

Source: Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra

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Richard Milanovich

Richard Milanovich

Birth: Dec. 4, 1942, Banning, Riverside County, California, USA
Death: Mar. 12, 2012, Rancho Mirage, Riverside County, California, USA

Born to an Indian mother and Serbian father, Richard M. Milanovich grew up in poverty in Palm Springs, living in a shack and receiving government handouts of surplus food. He served as in infantryman in the United States Army from 1960-1963, and later returned to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation to engage in tribal politics. Eventually he was elected Chairman of the Band in 1984, and became a major figure in the development of casino operations on Indian land in the region and California. Through his vision and leadership, the Agua Caliente Band became the most prosperous group of Indians in the United States, and were able to make major contributions to the economy of the Palm Springs area. As Chairman, he was invited to the White House to consult with the President and other political officials. California Governor Jerry Brown, Congresswoman Mary Bono-Mack, Palm Springs Mayor Steve Pougnet, and Tribal Chairpersons from throughout California all eulogized Chairman Milanovich at the memorial service held in his honor held at the Palm Springs Convention Center. He was buried in a service attended by family and close friends.

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The Hagia Sophia

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by Charalambos P. Stathakis

Dear reader, as you run like the rest of us along the dizzy main road, stop, stay aside for a while. Let the others be dizzy, and take the secret underground trail, which will lead you through the dewdrops of the leaves, the crystal smile of the sun, the city’s underground galler- ies, your knowledge, and your feelings, to the doorstep of the Hagia Sophia. Because all dew- drops, all sunrays, and all beauty lead there. That is what you will be told by my friend, the author, whom I am fond of and whom I send you to, Charalambos Stathakis: the doctor, the warm and humane researcher, the scientist devoted to his work and his patients, who has given a series of scientific papers, who, nevertheless, retains a nest of beauty untouched in his heart, which makes him outstanding—even though he is not a specialist in architecture, nor a historian, nor a theologian, nor a Byzantinist—it makes him stand out in all these together and in entirety.