Biography

Our celebrated composer, teacher and founder of military music Stanislav Binički founded the Belgrade Military Orchestra on 26 September 1899. It was the first orchestra in Serbia able to perform music in concert that was modern for its time. The tradition of that orchestra has been preserved across three centuries, to this day, by the Stanislav Binički Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence, which this year marks 124 years of existence.

Stanislav Binički was an important figure in Serbian and world music history. He left behind numerous works of classical music whose motifs draw on the themes and melos of our region. He wrote the first Serbian opera, Na Uranku, and among his many important works we single out one that is very dear to us, the patriotically inspired March on the Drina.

Today the Stanislav Binički Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defence is an institution of the Public Relations Department which, through the variety of its programmes and repertoire and its adaptability across genres, worthily affirms and represents the Republic of Serbia, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces to audiences at home and abroad, as well as to the professional public. Since 2022, after a pause of many years, the Ensemble’s professional line-up has been strengthened by a Mixed Choir and soloists, who have become an indispensable part of its performances.