Saturday, May 17th, we look forward to seeing you from 11 AM at the Cărturești Verona Bookstore in Bucharest for a special meeting with our colleague, a specialist in early childhood music education. Participants will have the chance to win a free spot in the MIMA Music courses in Bucharest through a prize draw.

Radio România Muzical invites you to a new series of events: the Radio România Muzical meetings at the Cărturești Verona Bookstore in Bucharest. The first meeting of these will feature our colleague Ana Voinescu who is also now joining us on the phone. Good afternoon, Ana!

Good afternoon, Gabi! I am happy to be here with you today and to talk about our show or rather, the segment at Radio România Muzical dedicated to our youngest listeners as a part of the very first Radio România Muzical meeting with its audience.

First of all, tell me, are you feeling nervous about this event?

Of course, there are always some nerves, especially behind the microphone, but even more so when it comes to meeting the radio audience in person. It's a completely new experience for a presenter who usually imagines the listeners, and now has the chance to actually see them face to face. I imagine the feeling is mutual: our listeners must also feel a bit emotional as they meet their favorite presenters or the shows they spend time with every day.

So, what's happening this Saturday, May 17th, at the Cărturești Verona Bookstore in Bucharest? Tell us all about it.

The idea behind the Radio România Muzical meetings with listeners is, first and foremost, about connection and getting to know our audience better, for us as presenters, and for those who follow us. Naturally, we have so many questions we'd love to ask: where do they listen to us, when, how? Are they parents listening together with their children? Do they prefer to choose episodes of Mister Do from our archive? I've met so many mothers who've told me things like, "Oh, I want to make a playlist and let the Radio România Muzical stories play for my child." So, it's really important for us to build this relationship with the people we're speaking to.

What time is the meeting on May 17th?

At 11:00 AM, at the Cărturești Verona Bookstore, in the Hall of Mirrors. Cărturești Verona is a bookstore that has always welcomed young audiences and supported quality education through books and storytelling, so it's the perfect place for us to meet.

And it has a very welcoming atmosphere for this kind of event. I saw in the presentation that there will also be a discussion about the project Listen to 5 Minutes of Classical Music, which is present in Romanian schools.

Yes, these are the two projects dedicated to children. While Mister Do is a segment in which I speak directly to our youngest listeners, mainly preschool-aged children, with a focus on early music education, the other segment, Listen to 5 Minutes of Classical Music, is aimed at school-aged students. It serves as an excellent resource for their teachers and, of course, for their parents as well.

Admission to this event is free, right? And there's also a prize involved. Could you tell us more about it?

The prize is offered by the MIMA Music Education Center, through a partnership that brings to life the stories from Mister Do, or musical tales in general, by inviting children to experience music through movement. Using a narrative framework, children are guided through various musical concepts in a way that speaks to their imagination: for example, a little bear might represent quarter notes, while a mouse could symbolize eighth notes. For children, music needs to enter their world of imagination, and that's exactly what happens at MIMA Music. They offer early music education through play and movement, designed especially for very young children. The prize is a free spot in one of these workshops.

Ana Voinescu, thank you so much, and I wish you the best of luck. I hope that, in the welcoming atmosphere of the Cărturești Verona Bookstore, many of your listeners will join you there.

I hope so too. I'll be there with open arms, full of joy and emotion.

Once again, good luck!

Thank you!