In mid-March 2026, the Slovenian Flute Orchestra embarked on an international tour with the project The Balkan Road Trip, in which a reconstruction of the Neanderthal flute – the oldest known musical instrument in the world – joined the ensemble. It was performed by Alenka Eržen.

After the first concert in Koper, the orchestra continued its tour in Belgrade, Skopje, Podgorica, and Sarajevo. The programme offered a diverse and dynamic musical journey through works by Slovenian composers of different generations, intertwined with rhythms, melodies, and expressive characteristics of Western Balkan countries.

The Slovenian Flute Orchestra brings together academically trained flautists from all over Slovenia. The ensemble includes piccolo flutes, concert C flutes, alto flutes, and bass flutes, with its sonic palette enriched by contrabass, piano, and percussion. The orchestra is establishing itself as a unique ensemble that, with its tonal richness and energy, opens a space for both Slovenian creativity and contemporary interpretations of the broader cultural region.

The Balkan Road Trip project connected Slovenian musical heritage with the expressive traditions of Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, creating a vivid intercultural dialogue. The programme included works by Slovenian composers ranging from Renaissance master Jacobus Gallus to contemporary authors such as Andrej Makor, Tilen Slakan, Marjan Grdadolnik, Tine Bec, Blaž Pucihar, Agata Gojkošek, Leon Firšt, and Anže Rozman. At the centre of the programme was Leon Firšt’s composition The Balkan Road Trip, which musically intertwined Balkan rhythms, characteristic melodic elements, and contemporary creative imagination.

A special symbolic significance was given to the inclusion of the Neanderthal flute, the original of which was discovered in Divje babe in Šebrelje near Cerkno and is kept at the National Museum of Slovenia. Its replica was performed in Davorin Jenko’s composition Lipa zelenela, connecting the oldest known musical instrument in the world with Slovenian musical heritage and presenting it within a broad historical arc – from prehistory to contemporary artistic creation.