Faculty of Music University of Arts in Belgrade

Faculty of Music University of Arts in Belgrade

Dragan Sredojevic is a Serbian violinist, university professor, and Doctor of Musical Arts. Born in Valjevo, he began playing the violin at the age of six, first as a student at the “Zivorad Grbic” Music School in his hometown, and later at the “Mokranjac” Music School in Belgrade. He pursued his higher musical education at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under Professor Marija Jokanovic, and at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, studying with Professors Marina Yashvili and Eduard Grach, where he graduated with highest honors.

Upon completing his studies in Moscow, and at the invitation of Maestro Valery Gergiev, he joined the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St. Petersburg as an Associate Concertmaster. Over the years, he has given more than a thousand performances on some of the world’s most renowned stages and festivals. At the age of 25, following a successful audition, he was invited to lead the London Symphony Orchestra as a Co-Leader – becoming one of the youngest musicians to hold that position in the orchestra’s history. During this time, he recorded for BBC Radio and toured extensively throughout the UK and Europe.

Dragan has collaborated with some of the most prominent figures in classical music, including Steve Reich, John Adams, Gianandrea Noseda, Fabio Luisi, Plácido Domingo, Gautier Capuçon, Yuri Bashmet, Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolaj Znaider, and Natalia Gutman.
He has appeared at leading international festivals and prestigious concert venues such as: Carnegie Hall (New York), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), Barbican Hall and Buckingham Palace (London), the European Parliament (Brussels), Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow), Mariinsky Theatre (St. Petersburg), Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Teatro di San Carlo (Naples), Musikverein (Vienna), Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Walt Disney Concert Hall (Los Angeles), Victoria Hall (Geneva), Tonhalle (Zurich), Israeli Opera (Tel Aviv), Gasteig (Munich), Auditorio Nacional (Madrid), Royal Opera (Stockholm), Palace of Fine Arts (Mexico City), National Centre for the Arts (Beijing), and Seoul Arts Center.

In Serbia, he opened the 48th BEMUS Music Festival at the Kolarac Foundation in Belgrade, performing Brahms’ Violin Concerto with the RTS Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Bojan Sudjic. The concert was broadcast live by Serbian national television. Particularly notable was his complete performance of the Brahms sonatas for violin and piano at the Kolarac Hall in Belgrade and the Moscow Conservatory.

Among his many honors and awards, Dragan received the prestigious “Belgrade Angel” Award, presented by the City of Belgrade for artistic excellence and cultural contribution, as well as the Award of the Association of Musical Artists of Serbia for Best Concert of 2021.

In addition to his active performing career, Sredojevic is passionately devoted to pedagogy. He has held numerous masterclasses and workshops for young musicians throughout Serbia and Europe. He currently holds the academic title of Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Music, University of Arts in Belgrade. His teaching philosophy combines the foundations of the European violin school with a modern, student-centered approach that emphasizes technical mastery and artistic individuality.

At the 23rd International Conservatory Week Festival in St. Petersburg, he conducted a well-received masterclass for students at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory. He has also worked with students at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, leading a collaborative performance project with the chamber orchestra, in which he appeared both as a soloist and conductor.
Dragan Sredojevic performs on an 18th-century French violin crafted by François Lipo, generously loaned by a private collector.