Dušan Panajotović, DMA
Dušan Panajotović (1992) was born in Knjaževac, where he began his musical education at the “Predrag Milošević” School of Music under professor Ognjan Rilak. He continued at the “Vojislav Vučković” Music Gymnasium in Niš with professor Zorica Ilić, and in 2010 enrolled at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade in the class of professor Gordana Matijević-Nedeljković. Under her mentorship, he completed his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral studies. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.
Panajotović has received numerous national and international awards. Among the most notable are the UMUS Award for Best Young Artist, the Muzika Klasika Award, and the Yamaha Music Foundation Award, as well as first prizes at the International Danube Instrumental Competition in Ulm, the Burgos International Music Festival in Spain, and the Republic Competition in Belgrade. He was also the recipient of a special award at the “Ohrid Pearls” International Competition in North Macedonia, which granted him a scholarship for further studies at the School of Music & Dance, College of Creative Arts, San Francisco State University. In addition, he has been honored with prizes from the Miodrag Macić-Mišo, Meri Žeželj-Majer, and Merima Dragutinović foundations.
As a soloist, he has appeared at leading festivals in Serbia and abroad, including NIMUS, BEMUS, Neisuoni dei Luoghi (Italy), Danube Fest (Germany), and the festival In Honor of Predrag Milošević, of which he is the founder. He has performed as a soloist with ensembles and orchestras such as the Dušan Skovran String Orchestra, the Niš Symphony Orchestra, the Burgos Festival Orchestra, the Ulm Theatre Orchestra and the string orchestra RTS.
As concertmaster, Panajotović performed with the Young Euro Classic Orchestra at the Berlin Konzerthaus under the direction of Liana Isakadze. He has refined his artistry through masterclasses with distinguished violinists including Hagai Shaham, Stefan Milenković, Oleg Pokhanovski, Jovan Kolundžija and Sreten Krstić.
He is also a member of the Belgrade Trio, with which he toured extensively in Serbia and Europe, performing at venues such as the prestigious Bozar Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. He currently serves as concertmaster of the chamber ensemble 13 Strings and string quartet „4 gudača“.