Biography Sabrina Vlaskalic

One of today´s most promising guitar talents, Serbian born Sabrina Vlaskalic
(1989) started her formal music education at the age of 7. Nearly refused at her
entrance exam and labeled as “musically ungifted”, she had a choice of enrolling
in the classical guitar class or not enrolling in the music school at all. Sabrina’s
father, a genuine guitar lover, immediately decided to take over the role of her
guitar guide and gave her his own inexpensive instrument. In a matter of months,
Sabrina’s father would discover an extraordinary talented child who is now
praised as the phenomenon of classical guitar.

Growing up in a politically unstable region, wars and the strong tradition of the Balkans reflected on the
refined musical taste of the young virtuoso. Her innovative programming is a refreshing guitar concert
experience ranging from Bach to Brouwer and Bogdanovic. Ms. Vlasklic dedicates special attention to
discovering and reestablishing seldom performed or forgotten pieces, such as: Manen’s Fantasia-Sonata
Op. 22 , Fossa’s Fantasy Op. 5 and Divertimentos Op. 13, Cano’s tremolo fantasy El Delirio and Elogio de
la Guitarra, one of the most challenging of Rodrigo’s composition. Sabrina’s affinities for contemporary
music expression brought out highly acclaimed performances of Ginastera’s Sonata Op. 47 and Walton’s
Bagatelles, however, Balkan musical idioms in Tadic’s Walk Dance and Bogdanovic’s 6 Balkan Miniatures
give the final stroke on her diverse repertoire. Awarded with the special prizes for the best
interpretations of classical repertoire (“Anna Amalia Wettbewerb”, Germany), Spanish repertoire
(“Julian Arcas International Guitar competition, Spain) and the music of Bach (Iserlohn Guitar
Competition, Germany), Ms. Vlaskalic´s performances include new and old music originally composed
for the guitar and her own transcriptions of Albeniz, Zamboni, Cimaroza and Bach.

The pallet of prestigious awards in classical guitar competitions, including 12 special and 26 first prizes,
positioned Sabrina among the most successful classical guitarists today. It is worth mentioning the
selection of Sabrina’s most important prizes, awarded at: Julian Arcas International Classical Guitar
Competition (Spain), International Guitar Competition Iserlohn (Germany), Forum Gitarre Wien (Vienna,
Austria), Zuidlaren Guitar Festival (The Netherlands), European Competition for Young guitarists “Andres
Segovia” (Germany), Sinaia International Guitar Festival (Romania), Concorso Internazionale “Giovani
Chitarristi” (Italy), John Duarte International Guitar Competition (Austria), Twents Gitaar Festival (The
Netherlands) , Anna Amalia Competition for Young Guitarists (Weimar, Germany), , Murska Sobota
Guitar Festival (Slovenia), Guitar Art Festival (Belgrade, Serbia), Niksic Guitar Festival (Niksic,
Montenegro), Guitar Art Summer Festival (Herceg Novi, Montenegro), etc. Sabrina was also awarded
with special prize “The best upcoming performer” (Split Guitar Festival, Croatia) and EMCY “Art for
Music Award” (Anna Amalia Competition, Germany).

Described as the “new Ida Presti”, Sabrina Vlaskalic is already an established and appreciated performer
seen throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. Highlights of her extensive touring are Scandinavian,
Balkan, Baltic, and Latin American tours, which included performances at organizations such as: Festival
Internacional de Guitarra del Noreste (Mexico),Tallin Guitar Festival (Estonia), Guitar Art Festival
(Serbia), Patras Guitar Festival (Greece), Helsinki Guitar Society (Finaland), Embassy Concert Series
(Sweden), etc.

She also performed at festivals throughout Europe, such as “Niccolo Paganini” (Italy), Classical Guitar
concert series at St. Anne’s Church (Ireland), Zuidlaren Guitar Festival (The Netherlands), Akbank Sanat
(Turkey), “Anna Amalia” Guitar Festival (Germany), Jimena de la Frontera International Classical Music
Festival (Spain), Niksic Guitar Festival (Montenegro), Forum Gitarre Wien (Austria), Balatonfured Guitar
Festival (Huungary), International Guitar Festival “Friuli Venezia- Giulia” (Italy),etc.

Sabrina has appeared numerous on TV and Radio (Norway, Netherlands,Turkey, Romania, Serbia,
Montenegro, FYR of Macedonia, etc..) Her performance of M. Castelnuovo- Tedesco’s Concierto for
Guitar and Orchestra No. 1 Op. 99 with the Norwegian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Oslo was radio
broadcasted live in 40 European countries and her concert at Gitaarsalon in Enkhuizen (Netherlands)
was chosen to be aired by BravaNL, classical music TV channel.

At the age of 16 Sabrina was accepted as one of the youngest students ever at the University of Music
Art in Belgrade, where she consequently received her Bachelor title and graduated with the highest
honours in class of renowned professor Srdjan Tosic. She is currently completing her Master studies at
the Royal Conservatoire of Music in The Hague (The Netherlands), under the guidance of prof. Zoran
Dukic.

Throughout her study years, Sabrina was acknowledged with diverse scholarships and prizes for
excellence. She was the holder of Scholarship granted by Serbian Ministry of Education and Scholarship
of Belgrade City. Simultaneously she received diverse prizes complimenting her music achievements,
such as “The Belgrade Angel Prize” and “Funds for the Young Talents”. In 2010, Sabrina was honored to
acquire “The best young artist” Award, granted by Erste Bank (Serbia) and the following year, the
prestigious Huygens Scholarship offered by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Sabrina performs exclusively on D’addario Strings and guitar made by Andres Marvi.