Milena Petkovic

Guitar

Milena Petkovic was born in Prizren, Serbia. She began playing classical guitar at the age of eleven. She finished High Music School in Belgrade with three diplomas: Music Theory, Lute and Classical Guitar. In 2011 Milena graduated from the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Guitar Performance under the guidance of Prof. Zoran Krajišnik. During her studies she participated in numerous national and international music festivals and competitions.

Her awards include: second prize for guitar performance at the International Guitar Festival, Kyustendil, Bulgaria (2006), first prize at Guitar Open Festival in Subotica, Serbia (2010), and second prize at Naissus Guitar Festival in Niš, Serbia (2010).

She continued her studies at Indiana University, graduating in 2014 with a Performer Diploma and Master’s Degree in Guitar Performance from the Jacobs School of Music, under the guidance of Maestro Ernesto Bitetti. She received her DMA from the University of Minnesota in 2021. Milena often performs as a soloist and in various chamber ensembles – guitar duo, duo with flute, violin and clarinet. Since 2021 she has been a member of the Minneapolis Guitar Quartet. Milena has performed across the United States as well as in Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Hungary and Italy.

Her teaching experience includes teaching beginner and advanced guitar classes and individual lessons for six years as a Teaching Assistant at Indiana University and University of Minnesota. She was also a Pre-College guitar instructor at the Jacobs School of Music for two years. Since 2018 Milena has worked with the Minnesota Guitar Society in their Guitar in Our Schools program as a project coordinator. She joined the faculty of the Saint Paul Conservatory of Music in 2017.