Biography

Marija Rašić (1998) is a classical guitarist and lutenist from Belgrade, Serbia, currently based in Rome, Italy. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in 2020 at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, studying under prof. Vera Ogrizović, and went on to earn her Master’s degree with highest honors at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest in 2022, under the guidance of prof. József Eötvös. On this Academy she previously spent one semester as part of the Erasmus exchange program. Marija is currently pursuing her second Master’s degree, this time in lute performance with prof. Evangelina Mascardi at the Early Music Department of the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome.

In recent years, her projects and performances on the guitar have primarily focused on contemporary music. Her debut CD, Guitarization, released in 2023, features five world-premiere recordings of works by Serbian composers that she commissioned. She has been curating and organizing projects aimed at promoting contemporary music, including the guitARevolution, a multimedia project that combines graphic scores and augmented reality visuals viewed through the camera lens and Karika Project, an initiative for artistic exchange between performers and composers from Hungary and Serbia. As part of the Belgrade Guitar District, a collective of young professional classical guitarists, she is involved in organizing the concert season and other musical projects.

Among the scholarships Marija has won are: George Karagiozis / Manolis Hadjiemmanouil scholarship for the Volterra Project 2021, Scholarship for Akademia Gitary: Festiwal 2019 in Poland, Hungarian State scholarship – Stipendium Hungaricum, Scholarship for the best students of Master’s and Doctoral degree programs at leading world universities provided by the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia, Scholarship for exceptionally gifted students awarded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia. She was awarded several times by the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia for the achieved successes in recognized competitions at home and abroad and received the award of The Education Foundation of Crown Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević for the best graduate students from Serbia and Republika Srpska.

Concerts

Marija is actively performing as a soloist and in several chamber ensembles. Some of the significant performances are:

Re-Patched Tour – part of an ensemble performing open scores and partially improvised music, featured on electric guitar and electronics. Concerts in Banská Bystrica (Bábkové divadlo na Rázcestí), Bratislava (Slovak National Gallery), Budapest (Három Holló / Drei Raben), Prague (Alternativa Festival, Atrium Žižkov), Novi Sad (Eđšeg) and Belgrade (Art Get Gallery).
Solo Guitar and Lute Concerts in Serbia, 2024 – in Theater Museum, Zaječar (also a jury member at the competition), in the Cultural Center Kovačica and Saint Mary’s Church in Plandište.
guitARevolution – organizing, curating, and performing as part of a quartet. Multimedia performance in the Creative District Biro, Novi Sad, combining graphic scores with augmented reality visuals viewed through a phone camera.
Gitarization 2022 – new music for guitar by Serbian composers: two solo concerts in Belgrade (at Princess Ljubica’s Residence) and Novi Sad (at the Isidor Bajid Music School), featuring five commissioned and premiered pieces.
Karika Project – co-founder, organizer, and performer: concert at SKC Belgrade and at Tekelijanum, Budapest as part of a quartet, with two commissioned works premiered.

Guitar Concerto by Iván Madarász: Soloist with the Szeged Symphony Orchestra – several concerts in 2022, including performances at Solti Hall (Franz Liszt Academy, Budapest, Hungary), Korzó Zeneház (Szeged, Hungary), and the House of Arts (Kanjiža, Serbia).
Classical guitar and lute concert – Colour Concert series, 2019, Müpa Budapest, Glass Hall, Budapest, Hungary
Solo concert at the BorGuitar Festival 2016, Borgo Val di Taro, Italy.
Solo concert Balkan Face of the Guitar at Akademia Gitary: Festiwal 2019, Castle in Kórnik, Poland.

Competitions

Marija has won over 40 awards in various national and international guitar competitions, including the following:

1^st prize – Sinaia International Guitar Festival 2015, Romania
1^st prize – BorGuitar Festival, Young Guitar Competition 2016, Italy
1st prize – Guitar Art Festival 2014, Serbia
1^st prize – Naissus Guitar Festival 2019, Serbia
2^nd prize – Young Virtuosos 2016, Bulgaria
1^st prize – Serbian State Competition 2014, Serbia
1st prize – Vojvodina guitar fest 2015, Serbia

Wanted to expand her knowledge of early music and historical performance, Marija finished Josip Slavenski Music School, Department of Early Music with prof. Darko Karajić. She has had the opportunity to perform with various ensembles, including Ensemble Renaissance, the oldest early music ensemble in Serbia, as well as a soloist on the baroque lute, archlute, and baroque guitar. Furthermore, she has participated in various workshops, including the Baroque Workshop in Pančevo, the Days of Early Music at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, and the Belgrade Baroque Academy. Currently, she is studying under the guidance of prof. Evangelina Mascardi at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory in Rome

Over the years she has taken part in the masterclasses and attended advanced courses with leading guitarists such as: Hubert Kaeppel, Łukasz Kuropaczewski, Paul O‘Dette, Judicaël Perroy, Zoran Dukić, Pavel Steidl, Carlo Marchione, Paul Galbraith, Raphaella Smits, Pablo Márquez, Giampaolo Bandini, Thomas Offermann, Eliot Fisk, Dušan Bogdanović, Sergio Assad, Joaquin Clerch, Andriano Del Sal…

Marija has been teaching since 2016 at various private and public schools, including full-time positions as a guitar and chamber music teacher at the Davorin Jenko primary and secondary music school in Belgrade, as well as part-time roles at the Starečević Guitar School and the Budapest British International School.