Tonight at 9:00 PM, Chinese soprano Wang Jie Zhang and Serbian pianist Dejan Sinadinović will perform a concert at the Church of St. Sophia as part of the “Ohrid Summer” music program.
Wang Jie Zhang is a distinguished Chinese soprano whose timeless voice transcends geographical boundaries. As the first Chinese artist to hold a leading role in the Belgrade Opera, Zhang is a visionary and strong advocate for cultural exchange and youth education. Through her work as the president of the “Universal Artists” Foundation and the vice president of the China-Serbia Center for Scientific and Cultural Exchange, she leads the initiative for collaboration between the Far East and the West through the universal language of music.
Her vocal mastery has been showcased on some of the most prestigious stages, including Boston’s Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, Kolarac in Belgrade, the Shanghai Center for Oriental Arts, the Hangzhou Theatre, and at the United Nations headquarters in New York. Beyond the stage, she is a true cultural ambassador, organizing tours for American ensembles and institutions in China, conducting and organizing masterclasses for solo singers, and arranging festivals in Belgrade, Europe, and China.
Zhang began her musical education in Beijing under tenor Haitao Hei, later honing her skills at the Boston Conservatory under the mentorship of Karen Holvik, in whose class she graduated. In 2019, she became the first Chinese doctoral candidate in solo singing and vocal interpretation at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under the guidance of Katarina Jovanović.
Dejan Sinadinović is a pianist and professor at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade. Through the pedagogical influence of his professors Arbo Valdma and Eliso Virsaladze, he is connected to the significant traditions of Arthur Schnabel on one hand, and Yakov Zak and Heinrich Neuhaus on the other.
He has performed in prestigious concert halls, giving over 100 recitals at festivals in Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, England, Montenegro, Greece, Northern Cyprus, Turkey, Denmark, Romania, Russia, as well as in the USA, Canada, and China.
Sinadinović is the leader of numerous masterclasses and seminars in Russia and China, and collaborates with philharmonic orchestras in Poland (the Podkarpacka and Wrocław Philharmonics) as well as with quartets like “Artis,” “Minetti” from Vienna, the Italian “Merides” Quartet, and the international ensemble “Synergy 6.” He performs at festivals in the region such as “Musical Evenings in St. Donat” in Zadar, Osor Musical Evenings, and festivals in Dubrovnik and Budva, as well as at BEMUS and BITEF in Belgrade.
In 2023, he successfully toured China as part of the Shanghai International Arts Festival, conducting seminars, workshops, and concerts in various Chinese cities. He collaborates with prominent artists in chamber ensembles or as a duo. With Katarina Jovanović, he forms the duo “Memnon,” and with soprano Wang Jie Zhang, they are known as the duo “Silk and Wind.” Sinadinović has released three CDs with the Spanish label KNS Classics and 12 CDs with Anima Records in Paris. Until 2020, he served as the president of EPTA-Serbia and is the founder and director of the Spring Piano Festival in Belgrade. He is also the coordinator of the Center for Permanent Education at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade.