Petra Bubanja comes from Montenegro, a small country in Southeast Europe, situated on the Adriatic coast and surrounded with mountains. She recently became a Doctor of Musical Arts in violin performance at Florida State University (FSU), one of the country’s leading and most competitive programs. During her Doctorate she worked with Dr. Ben Sung, as his teaching assistant. She has served as concertmaster of FSU’s University Symphony Orchestra, where among other artistic achievements, she performed the solos in Richard Strauss’ virtuosic Ein Heldenleben.
Prior to her time at FSU, Petra was a winner of multiple competitions at the universities she attended (Northwestern State University in 2009 and 2011, and Southern Illinois University in 2013), which provided opportunities to play as a soloist with orchestras.
Dr. Bubanja’s supplemental training includes the Brevard Music Festival, where she was part of the concertmaster studio. Here she had the opportunity to lead Brevard’s Sinfonia as concertmistress and take lessons with some of America’s top concertmasters. Additionally, Dr. Bubanja spent the summer of 2018 in Breckenridge, CO, playing in the prestigious National Repertory Orchestra, where she also performed as a soloist with the orchestra. She performed Verano Porteño by Astor Piazzolla.
Petra is a violinist in many other orchestras in the region such as: Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, Mobile Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and a member of the newly established chamber ensemble “Camerata South,” based in Thomasville, GA. In addition to this, Petra has recently accepted the position of Adjunct Violin Instructor at Florida A&M University.
Dr. Bubanja has collaborated with some of the world’s leading violinists, including Gil Shaham, David Coucheron, and David Kim.
In her spare time, Petra is a cinephile. In addition to her love of motion pictures, she enjoys reading books, painting, dancing, doing yoga, and taking walks in nature.