BIOGRAPHY
Serbian double bassist Strahinja Mitrović is emerging as one of the distinctive young voices of his instrument, recognised for a musical identity that combines classical tradition with an ambitious approach to expanding the double bass repertoire and its place on the concert stage.
Praised by The Arts Desk for his “stunning originality” and playing that offered “not fireworks, but expression,”Strahinja has attracted attention for both his virtuosity and the expressive range he brings to an instrument still rarely encountered as a solo voice. 10 Men Magazine named him “Classical Music’s Next Big Thing,” while VMP Media described him as “The Rising Star Bridging Tradition and Innovation in Classical Music.”
In 2024, Strahinja won the prestigious Guildhall School of Music & Drama Gold Medal, performing Nino Rota’s Divertimento Concertante with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra under Jonathan Bloxham at the Barbican Hall. With this achievement, he became the first double bassist to win the Gold Medal since the competition’s inception in 1915, joining a distinguished list of previous winners that includes William Primrose, Jacqueline du Pré and Sir Bryn Terfel.
His growing international recognition has since included being named one of Classic FM’s “30 Under 30” Rising Stars. His awards also include the Wigmore Prize, The Musicians’ Company Prince’s Prize and Silver Medal, and the Concordia Foundation Barthel Prize.
Strahinja has increasingly established himself as a soloist with orchestra. In July 2025, he appeared with Concerto Budapest under András Keller at the Grand Hall of the Liszt Academy, performing Nino Rota’s Divertimento Concertante for the festive opening of the X Summerfest of Festival Academy Budapest.
Later that year, he made his debut with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Rota’s Divertimento Concertante under Carlo Ponti Jr. at the gala opening of the 57th BEMUS – Belgrade Music Festival at Kolarac Hall. The appearance made him the first double bassist to appear as soloist at a BEMUS opening and the youngest artist to open the festival, marking a significant homecoming after several years of study and professional development abroad.
In July 2026, Strahinja made his Wigmore Hall evening recital debut following his receipt of the Wigmore Prize. Continuing his commitment to the creation of new repertoire for the instrument, the programme included the world premiere of the first two movements of Fergus Brignall’s Sketches from the Fragments written for him, conceived as part of a new work for solo double bass and orchestra, performed at Wigmore Hall with pianist Chloé Dumoulin.
The development of the double bass as a lyrical and soloistic instrument lies at the centre of Strahinja’s work. Reviewing one of his recitals, Carlisle Music Society wrote that Mitrović “demonstrated that the apparently unwieldy double bass could sing,” highlighting the instrument’s agility, resonance and individual voice in his hands.
Throughout his career, Strahinja has performed at venues including Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Herkulessaal in Munich, the Barbican Hall in London, Philharmonie de Paris and Queen Elizabeth Hall in Brussels. He has worked with conductors including Gianandrea Noseda, András Keller, Roberto González-Monjas, Kristjan Järvi, Benjamin Haemhouts, Alpesh Chauhan OBE and Carlo Ponti Jr.
As a chamber musician, he has performed alongside distinguished artists including Nemanja Radulović, Barnabás Kelemen, Sergei Nakariakov, Benjamin Baker, Louis Schwizgebel, Mira Yevtich, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg, Benjamin Roskams and Júlia Pusker.
His artistic practice also extends beyond the traditional concert platform. In 2024, Strahinja performed at London Fashion Week as part of designer Patrick McDowell’s collection, bringing live classical performance into dialogue with contemporary and sustainable fashion. In the same year, he collaborated with the Royal Ballet and Opera multiple times. First time was through its Draft Works programme, performing in The Hour of the Star, featuring Royal Ballet Principal Mayara Magri and Kasper Lench.
Alongside his performing career, Strahinja is a co-founder of BUPBAP – Belgrade Art Platform Festival, an interdisciplinary cultural initiative bringing together music, visual art, education and international artistic exchange in Belgrade, and a Music Director at the Pinecone Immersive Theater & Bar, Co-Director of the masterclass course festival “Leto in Progar” and Artistic director of the Old Vicarage, Washington - Promenade concerts in Sussex. He is also a trustee of the HarrisonParrott Foundation and on an Artistic Advisory Board of Ravanelius Stradivari International Violina Competition, reflecting his wider commitment to supporting young artists and broadening access to the arts.
Strahinja has received support from organisations including the London Symphony Orchestra Conservatoire Scholarships, Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Help Musicians, Drake Calleja Trust, Leverhulme Arts Scholarship, Guildhall School Award, The Musicians’ Company and the Njegoš B. Šolak Foundation, of which he was the first selected artist.
His humanitarian work has included performances supporting children from former Yugoslav countries at the St Sava Ball in London, for the Lifeline Humanitarian Organisation at Claridge’s, under the patronage of HRH Crown Princess Katherine of Serbia and fundraising for the a Cancer Care Hospital organised by Jan Hall where he performed with his duo partner pianist Salome Jordania.
He was featured in numerous fashion magazines including 10 Men magazine, ICON magazine and Buro Magazine.
Through his work as a soloist, chamber musician, curator, philanthropist and advocate for new repertoire, Strahinja continues to challenge traditional perceptions of the double bass, seeking to establish it more firmly as a solo instrument capable of the same virtuosity, lyricism and expressive breadth as any other member of the string family.