Ksenija Komljenović
Dr. Ksenija Komljenović (Belgrade, Serbia), a prizewinner of the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg, is a percussionist, educator, and composer. Throughout her career, she has performed, taught, and studied across Europe, the United States, and Asia. Ksenija is the first woman from Serbia with a Doctor of Musical Arts in Percussion Degree. She holds the Assistant Professor of Percussion position at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Ksenija serves as a producer and host on the At Percussion Podcast. She is on the organizational committees of the Tierras South Texas Percussion Competition and the SoundWaves Festival.
Ksenija’s devotion to percussion is shaped by her advocacy for contemporary and chamber music, as well as intercultural collaboration. Her three chamber ensembles (PNEUMA, Vesna Piano/Percussion Duo, Balkan Percussion Duo) unite some of the finest young performers from across the world. As the artistic director of PNEUMA, a new percussion group, she strives to evolve the creative vision planted and shared among the performers during their studies under Svet Stoyanov and Matt Strauss at the Frost School of Music. Vesna Duo's debut album featuring Ksenija's arrangement of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring for marimba and piano has received acclaim at the Chamber Music America: Forward Together Showcase 2022. Ksenija's initiative resulted in several pioneering cultural-exchange projects between the U.S. and her home country, including the first drumline camp and contemporary percussion workshop in Serbia.
In 2019, the same year she made her Hong Kong debut, Ksenija was selected to be a co-principal for the World Percussion Group with whom she toured England, Spain, and Portugal. In 2021, she performed at the XXI International Conservatory Week Festival (Russia) and the 31st International Young Laureate Music Competitions Festival (Poland). Ksenija has performed and collaborated with some of the preeminent musicians of her time including James Newton Howard (The Hunger Games, The Dark Knight, Snow White and the Huntsman), Jeff Beal (House of Cards), The New York Voices, Arturo Sandoval, Dave Grusin, Martin Bresnick, Andy Akiho, Ben Folds, and Joan Tower.
Ksenija holds degrees from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, Illinois State University, and the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, Serbia. Her compositions and arrangements are published by Bachovich Music Publications. Ksenija is a Marimba One artist.