Mina Nikolić (1999) took her first musical steps at the age of five, participating in the Children’s Choir “Zvezdice” in Leskovac, after which, in parallel with elementary school, she enrolled in a junior music school. She graduated at both schools with excellent results and was a winner of diploma “Vuk Karadžić”, while she graduated from the “Stanislav Binički” high school of music in Leskovac (2018), solo singing department in the class of prof. Dragana Mitić and graduated at the department of music theory as the best student of the generation. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Belgrade at the Faculty of Music – Department of Solo Singing (2022) in the class of a full-time professor, Ph.D. Violeta Pančetović Radaković, with the support of pianist Ph.D. Vladimir Gligorić, with an average grade of 9.70.
She enrolled in the Master Academic Studies in October 2022, as the first on the ranking list, with the maximum number of points.
For success in education, she is the winner of the Dositeja scholarship awarded by the Fund for Young Talents of the Republic of Serbia (2021/2022) and a seven-time winner of the Award for Young Talents of the City of Leskovac (2015-2021).
She is the winner of many awards at international and national competitions in solo singing, among which stand out:
- Special award of the Little Theater “Duško Radović” for the first Serbian opera for children “Dečja soba” in which she performed as a soloist (2022);
- “Muzika Klasika” review award for the best concert in 2021, for the first Serbian opera for children “Dečja soba” (2021);
- First prizes at the XXII and XXIII International Competition of solo singer “Nikola Cvejić” in Ruma and special prizes of Madlenijanum and SOKOJ (2019 and 2021);
- First prize at the “Lazar Jovanović” International Competition in Belgrade – Faculty of Music Arts Opera Studio (2021);
- First prize (Laureate) at the 9th Serbian Solo Song Competition, “Stevan Hristić” in Mladenovac (2019);
- First prize (Laureate) at the First International Solo Singers Competition “Radmila Bakočević” in Kragujevac (2018).
She participated in several opera performances, among which stand out:
- Debut as the main role of Despina in the opera “Cosi fan tutte” by W. A. Mozart (BELEF 2021), at the “Kestenburg” festival in Banja Luka (2021), as well as online at the GITIS – fest in Moscow, in the same opera (2021);
- Main role of Stanka in the first Serbian opera “Na Uranku” by Stanislav Binički, at the National Theater in Leskovac, organized by the Musical Opera Theater Organization – MOTO (2021);
- Performance at BEMUS as a soloist in the first Serbian opera for children “Dečja soba” under the sponsorship of CEBEF (2021), which was included in the repertoire of the Little Theater “Duško Radović”, and with which she performed at the Center for Culture Smederevo (2022), as well as on “Days of Mokranjac” in the Cultural Center in Negotin (2022).
She improved her knowledge at the masterclasses of vocal pedagogues: Radmila Bakočević, Violeta Pančetović Radaković, Ljudmila Gros Popović, Nikola Kitanovski, Nataša Jović Trivić, Katherine Whyte, Aleksandar Petrović, Katarina Simonović Ivanković, with conductors: Srboljub Dinić, Igor Vlajnić, Milan Nedeljković, Dragana Jovanović, Bojan Kljajić, as well as with the directors: Jagoš Marković, Boris Liješević, Vladan Đurković and Natalija Stanković. She achieved her success thanks to the cooperation with the accompanists: Vladimir Gligorić, Dragana Anđelić Bunjac, Milivoje Veljić, Marko Bogdanović.
For the RTS archive, she made a permanent recording of a “Songs of Night” by composer Ludmila Frajt, as a soloist, accompanied by the choir “Collegium musicum” at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (2019).
She also performed as a soloist, accompanied by the Mixed Choir of the Faculty of Music in Belgrade, at the traditional winter concert in the Belgrade Philharmonic, where the famous “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi was performed. In addition to performing at Serbian Academy Of Sciences And Arts and the Belgrade Philharmonic, she performed in many other important institutions, such as: The Ilija M. Kolarac Endowment, City Assembly of Belgrade, The Museum of the National Theater in Belgrade, The National Museum in Belgrade, The Student Cultural Center Belgrade, The Artget Gallery, The Princess Ljubica’s Residence, Russian Center for Science and Culture, Cultural Institution “Parobrod” in Belgrade, Theater Vuk in Belgrade, Little Theater “Duško Radović”, Cultural Center of Novi Sad, Music School in Požarevac, Ceremonial Hall of the city of Leskovac, Leskovac Cultural Center, Center for Culture Smederevo, Cultural Center Negotin, etc.