Ljiljana Winkler, M.A.
Ljiljana Winkler is an internationally active, award-winning soprano, librettist, vocal music therapist, and university lecturer. Her artistic work moves seamlessly between opera, concert and sacred music, contemporary music, jazz, free improvisation, and interdisciplinary vocal performance. Renowned for her emotionally compelling soprano voice, expressive stage presence, and exceptional stylistic versatility, she continually explores and transcends musical boundaries.
As a performer, Winkler has appeared on stages and festivals throughout Europe, North Africa, and the United States, including New York (DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Players Theatre, Nublu Classic, and DROM), the NWEAMO Festival in San Diego, the American Arts Center in Casablanca, Hosek Contemporary and PANDA Platforma in Berlin, Schwere Reiter in Munich, as well as venues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Greece, and Italy.
A particular focus of her artistic work lies in contemporary vocal music and art song. For several consecutive years, she has been a featured performer in the New York concert series Art of the Art Song, presented by Composer Concordance, which was described by The New York Times as an “enterprising new music organization.” Through this series and numerous other international performances, she has premiered more than 300 new vocal works and art songs. Many composers have written works specifically for her voice, including solo pieces, song cycles, chamber music, and interdisciplinary projects. Her own poetry and libretti have also inspired numerous contemporary compositions.
Her jazz mono-opera Soubrette auf der Toilette (libretto by Ljiljana Winkler, music by Gene Pritsker) premiered in New York in 2021 and was subsequently released as a digital album by Composer Concordance / NAXOS USA. Through her ongoing collaboration with living composers and her commitment to the creation of new repertoire, Winkler has established herself as a distinguished interpreter of contemporary vocal music.
As an opera singer, she has performed a broad repertoire ranging from classical to contemporary works. Engagements include the role of Tii in Moritz Eggert’s Kommander Kobayashi at the Saarländisches Staatstheater, the Princess and the Marmalade Seller in Wolfgang Mitterer’s Das tapfere Schneiderlein at the Théâtre National du Luxembourg, and the Nightingale in Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol at the Kammeroper Konstanz. Additional appearances include Frau Bittermandel and Frau Knochen in Detlev Glanert’s Drei Rätsel and Bettine in Anno Schreier’s Kein Ort. Nirgends at Opera Factory Freiburg. Operetta engagements have taken her to the Wiener Operettensommer as Mi in Lehár’s The Land of Smiles, as well as to the Stadttheater Neuburg, where she appeared as Lucie in Sophie Gail’s Eifersucht and Marianna Gardi in Adolphe Adam’s So ein Glück!.
Alongside her operatic work, Winkler is an active concert and sacred music soloist. Her repertoire includes major oratorios such as Handel’s Messiah, numerous cantatas by J. S. Bach, and masses by Mozart, Haydn, Gounod, Kemptner, and many other composers. Her stylistic sensitivity and expressive interpretation have made her a sought-after performer in the field of sacred music.
To date, Ljiljana Winkler has released five solo albums, three of them on the internationally distributed label Composer Concordance / NAXOS USA. These recordings reflect both her artistic versatility and her commitment to contemporary vocal repertoire.
Beyond the concert stage, Winkler is deeply engaged in the relationship between voice, body, and psyche. She holds a Master’s degree in Music Therapy and has taught voice at the University of Augsburg since 2013. Since 2018, she has served as a lecturer in vocal training and vocal music therapy within the Master’s Program in Music Therapy at the Leopold Mozart Centre. Her original voice-based therapeutic approach to trauma processing was recognized with the DAAD Prize of the University of Augsburg.
Her scholarly work further reflects the unique integration of artistic practice, pedagogy, and therapeutic research that characterizes her career. Her publications focus on the symbolic and transformative dimensions of music, particularly the role of the singing voice as a medium for emotional expression and psychological integration.
In addition to her academic work, Winkler has directed her private vocal studio, Studio Musica, for more than twenty years, offering voice training, creative vocal development, and music therapy. She is also the founder and artistic director of Solenne, an ensemble dedicated to the exploration of contemporary jazz and new music.
Ljiljana Winkler studied classical voice with distinction at the Faculty of Music in Belgrade under Prof. Radmila Smiljanić and continued her studies at the Hochschule für Musik Saar with Prof. Yaron Windmüller. Further artistic inspiration came through studies with Prof. Irwin Gage (Art Song Interpretation), Dr. Stephan Litwin (Contemporary Music), and masterclasses with Barbara Bonney, Ileana Cotrubas, Rudolf Piernay, Sona Ghazarian, Ingrid Kremling, Dietrich Schneider, Sally du Randt, and others.
Her artistic achievements have been recognized through numerous awards and scholarships, including the Richard Wagner Scholarship (Bayreuth), the Dame Felicity Lott Scholarship (United Kingdom), the DAAD Prize of the University of Augsburg, the Claudia Mayer Prize, the Music Prize of the Märkische Kulturkonferenz, the Government Award of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and First Prizes at both the National Singing Competition of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Lazar Jovanović International Competition in Serbia.
Today, Ljiljana Winkler’s work stands at the intersection of artistic excellence, pedagogy, and music therapy. As a performer, educator, researcher, and creator, she continues to expand the expressive possibilities of the human voice while building bridges between musical traditions, contemporary creativity, and human experience.
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