ABOUT
BORN TO PERFORM
Growing up as an immigrant kid in Chicago, Jasmina always looked to music as an escape. She received a scholarship for voice lessons at the Old Town School of Folk Music, was accepted to the Chicago Children's Choir and Lyric Opera Chorus, and was cast as the lead at a Northeastern University opera production at the age of 10.
As a teenager, she toured the Midwest as a backing vocalist for Irish-American band Kiltartan Road and performed traditional Irish music at various festivals in Chicago. She began singing jazz as a high schooler at Francis W. Parker School, a top-tier private school in Chicago, where she was also a scholarship recipient.
She was recognized for her achievements again with a full-tuition scholarship to Oberlin College, where she studied Neuroscience and Psychology while continuing to study voice and sing with small jazz ensembles.
After relocating to her native country Croatia after graduation, Jasmina performed extensively throughout the country. Some notable performances and recognitions include frequent performances with the Pula Big Band, small ensembles, and at various festivals, including headlining the Rovinj Music and Porec Music Festivals. She was also invited to perform at the "Mlade nade jazza Marjan Marjanovic" concert in Zagreb and performed as a backing vocalist for Istrian band Dogma for several years.
She began singing Bosnian sevdah and other traditional Balkan music in 2013 and performed with accordion player Andrej Pezic for many years, at events such as the Istrian Festival Multikulturalnosti and various events for the Bosnian community in Istria.
She led a music workshop in Fazana, Istria focusing on Bosnian sevdah and Irish traditional music in 2014 during the annual Bloomsday Festival and performed the Irish national anthem for several years at St. Patrick's Day celebrations organized by the Irish Embassy in Zagreb.
After yearning for creative inspiration, Jasmina relocated to New York City in 2016. After just a month, she booked her first steady singing job at the historic George's at Astoria Kaufman Studios. She has also performed at popular venues such as The Triad Theater and Fine and Rare in Manhattan, to name a few. She studied with New York City Jazz legends Marion Cowings and Jay Clayton during her time there.
In August 2018, Jasmina was one of the headliners at the Pula Jazz Festival in Pula, Croatia, among the likes of Jazz diva Sharon Clark, Vasil Hadzimanov, etc.
Jasmina has been preparing her debut album of original music and her first single and music video, "You Were Loved," was released in 2021. She plans to release her album in late 2023.
She met Bojan Miljancic of Eikonoise in early 2021, who is the producer of her debut album. An Eikonoise album is soon to follow as well, including several music videos.
As a passionate voice teacher, Jasmina truly loves teaching students of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of experience in person or online. It is her goal to empower her students by not just providing extensive technical knowledge, but by encouraging them to find their own unique voices. Having overcome debilitating stage fright herself, she also enjoys helping people overcome their fear of performing in public (including public speaking).
If you would like to contact Jasmina for booking, voice lessons, collaboration, or to simply say hi, she would love to hear from you!