Originally from Belgrade, Serbia, Svetlana studied at the Special High School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatorium of Music, Moscow, and the Cologne Hochschule of Music. She has studied with Daniil Shafran, Boris Pergamenshikov, Alban Berg Quartet, Amadeus Quartet amongst other legendary musicians.
As an orchestral musician Svetlana held the esteemed position of Associate Principal Cello with the Rheinische Philharmonie and has worked with the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, Melbourne Symphony and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. She has also toured Europe as a principal cellist of the ensemble Double Sens.
As a founding member of the acclaimed Ensemble Liaison, Svetlana has garnered critical acclaim, and has appeared with many other major ensembles including the Australia Ensemble UNSW. With Ensemble Liaison, she directs and performs an annual three-concert series at the Melbourne Recital Centre along with regular performances for Musica Viva, ABC Classic, and appearances at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music Townsville, the Port Fairy Music Festival and the Woodend Winter Arts festivals.
Svetlana’s recordings with Ensemble Liaison of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time for the Melba Recordings label and Trios by Brahms, Beethoven and Bruch for the Tall Poppies label have won high praise from critics around the world.
Beyond Ensemble Liaison, she has collaborated with many wonderful Australian and international artists including Nemanja Radulović, Ray Chen, Anthony Marwood, James Crab, Emma Matthews, Cheryl Barker, Peter Coleman-Wright, Wilma Smith, Henning Kraggerud, Paul Grabowsky, David Jones, Tony Gould, Sophie Rowell, Yura Lee, Johannes Moser, Kathryn Stott and more.
Svetlana's passion extends beyond performing to nurturing the next generation of musicians. For over two decades, she has shared her knowledge and experience as a cello and chamber music teacher at esteemed institutions like the Australian Institute of Music, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, the University of New South Wales, Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music, Monash University and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.