NEW CLARINET FOR YOUNG VIRTUOSO FROM ROYAL COUPLE AND LIFELINE CHICAGO

Belgrade, 22 February 2024 – TRH Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine officially presented a new concert-level clarinet to young virtuoso Andrija Jasarevic to support him on his path of continuing education and professional development. The handover took place today at the Royal Palace in Belgrade, with funds for the purchase provided by Lifeline Humanitarian Organization of Chicago, whose patron has been Her Royal Highness for more than 30 years.

Due to the inability of Andrija's family to be able to afford to purchase a new concert-level clarinet per his level of talent, he turned to The Crown Princess Katherine Foundation for assistance. Thanks to the incredibly generous donation of Mrs Nada Stevens in memory of her late husband, David Stevens, a couple that has financially supported numerous humanitarian projects in Serbia throughout the years through their donations to Lifeline Chicago, this young artist will now be able to continue to strive to the highest reaches of his musical talents.

Andrija Jasarevic is a first-year student in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nis within the Department of Musical Arts, and is currently the only undergraduate clarinetist at the University. He lives in Aleksinac and travels by bus or hitchhikes every day to get to his classes. He wishes to formally complete his studies at the school and to then devote his life to his great passion of music, in addition to becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college. The clarinet which he has utilized for the past 10 years was also donated to him in recognition of his immense talent. During the visit to the Palace, he presented his skills to Their Royal Highnesses on this old clarinet, as the one he just received needs tuning and preparations before the first use, so the Crown Prince and Crown Princess are looking forward to hearing him perform on the new instrument as soon as possible.

"I sincerely thank Lifeline Chicago and Mrs Nada Stevens, who with her late husband, our dear David, helped our people so many times and continues to do so. Today's help goes where it should and when I see how much joy it brought to Andrija, I am sure that we all helped him today to continue his education and continue to improve his extraordinary talent. It is very important that we support young people, because they are our future," said HRH Crown Princess Katherine.