The Grammy Award-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion will present the Serbian premiere of Ancient Whisperer at the BEMUS Festival in Belgrade. This performance continues an international tour that began with the world premiere in Riga (Latvia) and a subsequent performance at the KIC “Budo Tomović” in Podgorica, as the closing concert of the city’s Cultural Summer Festival. With these concerts, the piece Ancient Whisperer begins its international life on stage.
Ancient Whisperer for percussion quartet was inspired by the vocalisations of the great tit (Parus major). For the great tit, song is a call, a warning, a means of connection, and a tool for survival — for the composer, it became a source of inspiration. Through attentive listening and analysis of this bird’s vocalisations, Mastikosa identified three essential musical parameters that served as the foundation for the composition.
The great tit’s calls are articulated through highly precise rhythmic–melodic patterns with a clearly defined tempo. Particularly distinctive, functioning like a natural multiphonic, is the harmonic interval of the minor second, but also melodic motion descending and ascending within the interval of a perfect fifth, and a syncopated rhythmic profile. It is particularly intriguing that in northwestern Bosnia, where Mastikosa lives, the interval of a minor second appears in older forms of traditional singing and, according to ethnomusicologists, is perceived as a consonant interval.
The composition was written for Third Coast Percussion, whose pioneering spirit and openness to collaboration have earned them recognition as one of the world’s leading percussion ensembles. Their world premiere of Ancient Whisperer in Riga’s Hanzas Perons concert hall brought the score to life with a performance that combined rhythmic precision and imaginative timbral exploration.
From there, the journey continued to Podgorica, where the piece resonated with audiences at the KIC “Budo Tomović”, in a concert that served as the official closing of the Podgorica Cultural Summer Festival. These performances highlight not only the ensemble’s virtuosity but also their commitment to engaging with new music and fostering international collaboration.
For Mastikosa, this project represents his first collaboration with Third Coast Percussion both as a composer and as a cultural manager. He emphasizes how deeply honored he feels that such an important ensemble has chosen to perform his music. As one of only a handful of European composers featured in their programs, Mastikosa considers this opportunity a great privilege and a meaningful recognition of his work.
The upcoming performance at BEMUS on October 22 marks the Serbian premiere of Ancient Whisperer and places the work in the context of one of the region’s most significant music festivals. Founded in 1969, BEMUS – the Belgrade Music Festival – is the oldest and most prestigious classical music festival in Serbia. Over its long history, it has hosted leading international orchestras, ensembles, and soloists, while also giving a platform to domestic talent and contemporary voices. With its carefully curated programs that range from symphonic and chamber music to multimedia and experimental projects, BEMUS has become a vital space for dialogue between tradition and innovation.
Composers in the crosshairs of our attention