The third program by Serious Ensemble Zagreb at the Music – Mission – Vission Festival continued to push the boundaries of contemporary concert experience. As the festival’s resident ensemble, SEZ transformed the performance into an immersive and theatrical environment, blending live music, visual media, stage design, and performative interventions. The concert unfolded as a seamless narrative, erasing conventional divisions between pieces and highlighting the ensemble’s commitment to collaborative experimentation.

The program, themed Blue, presented seven world premieres by composers born in the 1990s, alongside a guest performance by Dutch theremin virtuoso Thorwald Jørgensen and a video work by Ukrainian composer Oleksandra Katsalap. Each piece explored sound, color, and gesture in innovative ways, ranging from ritualistic harmonies and sinesthetic color-sound relationships to dramatic, theatrical interventions and dialogue with electronics.

Highlights included Blue Soul by Dora Remenar, where soprano, ensemble, and electronics created a ritualized tonal atmosphere; Blue Shadows by Tihomir Ranogajac, a dynamic interplay between theremin and ensemble; and Blue Trail by Juraj Marko Žerovnik, which juxtaposed familiar melodic references with abstract sonic textures. Works such as Nevidljiva plava djevojčica by Linda Uran and Blue Things by Helena Skljarov further demonstrated SEZ’s embrace of experimental forms, combining video, electronics, and theatrical framing to extend the concert into a multisensory experience.

The evening concluded with a layered performative framework, integrating stagecraft, video, lighting, and narrative elements, reinforcing SEZ’s ongoing mission: to reconnect contemporary music with its social and theatrical roots. The concert left the audience immersed in a living artwork where music, theatre, and visual art coexist, continuing the ensemble’s exploration of what a modern concert can be.

PROGRAM:

Dora Remenar: Blue Soul – soprano, ensemble, electronics

Tihomir Ranogajac: Blue Shadows – theremin, ensemble

Krešimir Klarić: Blauer Montag – theremin, strings, piano

Veronika Reutz Drobnić: Blue Waves – accordion, winds, video

Linda Uran: Nevidljiva plava djevojčica – theremin, bassoon, piano, electronics

Helena Skljarov: Blue Things – theremin, ensemble, video, electronics

Juraj Marko Žerovnik: Blue Trail – theremin, ensemble

Highlights