David Mastikosa (1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a composer of the younger generation and an Assistant Professor of Composition at the Academy of Arts, University of Banja Luka. He completed his undergraduate and master’s studies under the mentorship of prof. Tatjana Milošević Mijanović, PhD at the Academy of Arts in Banja Luka, and in 2025 earned his doctoral art degree in the class of prof. Aleksandra Vrebalov, PhD at the Academy of Arts, University of Novi Sad.

In 2022, he founded Art Lab, an agency dedicated to contemporary art music, through which he has initiated and produced numerous creative projects and collaborations with international artists. In cooperation with CreArt, he realized the production of the chamber opera Cherry with a Gold Pit, which received excellent critical acclaim. He also released Escape, the first Bosnian-Herzegovinian album of contemporary art music, on the American label Parma Recordings – Ravello Records.  

Mastikosa’s music is performed worldwide and appears in the repertoires of ensembles and soloists such as the Third Coast Percussion, Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, Ensemble Metamorphosis, Zagreb Soloists, Ataneres Ensemble, LLLeggiero Woodwind Trio, Duo Knarborg/Andersen, Kalamos Quintet, among others. His works have been featured at prestigious festivals including Music Biennale Zagreb (Croatia), AlbaNova (Belgium), CEME (Israel), Festivalis Druskomanija (Lithuania), Days of Vlado S. Milošević (BiH), Vareš Classic Festival (BiH), Trieste Flute Festival (Italy), Intrada International Festival of New Music (Romania), and the International Review of Composers (Serbia).

In May 2025, Mastikosa served on the international jury for the Premio Internazionale Nuove Musiche at the 13th International Music Competition Città di Palmanova in Italy, where he was also a speaker at the international conference Young Music for a Young Europe, supported by the Central European Initiative (CEI). In September 2024, he was an artist-in-residence at the Visby International Centre for Composers (VICC) in Sweden. His chamber opera Cherry with a Gold Pit was staged in June 2025 in Mexico, produced by Escenia Ensamble A.C. and Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP), as part of the Identidades Migrantes season. The opera was performed three times across different venues in Puebla, including the university concert hall and the city theatre.

Mastikosa is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prize for Best Music for Contemporary Film (British Council Ukraine & Dovzhenko Centre, 2020). He has also been honored with the City of Banja Luka Award for contributions to cultural development and the University of Banja Luka Award for international achievements. His music is exclusively published by Donemus.

As an educator, he has led workshops and lectures at renowned institutions such as the Conservatorio Tartini in Trieste, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (KMH), Universidad de las Américas Puebla (UDLAP) in Mexico, and LUCA School of Arts in Belgium.