Mizzou senior Michael E. Anderson is the winner of the 2012 Sinquefield Composition Prize

The University of Missouri School of Music and the Mizzou New Music Initiative are pleased to announce that Michael E. Anderson (pictured) is the winner of the 2012 Sinquefield Composition Prize.

Anderson, a Mizzou senior, submitted his piece “At the Mercy of the Forest” to the competition and was selected for the prize by a panel of independent judges.

The adjudicators for the 2012 competition were Warren Gooch, professor of music theory and composition at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO; Martin Kennedy, assistant professor of composition and theory at Washington University in St. Louis; and Renee Waters, coordinator of music theory and professor of music at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, MO.

As winner of the 2012 Sinquefield Composition Prize, Anderson now will have the opportunity to write an original work for Mizzou’s University Philharmonic, which will receive its world premiere on Monday, March 5, 2012 at the Chancellor’s Concert in Columbia. With the commission, he also receives a cash prize for the production of the score and parts and will have his work recorded.

Michael Anderson currently is working on a bachelor of music degree in composition at Mizzou, studying with W. Thomas McKenney and Stefan Freund. A native of Platte City, MO and graduate of Platte County R-3 High School, Anderson also was a finalist for last year’s Sinquefield Composition Prize with his piece “Dendrocnide.”

His works have been performed by ensembles including the Rezound! Handbell Choir, the KC Vibrations Handbell Choir, the Mizzou New Music Ensemble, the MU Saxophone Ensemble, and various other chamber groups. In addition to composing, Anderson performs as a saxophonist in the University of Missouri’s Wind Ensemble, and is a member of the Columbia Handbell Ensemble and the Zeta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

The other finalists for the 2012 Sinquefield Composition Prize were Grant Fonda, Joe Hills and David Witter. We congratulate all four composers on this notable achievement!