The Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO) and the Mizzou New Music Initiative are looking for recent orchestral compositions written by Missouri residents to perform at a concert in March, 2012.

To inaugurate the Missouri Composers Orchestra Project, a new program sponsored by the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, the CCO will present a concert of six recent works by Missouri composers at 7:00 p.m., Saturday, March 10 at Columbia College’s Launer Auditorium, 901 Rogers Street in Columbia.

Four of the works presented at the concert will be selected through a competitive process – one from the High School category and three from the Open category. The compositions must be written for symphony orchestra and can be up to 10 minutes in duration. The works also must have been composed within the past 10 years, while the composer was living in Missouri.

Each composer whose work is selected will be awarded a $500 honorarium, and must be present for the concert and the dress rehearsal, which will take place the afternoon of March 10 in Launer Auditorium.

Details on instrumentation and complete application materials are available online at http://mizzounewmusic.missouri.edu/project.html. Applications must be postmarked no later than December 15, 2011. For more information, interested composers also may contact Jonathan Kuuskoski of University of Missouri School of Music via email at kuuskoskij@missouri.edu.

Columbia Civic Orchestra is a volunteer group located in Columbia, Missouri, dedicated to providing enjoyment for its members and audiences with the presentation and preservation of high-quality symphonic music. For more information, visit their website at http://cco.missouri.org/.