The Missouri Composers Orchestra Project (MOCOP) is looking for recent orchestral compositions written by Missouri residents to be performed at a concert in March, 2014.

Now in its third year, MOCOP is a collaborative effort to spotlight the work of Missouri composers that involves the Mizzou New Music Initiative, the Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO), and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. By identifying composers of orchestral music and providing opportunities for the performance of their work, MOCOP strives to showcase the talent of Missouri and share it with the community.

Each year, works are selected through a competitive, blind judging process – one from the High School category and three from the Open category – to be performed by the CCO at a concert in Columbia. 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 selected composer will be awarded a $500 honorarium, and the four works chosen will be performed by the CCO in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 16, 2014 at Columbia College’s Launer Auditorium, 901 Rogers St. in Columbia.

The 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.

The concert also will feature a performance of “American Sojourn,” by former Creating Original Music Project (C.O.M.P.) winner Kevin Hartnett, and the world premiere of the overture from Stefan Freund’s upcoming “Civil War Oratorio,” which was commissioned by the Columbia Civic Orchestra in honor of patron Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield.

Composers who wish to submit their work to MOCOP can find details on instrumentation and complete application materials online at http://mizzounewmusic.missouri.edu/project.html. Applications must be postmarked no later than December 13, 2013.