Trey Makler
Makler, a junior from Farmington, MO, is studying composition at Mizzou with W. Thomas McKenney and Stefan Freund. He submitted “Elysium,” a work for chamber ensemble, to the competition and was selected for the prize by a panel of independent judges.
The adjudicators for the 2015 competition were Mara Gibson, associate teaching professor, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance ; Eric Honour, professor of music and director of the Center for Music Technology, University of Central Missouri; and Nick Omiccioli, composer.
Now in its tenth year, the Sinquefield Composition Prize is the top award for a composition student at Mizzou. As this year’s winner, Makler now will have the opportunity to write an original work for Mizzou’s University Philharmonic, which will receive its world premiere on Monday, April 13, 2015 at the annual 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.
In addition to “Elysium,” written for the Mizzou New Music Ensemble and performed this summer at an event for Forest Park Forever, Makler has had several other notable premieres and commissions in his young career. They include a collaboration with choreographer LeeAnn Davis; second prize in the 2014 Mizzou Collaborative Arts Initiative; and a commission from the Sheldon Concert Hall, with the support of the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation and the Mizzou New Music Initiative, for a new work for violin and piano to be premiered in February 2015 at The Sheldon.
As an oboist, Makler performs with the University of Missouri Wind Ensemble and Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as in various other ensembles and chamber groups on campus and in the community of Columbia. He currently is vice-president of the Mizzou Composer’s Guild and president of the Zeta Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia national music fraternity.
The other finalists for the 2015 Sinquefield Composition Prize were Kaylene Cypret, Justin Pounds, and Matthew Stiens.
The Sinquefield Composition Prize competition is part of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, an array of programs intended to position the University of Missouri School of Music as a leading center in the areas of composition and new music. The Initiative is the direct result of the generous support of Dr. Jeanne and Mr. Rex Sinquefield and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.