The Mizzou New Music Initiative is now accepting applications for eight resident composers to take part in the 2018 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF), which will be held Monday, July 23 through Saturday, July 28 on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Alex Mincek (pictured) will serve as one of the MICF’s two distinguished guest composers, teaching and consulting with the resident composers and ensemble. The second distinguished guest composer will be announced at a later date.
The MICF features three public concerts of music from contemporary composers, as well as workshops, master classes, and other events. As in years past, Saturday night’s grand finale at the Missouri Theatre will present the world premieres of new works from each of the eight resident composers, with Alarm Will Sound, conducted by artistic director Alan Pierson, serving as resident ensemble.
The resident composers are selected for the MICF each year through an online portfolio application process. During the festival, they’ll get composition lessons from the distinguished guest composers and Mizzou faculty, and take part in rehearsals with Alarm Will Sound. Each composer also will receive a professional live recording of their work.
The deadline to apply to become a resident composer for the 2018 Mizzou International Composers Festival is 5:00 p.m. Central time, Friday, November 17, 2017. For more information or to submit an application, please visit https://app.getacceptd.com/mizzou.
A Florida native turned New Yorker, Alex Mincek earned his master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and his DMA from Columbia University. Currently an assistant professor, composition and music technology at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, he is a recipient of honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship, Alpert Award, multiple awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and more.
Mincek’s music has been performed at major venues and international festivals including Carnegie Hall, Miller Theatre, Wigmore Hall, Strasbourg Musica, Darmstadt (IMD), and many others, and he has collaborated with ensembles including the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Linea, Talea, Dal Niente, Yarn/Wire, and the JACK Quartet.
A saxophonist and bass clarinetist, Mincek is a co-founder and artistic director of the Wet Ink Ensemble, a group that, starting in 1998, has commissioned, premiered, and recorded numerous works by contemporary and emerging composers. They have collaborated with artists such as George Lewis, Evan Parker, Christian Wolff, and members of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and introduced NYC audiences to the work of European composers including Peter Ablinger, Mathias Spahlinger, and Beat Furrer.
A complete schedule of events, times, dates and venues for the 2018 Mizzou International Composers Festival will be made available at a later date. For more information, please visit http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/.