From left: Ryan Jeschke, Daniel Vega

The Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music (MADSM) and the Mizzou New Music Initiative have selected the winners in the first-ever MADSM Collegiate Composition Competition.

The winning work in the Undergraduate category is “Gunkanjima” by Ryan Jeschke, a student at Truman State University, and the winner in the Graduate category is “Natales” by Daniel Vega of the University of Missouri.

The two winning pieces will be workshopped by the Mizzou New Music Ensemble with help from the composers; recorded; and then performed in concert next month on the Mizzou campus. The Ensemble will play the winning works again in January at the Missouri Music Educators Association conference in Osage Beach, with the goal of attracting future opportunities on concert programs around the state.

Jeschke, a native of Gladstone, MO, is a senior working toward a BM in composition at Truman State. As a composer, he’s interested in “challenging the traditional roles of instruments and exploring the possibilities of timbre within them,” and cites inspirations including rock and electronic music, video game soundtracks, and Japanese language and culture.

Vega, who is a saxophonist as well as a composer, originally is from Ward, CO. He earned his bachelors of music composition from Portland State University before coming to Mizzou, where he currently is in his first year of study for a masters degree in composition. His works explore “the intersections between contemporary music, humor, and nonviolent dissent” and are intended to provide “implicit messages about global citizenship through juxtaposition of musical ideas and styles.”

The MADSM Collegiate Composition Competition is intended to encourage the creation of original chamber music that can be played by high-school level musicians. The competition is open to all students currently enrolled in any MADSM member institution, with separate categories for undergraduate and graduate students.

Submitting composers were asked to write a new work from five to seven minutes in length for a group of three to five musicians. The judges for the 2018 competition were Stefan Freund, artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative and professor of composition at the University of Missouri; Anthony Maglione, associate professor of music and director of choral studies of William Jewell College; and Jocelyn Prendergast, assistant professor of music and music education at Truman State University.

The Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music (MADSM) includes all institutions in the state of Missouri that offer post-secondary music study. MADSM offers a regular forum for leaders from these institutions to discuss issues pertaining to music study; to provide mutual support for each other; and to advocate for music education at the collegiate level, presenting a strong and unified voice for music education in Missouri.