April 19, 2023
The winning composers in the 2023 Creating Original Music Project (COMP) have been announced by the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Now in its 18th year, COMP is an annual statewide competition sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Music and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. COMP showcases new, original music from Missouri student composers and songwriters in grades K-12, offering positive recognition, prizes, performances, educational opportunities, and more.
For the competition, students in grades K-5 submit compositions in two categories, Songs With Words and Instrumental. For grades 6-8, the categories are Fine Art Music and Popular Music, and for grades 9-12, the categories are Fine Art Music, Jazz, and Pop Music/Other styles. All entries are required to be original music written by the student, and only one entry per student is allowed. Both notated pieces and music made electronically are eligible. Arrangements of previously composed pieces or improvisation based on composed pieces are not accepted.
Both the winning composers and their schools are awarded cash prizes, and the winning compositions will be performed at the Creating Original Music Project’s New Music Festival on April 22, 2023 in the Sinquefield Music Center’s Sheryl Crow Hall at the University of Missouri in Columbia. The junior division concert, featuring works from elementary and middle school winners of this year’s competition, begins at 11:15 a.m., with the senior division concert of popular and notated music by high school winners following at 1:45 p.m. A concert of mixed genres and ages for winners in pop and jazz categories follows at 3 p.m. Since COMP began in 2006, hundreds of pieces of music by K-12 Missouri composers have been performed.
Winners in high school also are eligible for scholarships to attend the Missouri Summer Composition Institute, which will take place June 10-17 on the Mizzou campus.
The 2022 Creating Original Music Project (COMP) competition categories and winners are:
Elementary Division (K-5): Instrumental Music
1st Theodore Alexander, Snow Day, City Garden Montessori, Saint Louis
Sponsor: Pat Garrett
2nd Clara Watson, A Spider Web, Paxton Keeley Elementary, Columbia
Sponsor: Barry Watson
3rd Luke Stegner, Jaunty Biggelo, Cole Country R-V, Jefferson City
Sponsor: Pearl Stegner
Honorable mention:
Angie Sexton, Rachel Meyer, Meghan Pieper, Katie Mixner & Melissa Creasy, The Lonely Ladybug, William Cappel Elementary,
Moscow Mills
Sponsor: Robert Berzack
Elementary Division (K-5): Song with Words
1st Hannah Reetz, Flowers, Williamsburg Elementary School, Williamsburg
Sponsor: Sherry Reetz
2nd Brianne Holden, You Just Gotta Know, Maysville Elementary, Maysville
Sponsor: Shelby Rogers
3rd Shelby Cooper, I Know a Thing or Two, Mill Creek Elementary, Columbia
Sponsor: Jordan Walker
Honorable mention: Easton Bankery, Snow Day, Siegrist Elementary Platte County R3, Kansas City
Sponsor: Pearl Stegner
Middle School Division (6-8): Popular Genres – Acoustic
1st Rebecca Stanford, Hope, St. Brendan School Mexico, Mexico
Sponsor: Ted R. Brauker
2nd Abigail Harmon, What Happens Next?, Ozark Junior High, Springfield
Sponsor: Alicia Campbell
3rd Abbey Hamm, Finally Found You, Mexico Middle School, Mexico
Sponsor: Julie Pappas
3rd Rebbeca Ninemire, She’s No Barbie Girl, Summit Lakes Middle School, Lees Summit
Sponsor: Mr. Bryant Knapp
Middle School Division (6-8): Popular Music – Electronically Produced
1st Wyatt Weatherford, Restless, South Shelby Middle School, Shelbina
Sponsor: Josh McCoy
Middle School Division (6-8): Notated Music
1st Sedyankov Daniel, Caught, Parkway Southwest Middle School, Manchester
Sponsor: Jacquie Sheehan
2nd Skye Gash, Ominous Adventure, South Valley Middle School, Kansas City
Sponsor: Parker Stanley
3rd Isaac Faust, The Jazzy Lounge, New Mark Middle School, Kansas City
Sponsor: Jim Freise
Honorable mention:
Isabelle Ortis, Fading Memories, Christian Fellowship School, Columbia
Sponsor: AJ Seidhoff
High School Division (9-12): Popular Genres – Acoustic
1st Ovya Diwakaran, Chess, Ladue High School, Saint Louis
Sponsor: Thomas Lowery
2nd Andrew Wilkie, Friends Forever, Neosho High School, Neosho
Sponsor: Dan Duffield
3rd Liam David Rocha Colin, Un Hilo Del Sol, Park Hill High School, Kansas City
Sponsor: Ky Hascall
High School Division (9-12): Popular Genres – Electronic Produced
1st Stone Gill, Shallow, Arcadia Valley High School, Arcadia
Sponsor: Charles Lee
2nd Caleb Matthew Hauptmann, A Familiar Place (VIP), Hallsville High School, Hallsville
Sponsor: Nathaniel Lewis
3rd Henry Lammers, The Ocean Burns, David H. Hickman High School, Columbia
Sponsor: Robin Steinhaus
High School Division (9-12): Jazz
1st Quincy Meyer, Bittersweet Tangerine, East Buchanan High School, Gower
Sponsor: Mr. Bryan Duddy
2nd Eli Minasian, The Groovy Ghost, Home-schooled, Springfield
Sponsor: Kyle Aho
High School Division (6-8): Notated Music
1st Hannah Wolkowitz, Strawberry Shortcake, Parkway Central High School, Chesterfield
Sponsor: Alicia Bont
2nd Yueheng Wang, The Red Giant, Ladue Horton Watkins High School, Creve Coeur
Sponsor: Aaron Lehde
3rd Matthew Hilger, Clouds Untouched, Summit Technology Academy, Lees Summit
Sponsor: Shawn Harrel
Honorable mention:
Eli Parks, Suite pour trois violoncelles, Central High School, Springfield
Sponsor: Shea Brown and Esther Clifton
Here are the judges for the 2023 competition:
High School/Middle School Notated Music
Preliminary Judges
Robyne Sieh, BM in Music Composition, Sophomore (Sinquefield Prize Finalist)
JT Wolfe, BM in Music Composition, Sophomore (Sinquefield Prize Finalist)
Final Judges
María Laura Disandro, MM
Harry González, Graduate Assistant
Popular Genres Judges:
Dr. Sam Griffith, Assistant Teaching Professor of Jazz, University of Missouri
Dr. Bonnie McLarty, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory, University of Missouri
Elementary Instrumental Music and Elementary Song With Words
Dr. Wendy L. Sims and students
Livestreams of the April 23 concerts can be viewed by following these links:
11:15 a.m. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ycew9J9Zz_4
1:45 p.m. https://www.youtube.com/live/uzV9DLz8PcQ?feature=share
3 p.m. https://www.youtube.com/live/Ycew9J9Zz_4?feature=share