The Mizzou New Music Initiative has set the dates, named the featured Guest Composers, and will begin accepting Resident Composer entries for the 2024 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). The 15th annual MICF will take place Monday, July 22 through Saturday, July 27, 2024, at the University of Missouri School of Music in Columbia, MO.
MICF will once again feature concerts of music by contemporary composers performed in front of live audiences, along with in-person workshops, master classes, and other events. Saturday night’s grand finale will present the world premieres of new works from each of the Festival’s Resident Composers, performed by resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound, conducted by Artistic Director Alan Pierson. Admission to all 2024 MICF concerts will once again be free.
The Featured Guest Composers for the 2024 Festival will be George E. Lewis and Mary Kouyoumdjian. Compositions by Lewis and Kouyoumdjian will be performed by Alarm Will Sound during the Festival, and they will present master classes, teach, and consult with the 2024 Resident Composers. An upcoming MNMI News release will highlight Lewis’s and Kouyoumdjian’s career.
The Mizzou New Music Initiative began accepting applications for Resident Composers to take part in the 2024 MICF on Sept. 20. Submissions will close on Nov. 5, 2023, at 5 p.m. CDT. Applicants for the 2024 MICF Resident Composer program will not be charged an application fee. Results will be announced before the end of the year.
The eight Resident Composers selected for the 2024 MICF will be chosen through an online portfolio application process that includes MNMI and Alarm Will Sound members. During the Festival, the resident composers will receive composition lessons from Lewis and will present lectures about their work. They will also be commissioned to write a piece for Alarm Will Sound and will workshop their compositions with the ensemble during the Festival. The new compositions will have their world premieres during the final MICF concert and will be professionally recorded and shared with the composers and digital platforms.
Tuition, board, and all the benefits that come with this opportunity are made possible thanks to the generosity of the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. To submit an application, please visit https://newmusic.missouri.edu/micf/mizzou-international-composers-festival-application.
A complete schedule of events, times, dates, and venues for the 2024 Mizzou International Composers Festival will be made available at a later date. For more information, please visit http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/.