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Three 2025 Mizzou Master of Music Composition graduates have accepted placements at prestigious universities where they will pursue further advanced degrees in music.
Seda Balci has accepted an assistantship to pursue a PhD in Music Composition and Technology at Northwestern University. Harry Gonzalez has accepted an assistantship to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at Rice University. And Giovanni Porfirio has been accepted to the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin.
Balci says her music is shaped by her three great passions: the universe, nature, and sound. These themes inspire her works both conceptually and as sonic material. Her style reflects the rich traditions of European classical music and incorporates her cultural heritage, blending traditional folk elements into a contemporary framework. In January, Balci’s composition Adieu to the Moon was performed by members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. More recently, Balci was a Resident Composer at the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival, where her composition Riffscape was performed by Alarm Will Sound at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre.
Gonzalez is a Colombian composer, violinist, pianist, and conductor. His music addresses social and environmental challenges and personal experiences by constantly seeking new sounds and techniques in his compositional process. In March, Gonzalez’s composition Fragments of a Memory was premiered by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at the Touhill Performing Arts Center in St. Louis.
Porfirio is a Brazilian composer and pianist whose work explores the intersection of contemporary music, gestuality, rhythm, and the humanities. His practice often engages with topics such as memory, varied repertoires, the development of musical materials into layered, unpredictable textures, and collaborative processes. Porfirio is the recipient of the University of Missouri’s 2025 Sinquefield Composition Prize. In February, his composition Clickbait was premiered at the University of Missouri Chancellor’s Arts Showcase.
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