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Internationally acclaimed composer Katherine Balch will be in residence October 3-5, 2025 for the first time at the Mizzou New Music Initiative. She will give composition lessons and a lecture to students and attend the public performance of her acclaimed composition speckled the green and blue by the Mizzou New Music Ensemble.
Katherine’s works have been commissioned and performed by leading ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, and the symphony orchestras of Pittsburgh, Dallas, Minnesota, Oregon, Albany, Indianapolis, and Tokyo. She is currently Associate Professor of Composition at Yale School of Music.
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble concert will take place on October 5 at 7:30 pm at the Sinquefield Music Center on the University of Missouri campus. Under the direction of faculty composer and Alarm Will Sound member Dr. Stefan Freund, the program will also feature performances of the following works:
- Adolphus Hailstork’s Consort Piece
- Steven Stucky’s Ad Parnassum
- JT Wolfe’s Arioso
- Trent Fitzsimmons’ Waves
“We are honored to have Katherine Balch bring her internationally known composition talents to Columbia, Missouri and share them with our students and faculty,” said Stefan Freund, Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. “She will also coach the student musicians as they perform one of her most acclaimed works, which will be a privilege for all involved.”
Steven Stucky was a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and a Mizzou International Composers Festival Distinguished Guest Composer in 2012 who enjoyed a close partnership with the Los Angeles Philharmonic for many years. He has an extensive catalogue of compositions ranging from large-scale orchestral works to a cappella miniatures for chorus.
Dr. Hailstork has written numerous works for chorus, solo voice, piano, organ, various chamber ensembles, band, orchestra, and opera. Consort Piece was commissioned by the Norfolk (Va.) Chamber Ensemble and awarded first prize by the University of Delaware Festival of Contemporary Music. Both Stucky’s and Hailstork’s music has been featured frequently at Mizzou.
J.T. Wolf is a recent Mizzou New Music Composition graduate and former Sinquefield Scholar who has studied at the Emerging Composers Intensive at Hidden Valley, California, collaborating with world-class musicians. His composition La Sal was premiered by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in March 2025.
Trent Fitzsimmons is a current Mizzou New Music Composition student.
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