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Four composers from Missouri have won the 2026 Missouri Composers Project (MOCOP) statewide competition for best new choral and orchestral musical compositions, and four additional composers have been recognized with honorable mentions.
Sponsored by the Mizzou New Music Initiative and the University of Missouri School of Music, composers from across Missouri are invited to submit their original orchestral and choral works, with winners selected by blind judging in two age categories: “open” and “high school.”
The Columbia Civic Orchestra and Premiere Vocal Artists, conducted by Jeremy Paladino, will perform the winning works in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, March 8, 2026 at Broadway Christian Church, 2601 W Broadway in Columbia. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public.
The winners, honorable mentions, and conductors for the March 8 concert include:
Choral – Open Category
Stay My Love by Orin Johnson – Winner; Emily Edgington, conductor
A Glimpse of October by Theodore Greer – Honorable Mention
Choral – High School Category
Once Love by Noah Pyle – Winner; Emily Edgington, conductor
Huxley’s Gesualdo by Andrew Kahler – Honorable Mention
Orchestral – Open Category
Adagio y Fuga Porteña by Renan Reis Leme – Winner; Barry Ford, conductor
Hocket Rocket by Phillip C. Roberts – Honorable Mention; Stefan Freund, conductor
Orchestral – High School Category
Viva la Revolution by Calista Jones – Winner; John McKeever, conductor
Marcia Funebre by Gilbert Gavin Slade Bach – Honorable Mention; Amy Knopps, conductor
Now in its 14th year, MOCOP is a collaborative effort involving the Mizzou New Music Initiative,
the Columbia Civic Orchestra, Premiere Vocal Artists, and the Sinquefield Charitable
Foundation. In addition to the performance and a live recording of their work, all four winners of
the competition will receive a $500 honorarium from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
To stay up to date with all Mizzou New Music Initiative announcements, follow them on Instagram and Facebook: @MizzouNewMusic