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The Mizzou New Music Initiative is pleased to announce that 38 new musical compositions and songs written by students in grades K-12 from across Missouri have won top honors in the 2026 Creating Original Music Project (COMP). COMP showcases original music from Missouri student composers and songwriters and offers them positive recognition, prizes, public performances and educational opportunities.
Now in its 21st year, COMP is an annual statewide competition sponsored by the Mizzou New Music Initiative and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
For the competition, students in grades K-12 submit compositions in the following categories: Instrumental Music, Songs with Words, Notated Music, Acoustic Popular Genres, Produced/Electronic Genres, and Jazz. All entries must be original music written by the student.
The winning compositions will be performed at the COMP Festival on April 18 in the Sinquefield Music Center’s Sheryl Crow Hall at the University of Missouri. In addition, the winning composers and their schools will be awarded cash prizes.
Since COMP began in 2006, more than 478 pieces of music by K-12 Missouri composers have been performed. Winning composers from the last 21 years represent 108 different Missouri communities. The 2026 winners come from 22 different cities and towns.
The winners in high school also qualify for priority consideration to attend the Missouri Summer Composition Institute, which will take place June 6-13, 2026 on the Mizzou campus.
The 2026 COMP categories and winners are:
Elementary: Songs Without Words
1. Stormy Castle by Nicholas Mehta
Andrews Academy – Lake Saint Louis
Grade 3
2. Grün Regen (Green Rain) by Avery Francisco
East Elementary – Waynesville
Grade 5
3. The Final Thaw by Theodore Alexander
Saint Margaret of Scotland – St. Louis
Grade 5
Honorable Mention
Searching by Nathan Bergin
Homeschooled – Liberty
Grade 5
Elementary: Songs With Words
1. Midnight Swims by Susannah Hooker
Grant Elementary School – Columbia
Grade 5
2. Cuz U My Baby by Joseph Salami
Washington Elementary School – St. Louis
Grade 4
3. Wings by Mary Bleyer
Bristol Elementary School – Webster Groves
Grade 5
Honorable Mention
The Pretzel Blues by Oleksander Luczak
Crossroads Academy – Quality Hill – Kansas City
Grade 5
Honorable Mention
Rawr, Rawr Dinosaur by Elijah Edginton
Franklin Elementary School – Cape Girardeau
Grade 4
Middle School – Notated
1. Variations on a Memory by Sam Finkel
Jefferson Middle School – Columbia
Grade 6
2. A Short Piece for String Quartet by Ethan Schnacke
Waynesville Middle School – Waynesville
Grade 8
3. Sonata No. 1 in D Minor for Violin and Piano by Rowan Seidman
Hixson Middle School – Webster Groves
Grade 7
Honorable Mention
The Floating Carousel by Priya Lad
East Trails Middle School – Lee’s Summit
Grade 8
Middle School – Acoustic
1. Parasite by Alister Smith
Plaza Heights Christian Academy – Blue Springs
Grade 8
2. Nothing Ever Changes by Luke Wilson
Plaza Heights Christian Academy – Blue Springs
Grade 8
3. Arctic Odyssey by Elijah Gwyn
Parkway Northeast Middle School – Creve Coeur
Grade 8
Honorable Mention
Within These Chords by Ian Sutton
Delta Woods Middle School – Lee’s Summit
Grade 7
Middle School – Produced
1. Incandescent Filament by Grayson Lea
Gentry Middle School – Columbia
Grade 7
2. Security Tower by Aayden Leftridge
Discovery Middle School – Liberty
Grade 8
3. The Fall of Gods by Oscar Schneiderjohn
Columbia Independent School – Columbia
Grade 8
High School – Notated
1. Amalgamation by Daniel Sedyankov
Parkway South High School – Manchester
Grade 10
2. Harmonies Book One, for two pianos tuned a quartertone apart by Andrew Kahler
Doniphan High School – Doniphan
Grade 12
3. Updraft by Cohen Nguyen
Muriel W. Battle High School – Columbia
Grade 12
Honorable Mention
Prélude – for Cello and Piano by Moses Pavon
Parkview High School – Springfield
Grade 12
High School – Acoustic
1. Coffee at Noon by Maddie Huckabay
Francis Howell North – St. Charles
Grade 12
2. Hercules by Isaac Walker
Homeschooled – Oldfield
Grade 12
3. Just Because by Paloma L. Greim
Saint Teresa’s Academy – Kansas City
Grade 12
Honorable Mention
What Love Should Be by Chace Curtis
Liberty High School – Liberty
Grade 10
Honorable Mention
Hand Hearts by Brendan Rieth
Galena Highschool – Galena
Grade 11
High School – Produced
1. Jester (Eat, Sleep, Gamble, Repeat!) by Olyssa Mesh Herico
David Hickman High School – Columbia
Grade 10
2. Hotel Hos(tile) by Hunter Hilson
Oakville Senior High School – St. Louis
Grade 12
3. In All of My Life by Brody Vestal
Moberly High School – Moberly
Grade 10
Honorable Mention
Midwest Freak Girl (demo ii)/ Babyboy (v2)/ speakermurder by John Timothy Maguire
Clayton High School – Clayton
Grade 12
Honorable Mention
Byte of Nostalgia by Wyatt Weatherford
South Shelby High School – Shelbina
Grade 11
High School: Jazz
1. Sapphire Guy by Mara Queen
Lutheran South – St. Louis
Grade 11
2. Powdered Donuts by Nate Buckwalter
Fulton High School – Fulton
Grade 12
3. Walk On By by Allison Scott
North County High School – Bonne Terre
Grade 12
Honorable Mention
One Man Quartet by Noah James
Rock Bridge High School – Columbia
Grade 12
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