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Paul Novak is one of eight Resident Composers selected to participate in the 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival. MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound will perform his composition ship of theseus variations at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre. The concert is free and open to the public.
The “spellbinding” (Washington Post) music of Chicago-based composer Paul Novak immerses listeners in shimmering and subtly crafted musical worlds full of color, motion, light, and magic. His recent projects engage with dreams and memory, queer identity, climate change and the natural world, and psychosomatic illness.
Novak’s recent accomplishments include premieres and performances by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, International Contemporary Ensemble, Chicago Composers Orchestra, the Balourdet, JACK, Formosa, Varo Quartets, ZOFO, Blackbox Ensemble, and more. His other recent collaborators include the American Composers Orchestra, Reno Philharmonic, Austin Symphony, Chicago Civic Orchestra, Music from Copland House, DanceWorks Chicago, Sandbox Percussion, Ekmeles, Quince Ensemble, Decoda, and Left Coast Ensemble. His music has been heard at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the New World Center, and Chicago’s Symphony Center.
Novak has received a Barlow Commission and an Underwood Commission, as well as awards from ASCAP, BMI, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Red Note, the League of Composers, and more. He has received fellowships from Aspen, Norfolk, Copland House, Millay, and I-Park, and was featured in the Washington Post‘s “23 for ’23: Composers and Performers to Watch this Year,” where he was praised for his “impressive range and restless energy” in a catalog spanning “lithe, elastic vocal pieces…vibrant orchestral works…and evocative etudes for string quartet.”
We chatted with him recently via email.
What is your musical background? When and how did you begin composing?
I began composing at the same time I started playing music – as a 5th grader learning the flute in public school band class in Reno, Nevada. I was just messing around in notation software, but I think I had the realization I wanted to compose music pretty early on. As a kid, the experience of an orchestra playing my music – the joyful, surreal feeling of 70 people all working together to play the notes I had written – probably changed my life. I only wanted to play and compose music after that, and I think that joy and reward of working with other people is still at the heart of what I do.
How did you hear about MICF?
From friends who participated in the past, and had wonderful experiences!
Tell us about your piece that will be performed at MICF. What should we listen for?
My piece is called ship of theseus variations. It’s a dynamic, kaleidoscopic piece with a title that comes from the paradox of the ship of Theseus, where all of the parts of a ship are replaced one by one. It’s a set of variations that gets progressively further and further from the theme, asking the question, “At what point is it still variations on the same theme?”
What does it mean for you to work with an ensemble like Alarm Will Sound?
I’m so excited to work with AWS! I’ve been listening to their recordings for years, and especially have had Land of Winter on repeat this past year. As a composer, it’s always a joy to collaborate with world-class musicians who specialize in contemporary music.
What do you hope to learn from your MICF experience?
I hope to spend a wonderful week collaborating with incredible musicians and hearing lots of exciting new music!
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