Published on
The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress has awarded Utku Asuroglu, University of Missouri School of Music Assistant Professor of Composition and Assistant Artistic Director of the Mizzou International Composers Festival, a commission to compose a new musical work. He is one of six composers worldwide to win the commission, which is granted jointly by the foundation and the performing organization that will present the world premiere of each work.
Ensemble Dal Niente co-sponsored Asuroglu’s commission. Based in Chicago, Ensemble Dal Niente performs, develops, and sustains new and experimental music for small to large chamber ensembles.
Asuroglu has received numerous distinguished international recognitions, including a Guggenheim fellowship, the Irino Prize, and the Salvatore Martriano Composition Award, among others. Asuroglu pursued music studies in the Netherlands, Germany, and France before earning his doctorate from Stanford University.
His works have been featured at international festivals and performed by numerous leading ensembles, such as the orchestra of Radio France, Ensemble Intercontemporain, Ensemble Moderne, Talea Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, and Ensemble Linea. Asuroglu’s Koussevitzky commission will result in a work for large mixed ensemble, written for Ensemble Dal Niente. The composer’s works are published by Edition Gravis, Berlin.
“Utku’s teaching and composing work is world class, and he is very deserving of this international recognition,” said Stefan Fruend, Professor of Composition and Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. “Dr. Asuroglu continues to bring recognition to himself and the University of Missouri through his significant achievements. I am thrilled to hear that he has received a Koussevitsky Commission to write a piece for an ensemble as accomplished as Dal Niente.
About the Koussevitzky Foundation Commissions
Serge Koussevitzky, conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1924 to 1949, was a leading champion of contemporary music. Throughout his distinguished career, he played a vital role in the creation of new works by commissioning composers such as Béla Bartók, Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland, Arnold Schoenberg and Igor Stravinsky. He established the Koussevitzky Foundation in 1942 and passed operations to the Library of Congress in 1949 to continue his lifelong commitment to composers and new music.
About the Mizzou New Music Initiative
MNMI is a diverse array of programs that position the University of Missouri School of Music as a leading center for the composition and performance of new music. The initiative is supported by the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, led by Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. Their vision is to create an incubator for the composition and performance of new music and to showcase Missouri as a center for the music of tomorrow.
To stay up to date with all Mizzou New Music Initiative announcements, follow them on Instagram and Facebook: @MizzouNewMusic