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Mizzou New Music Initiative Artistic Director Stefan Freund has been named a Curators’ Distinguished Professor, the highest and most prestigious rank bestowed by the Board of Curators. He is one of six University of Missouri faculty members to receive the honor.
Freund is a composer and cellist who has helped establish Mizzou’s School of Music as a destination for contemporary music. Through programs including the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Creating Original Music Project, and Missouri Composers Project, he gives students opportunities to work with professional composers and musicians, connecting audiences with new music
A founding cellist of the Grammy Award-winning music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, Freund has performed internationally and premiered hundreds of new works. His honors also include being named the Music Teachers National Association-Shepherd Distinguished Composer of the Year. Freund’s compositions have been recorded on eight different labels and performed around the world.
“I’m thrilled to receive this honor, and I deeply appreciate the university recognizing my contributions with this distinction,” Freund said. “I thank Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation for the support they’ve given to the Mizzou New Music Initiative over the past 20 years. The opportunities created by the NMI have led directly to my success in teaching and creative achievement.”
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