The University of Missouri School of Music and the Mizzou New Music Initiative have
awarded the 2025 Sinquefield Composition Prize to student composer Giovanni
Porfirio. The prize is the top award for a composition student at Mizzou.
Porfirio is a composer from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and earned a bachelor’s degree from Sao
Paulo State University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Missouri.
As the Sinquefield Composition Prize winner, Porfirio will receive a $2,500 scholarship
and be commissioned to write a new work for the University Philharmonic Orchestra, which will
premier to a campus and community audience at the Chancellor’s Arts Showcase on February
21, 2025. Additionally, the new work will be professionally recorded.
Porfirio’s compositional philosophy centers on the fusion of harmonicity (defined pitches)
and inharmonicity (undefined pitches), influenced by his experience with electroacoustic music.
“My intention is to create a fusion of contemporary music and Bossa Nova, a Brazilian
genre that incorporates elements of Jazz and Samba,” says Porfirio. “Additionally, the piece will
feature influences of French Impressionism and Spectralism, particularly in the orchestration,
which echoes the textures and atmospheres characteristic of those styles.”
“Attracting a student with Giovanni’s talent and South American influences to study and
compose at Mizzou is another win for making Missouri a mecca in the world of new music,” said
Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield of the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. “His works show why music is
the joy of life.”
About the Sinquefield Composition Prize
Founded in 2006, the Sinquefield Composition Prize is an annual competition for students at the
University of Missouri. The winner writes an original work for one of Mizzou’s premiere large
ensembles to perform and record. The 2025 commissioned work will be written for the
University of Missouri Philharmonic Orchestra. The prize is made possible by the Sinquefield
Charitable Foundation and Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield.
The Mizzou New Music Initiative 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.