The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and Alarm Will Sound have selected eight Resident Composers to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF).

Presented by the MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 21 through Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Columbia, the sixteenth annual MICF will feature world premieres of new works written by each of the selected composers. Listed with their birthplaces, they are:

Amy Brandon (Prince Edward Island, Canada)
Chris Thompson (Savannah, GA)
Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (Denton, TX)
Geli Li (Guangzhou, China)|
Matt Smith (San Diego, CA)
Parker Callister (Ithaca, NY)
Seda Balci (Eskişehir, Turkey)
Robert Ge (Atlanta, GA)

The 2025 Resident Composers were chosen from among 600 entrants, representing 25 countries.

MNMI News will spotlight each of the Resident Composers in separate news releases before the Festival.

The premieres of the new works from all eight composers will be presented during Festival week, along with music by Distinguished Guest Composers Hilda Paredes and Judd Greenstein.

During the festival, the Resident Composers will receive composition lessons from Parades and Greenstein and take part in rehearsals with Alarm Will Sound. The composers also will give public presentations on their music, and after the premiere performances, will receive professional live recordings of their new works.

Acclaimed new music group Alarm Will Sound, conducted by artistic director Alan Pierson, once again will serve as Resident Ensemble, as it has since the MICF began in 2010.

The Festival is free and open to the public and will offer many opportunities to meet and speak with the Resident and Guest Composers. A discounted hotel rate with the Tiger Hotel is available through this link. Without the link, travelers can also select the option group rate and add the code NMI. Group rate reservations are available through June 29.

A complete schedule of events, times, dates, and venues for the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival will be announced at a later date. For more information, please visit http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/.

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