Mizzou New Music Initiative

Alarm Will Sound Photo by Carl Socolow

Jan. 16, 2026

MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound Releases New Work by Composer Matt Smith on its YouTube Channel

Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released As Brightness is to Time, a new work by composer Matt Smith on its YouTube channel. Smith was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members, Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos. Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and Director…

Alarm Will Sound Photo by Carl Socolow

Jan. 16, 2026

MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound Releases New Work by Composer Geli Li on its YouTube Channel

Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released The Smell of Sunshine, a new work by composer Geli Li on its YouTube channel. Li was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members, Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos. Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and Director of…

Alarm Will Sound Photo by Carl Socolow

Jan. 16, 2026

MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound Releases New Work by Composer Seda Balci on its YouTube Channel

Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released Riffscape, a new work by composer Seda Balci on its YouTube channel. Balci was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members, Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos. Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and Director of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble.

Calista Jones - 2026 MOCOP High School Orchestral Winner

Jan. 13, 2026

EIGHT MISSOURI COMPOSERS RECOGNIZED IN STATEWIDE COMPETITION FOR BEST NEW CHORAL AND ORCHESTRAL MUSIC; WINNING COMPOSITIONS TO BE PERFORMED IN COLUMBIA CONCERT ON MARCH 8

Four composers from Missouri have won the 2026 Missouri Composers Project (MOCOP) statewide competition for best new choral and orchestral musical compositions, and four additional composers have been recognized with honorable mentions. Sponsored by the Mizzou New Music Initiative and the University of Missouri School of Music, composers from across Missouri are invited to submit their original orchestral and choral works, with winners selected by blind judging in two age categories: “open” and “high school.” The Columbia Civic Orchestra and Premiere Vocal Artists, conducted by Jeremy Paladino,…

Alarm Will Sound Photo by Carl Socolow

Jan. 3, 2026

2026 GRAMMY-NOMINATED CHAMBER MUSIC ENSEMBLE ALARM WILL SOUND TO PERFORM WORKS BY THREE ACCLAIMED CONTEMPORARY COMPOSERS IN COLUMBIA ON JANUARY 20

The 2026 Grammy Award-nominated chamber music ensemble Alarm Will Sound will present an evening of groundbreaking contemporary classical music including a world premiere performance in Columbia on Tuesday, January 20, 2026. University of Missouri School of Music faculty members Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos are founding members of New York-based Alarm Will Sound and will perform in the concert, to be held at the Sinquefield Music Center beginning at 7:30 pm. This concert will take the audience on a unique musical journey from the poetic minimalism of…

Seda Balci

Dec. 17, 2025

School of Music Student Seda Balci and MNMI Associate Director Tiffany Skidmore to Participate in Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival

University of Missouri School of Music student Seda Balci has been accepted to participate in the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival, scheduled for July 3-16, 2026. Mizzou New Music Initiative Associate Director Tiffany Skidmore will serve as one of the Festival’s faculty members.   The Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival is designed for composers looking to refine their craft, receive professional performances of their works, and immerse themselves in the rich musical culture of Vienna, Austria. Each selected composer will have their new work performed during the festival. Participants…

Dr. John Orfe

Dec. 1, 2025

Mizzou New Music Ensemble Presents December 7 Concert Featuring World Premiere of Dr. John Orfe’s Four Ozark Fable Sketches, Composed Expressly for the Ensemble

The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will present a concert featuring the world premiere of Dr. John Orfe’s Four Ozark Fable Sketches at 7:30 p.m. December 7, in the Sinquefield Music Center’s Sheryl Crow Hall. Written expressly for the MNME, the piece’s four movements – Monarch’s Theme, Monster the First:  MoMo, Monster the Second:  Spooklights, and Monster the Third:  Ozark Howler – are part of an original story in the manner of a folk tale whose characters hail from Missouri folk legends and jazz history. Dr. John Orfe The program includes…

Alarm Will Sound Photo by Carl Socolow

Nov. 26, 2025

MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound Releases New Work by Composer Christopher L. Thompson on its YouTube Channel

Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released Shadows Uplifted, a new work by composer Christopher L. Thompson, on its YouTube channel. Thompson was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members,…