Oct. 5, 2023
Mizzou International Composers Festival announces 2024 Festival Dates and Featured Guest Composers; Opens Resident Composer application process
The Mizzou New Music Initiative has set the dates, named the featured Guest Composers, and will begin accepting Resident Composer entries for the 2024 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). The 15th annual MICF will take place Monday, July 22 through Saturday, July 27, 2024, at the University of Missouri School of Music in Columbia, MO. 2023 Resident Composers take a bow at MICF finale with Alarm Will Sound MICF will once again feature concerts of music by contemporary composers performed in front of live audiences, along with in-person workshops, master classes,…
Aug. 9, 2023
Premieres of works by Resident and Guest composers among the highlights of the 2023 Mizzou International Composers Festival
The 2023 Mizzou International Composers Festival wrapped up on Saturday, July 29, with a concert at Columbia’s Missouri Theater. It featured world premieres of new works by eight MICF Resident Composers, performed by Ensemble-in-Residence Alarm Will Sound. The Resident Composers are Santiago Beis, Chen Yihan, Peter Fahey, Sophie Mathieu, Ali Can Puskulcu, Kelley Sheehan, Trevor Van de Velde, and Max Vinetz. Resident Composer Santiago Beis, Guest Composer Tania León, MNMI Music Director Stefan Freund The Festival, which opened on July 26, also included premieres of two works by the Festival’s Guest Composers: Tania León’s Gran Toque (arranged by…
July 7, 2023
Guest Composer Spotlight: Marcos Balter
The Mizzou New Music Initiative is pleased to welcome Marcos Balter as a Guest Composer for the 2023 Mizzou International Composers Festival. As part of MICF, he will present his music and work closely with the resident composers through private lessons and a workshop. Alarm Will Sound will perform the world premiere of Balter’s Code-Switching on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Missouri Theatre. On Friday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m., the Mizzou New Music Ensemble will perform his work Ligare, along with music by Tania León, Kevin Day, and Santiago Beis. Whether he’s composing works for solo…
July 7, 2023
Guest Composer Spotlight: Tania León
The Mizzou New Music Initiative is pleased to welcome Kennedy Center Honors recipient and Pulitzer Prize winner Tania León as a Guest Composer for the 2023 Mizzou International Composers Festival. As part of MICF, she will present her music and work closely with the resident composers through private lessons and a workshop. León’s music will also be featured in two concerts. On Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 p.m. in the Missouri Theatre, Alarm Will Sound will perform a new arrangement of Tania Leon’s Toque, which John Orfe arranged to become Gran Toque. For the second concert, the Mizzou New Music Ensemble…
April 18, 2023
Mizzou New Music Initiative announces winners in the 2023 Creating Original Music Project Competition
April 19, 2023 The winning composers in the 2023 Creating Original Music Project (COMP) have been announced by the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Now in its 18th year, COMP is an annual statewide competition sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Music and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. COMP showcases new, original music from Missouri student composers and songwriters in grades K-12, offering positive recognition, prizes, performances, educational opportunities, and more. For the competition, students in grades K-5 submit compositions in two categories, Songs With Words and Instrumental. For grades 6-8, the categories are Fine Art Music and Popular…
March 7, 2023
Mizzou music students’ works performed by St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Last Wednesday, three University of Missouri School of Music students found out what it is like to have their work performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra at Powell Hall. For seniors Sam Whitty and Jack Snelling and graduate student Santiago Beis, the concert was the culmination of a process that began last year when they were selected to participate in the annual composer’s workshop which is a collaboration between the SLSO and the Mizzou New Music Initiative and is funded by the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. Next was a session last fall in which…
Jan. 31, 2023
Works by Missouri Composers Project winners to be performed by Columbia Civic Orchestra, Columbia Chamber Choir in Sunday, April 16 concert
The Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO) and the Columbia Chamber Choir will perform the winning works from the 2023 Missouri Composers Project (MOCOP) competition in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 16 at First Baptist Church, 1112 E. Broadway in Columbia. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public. Now in its eleventh year, MOCOP is a collaborative effort involving the Mizzou New Music Initiative, the Columbia Civic Orchestra, the Choral Arts Alliance of Missouri, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. Composers from all over Missouri…
Jan. 5, 2023
Alarm Will Sound to perform works by Thirlwell, Thompson, Wohl, and Jlin on January 17 at Sinquefield Music Center
Alarm Will Sound, the 20-member contemporary music ensemble, is returning to Columbia to perform in concert on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 at the Sinquefield Music Center on the University of Missouri Campus. The 7 p.m. concert is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Doors open at 6:30. As the resident ensemble for the annual Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF), Alarm Will Sound (pictured) has been performing at concerts and festivals in mid-Missouri since 2010. The group’s founding cellist, Stefan Freund, is the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative.