Oct. 28, 2016

Dustin Dunn wins MTNA’s 2016 statewide composition competition

University of Missouri composition student Dustin Dunn has won this year’s award in the “Young Artist” category of the Missouri state division of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) composition competition. Dunn, a junior working on a bachelor’s degree in music composition at Mizzou, was recognized for “Of Stained Glass and Hymnody,” which was premiered in March 2016 by the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. He’s the third Mizzou student in a row to win the statewide MTNA award, following Ben Colagiovanni last year and Trey Makler in 2014. “Of Stained Glass and Hymnody” now will be entered…

Sep. 27, 2016

Aaron Mencher wins Boston New Music Initiative Young Composers Competition

Mizzou composer Aaron Mencher has won this year’s Boston New Music Initiative Young Composers Competition with his work “Uncertainly Yours,” which will be performed by the Boston New Music Initiative ensemble in a concert on November 4 at The Record Company in Boston. Mencher (pictured) is a sophomore composition major and Sinquefield Scholar from John’s Creek, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. He’s now the second Mizzou student to win BNMI’s Young Composers Competition, as Trey Makler was last year’s winner for his musical setting of poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Die Sonette an Orpheus.”…

Sep. 15, 2016

Jacob Gotlib profiled in Columbia Daily Tribune

The Mizzou New Music Initiative’s new managing director Jacob Gotlib (pictured) recently was profiled in the Columbia Daily Tribune. Gotlib, who earned his Ph.D in composition in 2015 from the State University of New York at Buffalo and also holds a master’s degree in composition from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a B.M. in music technology from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, began work at Mizzou in August. You can read the article, written by the Tribune‘s Aarik Danielsen, here.

July 20, 2016

Jacob Gotlib hired as new managing director for Mizzou New Music Initiative

The University of Missouri School of Music has hired Jacob Gotlib to be the new managing director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Gotlib, who earned his Ph.D in composition in 2015 from the State University of New York at Buffalo, will start work at Mizzou on Monday, August 15. As managing director, he will oversee all programs and operations of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, including the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Creating Original Music Project (COMP), the Missouri Composers Orchestra Project (MOCOP), and more. Currently living in Louisville, KY, Gotlib (pictured) already has some familiarity…

June 15, 2016

Mizzou New Music Initiative awards postdoctoral fellowship to Phillip Sink

The Mizzou New Music Initiative and the University of Missouri School of Music have awarded the Initiative’s first-ever postdoctoral fellowship to composer Phillip Sink. Starting with the Fall 2016 semester, Sink (pictured) will teach classes in composition and electronic music at Mizzou, and also will begin a major research project to be completed during the two years of his fellowship. “We’re delighted to have Phillip as our first postdoctoral fellow,” said Stefan Freund, associate professor of composition at Mizzou and artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. “He’s an accomplished composer who has a lot of experience…

June 9, 2016

Mizzou New Music Initiative seeks new managing director

The University of Missouri School of Music is looking for a new managing director for the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). The managing director is responsible for administering all of MNMI’s various programs, which include the Mizzou International Composers Festival, the Creating Original Music Project (COMP), the Missouri Composers Orchestra Project (MOCOP), and more. The job begins on August 1, 2016, and offers a competitive salary and full benefits package. It is a full-time, 12-month faculty position with at least 75% administrative duties and potential for up to 25% teaching, depending on the applicant’s area of specialty.

April 22, 2016

Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams” to be performed by St. Louis Symphony in concert on Friday, April 29

The St. Louis Symphony once again will feature music from a Mizzou composer as part of their subscription season when they perform Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams” in a concert at 8:00 p.m. Friday, April 29 at Powell Hall in St. Louis. Freund (pictured) is associate professor of composition and music theory at the University of Missouri, co-artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and director of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. The Memphis native also is a cellist and founding member of the new music group Alarm Will Sound, and is the music director and…

April 20, 2016

Student Composers Concert set for Sunday, April 24 at Whitmore Recital Hall

The spring 2016 edition of the University of Missouri School of Music’s bi-annual Student Composers Concert will showcase new works written and performed by students at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 24 at Whitmore Recital Hall on the Mizzou campus. Admission is free for Mizzou students, faculty and staff with ID, $5 for the general public. The program will include: “Four Jazz Moods” by Benedetto Colagiovanni “That I Have Not Lived” by Dustin Dunn “Ever Yours, l. Paris, 1 August 1890” by Travis Herd “Musings of Sky” by Hans Bridger Heruth “Ballroom Blues”…