April 27, 2026
St. Louis Symphony Members to Perform World Premiere of Student Composer Nate Leslie’s “Open Your Eyes, Now Is The Time” on April 30 at The Sheldon
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra musicians will perform the world premiere of Open Your Eyes, Now Is The Time, a new work for string quartet written by Mizzou New Music Initiative student composer Nate Leslie, as part of the SLSO’s Live at The Sheldon program on April 30, 2026. This expressive chamber concert will be curated by SLSO violists Chris Tantillo and Shannon Williams. “My piece reads like a fortune cookie, as it is about my journey in realizing the kind of person I would like…
April 22, 2026
Mizzou Graduate Oswald Huynh Named a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow in Music Composition
Oswald Huýnh, a 2022 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Music with a Master of Music degree in Composition, has been appointed as a 2026 Guggenheim Fellow in Music Composition. Oswald attended Mizzou through a Teaching Assistantship provided by the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Huýnh is among 223 new Guggenheim Fellows whose work encompasses 55 disciplines and artistic fields. They range in age from 28 to 76 and represent 97 academic institutions, 33 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, three Canadian provinces, and eight countries…
April 3, 2026
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to Perform Three New Works by Mizzou Student Composers in May 13 Powell Hall Concert
Three University of Missouri School of Music students will have their original music compositions performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (SLSO) at a special concert at 8 p.m. on May 13, 2026 at Powell Hall in St. Louis. This concert will feature works by Mon Ieong Cheok Kai, a master’s degree student from Macau, China; Dean Wibe, a master’s degree student from Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Dominick DeStefano, a master’s degree student from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They were selected through an annual composers workshop in a collaboration between the SLSO and the Mizzou New Music Initiative…
April 3, 2026
School of Music Student Mon Ieong Cheok Kai to Participate in Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival
University of Missouri School of Music student Mon Ieong Cheok Kai has been accepted to participate in the Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival, scheduled for July 3-16, 2026 in Vienna, Austria. He will join University of Missouri School of Music graduate Seda Balci, who was previously accepted, and Mizzou New Music Initiative Associate Director Tiffany M. Skidmore, who will serve as one of the Festival’s faculty members. Mon Ieong Cheok Kai The Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival is designed for composers looking to refine their craft, receive professional performances of their works, and…
Feb. 13, 2026
Eight Internationally Acclaimed Resident Composers Selected for 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival
The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and 2026 Grammy Award-winning new classical music ensemble Alarm Will Sound have selected eight internationally acclaimed Resident Composers from five countries to participate in the 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). The 17th annual MICF will be presented by the MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 20 through Saturday, July 25 in Columbia. It will feature world premieres of new works written by each Resident Composer and performed by Alarm Will Sound. The 2026 Resident…
Feb. 3, 2026
Alarm Will Sound, Featuring University of Missouri School of Music Faculty Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos, Wins 2026 Grammy Award
Two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members were recognized as winners at the 2026 Grammy Awards on February 1 in Los Angeles. Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos are founding members of Alarm Will Sound, whose album Land of Winter won the Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. Alarm Will Sound is the ensemble-in-residence for the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). Alarm Will Sound at the 2026 Grammy Awards (photo by Paul Melnikow) Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, Co-founder and the Artistic Director of the …
Feb. 2, 2026
MNMI in the news
Here is some recent media coverage of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, its faculty, and students. Trent Fitzsimmons, whose composition Equinox Serenade, will receive its world premiere at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis on Thursday, February 5, was interviewed on the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra‘s St. Louis Stories blog. You can read the interview here: Five Questions with Mizzou Composer Trent Fitzsimmons Mizzou’s Maneater wrote about two University of Missouri Music Department faculty members, Stefan…
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…