Oct. 25, 2026
November Concerts Present Internationally Acclaimed TAK Ensemble and Tyondai Braxton, Including World Premieres by Three Mizzou Student Composers
Two concerts coming to Columbia in November 2026 will feature performances by internationally acclaimed new classical music performers and educators that will be in residencies with students and faculty at the University of Missouri School of Music. One concert will also include the world premiere of new musical compositions by three Mizzou music students. On November 10, TAK Ensemble will perform a work by Bethany Younge, a composer and performer whose work interrogates the physicality of music-making, merging acoustic and electronic sound with the visceral presence of the performer. …
Sep. 15, 2026
University of Missouri Board of Curators names Mizzou New Music Initiative Artistic Director Stefan Freund a Curators’ Distinguished Professor
Mizzou New Music Initiative Artistic Director Stefan Freund has been named a Curators’ Distinguished Professor, the highest and most prestigious rank bestowed by the Board of Curators. He is one of six University of Missouri faculty members to receive the honor. Freund is a composer and cellist who has helped establish Mizzou’s School of Music as a destination for contemporary music. Through programs including the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Creating Original Music Project, and Missouri Composers Project,…
Aug. 9, 2026
Utku Asuroglu, University of Missouri School of Music Assistant Professor of Composition and Assistant Artistic Director of the Mizzou International Composers Festival, Awarded 2026 Music Commission from Library of Congress’ Koussevitzky Foundation
The Serge Koussevitzky Music Foundation in the Library of Congress has awarded Utku Asuroglu, University of Missouri School of Music Assistant Professor of Composition and Assistant Artistic Director of the Mizzou International Composers Festival, a commission to compose a new musical work. He is one of six composers worldwide to win the commission, which is granted jointly by the foundation and the performing organization that will present the world premiere of each work. Ensemble Dal Niente co-sponsored Asuroglu’s commission. Based in Chicago, Ensemble…
May 19, 2026
Mizzou Director of Choral Activities Brandon Boyd’s “Redeem the Dream” to be performed at Lincoln Center on Sunday, May 24, and as part of the Sing Democracy 250-50 States Program
Distinguished Concerts International New York at Lincoln Center will present Brandon Boyd’s Redeem the Dream at 7 p.m. May 24 in its David Geffen Hall. The concert is the New York Signature Concert of Sing Democracy 250, a nationwide musical initiative commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Redeem the Dream is based on Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again”, written in 1935. The poem reflects on the gap between the ideals of American democracy as articulated in the Declaration of Independence and the reality…
April 26, 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…
April 21, 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…
April 2, 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…
April 2, 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. The Vienna Contemporary Composers Festival is designed for composers looking to refine their craft, receive professional performances of their works, and immerse themselves in…