Dean Minderman (1957-2021)

Dean Minderman performing at the Big Muddy Blues Festival in St. Louis, 2018 We at the Mizzou New Music Initiative and the MU School of Music are saddened to learn of Dean C. Minderman’s passing. Dean was the voice of this blog and our Twitter profile for the last 11 years, and as part of…

Stefan Freund wins commission from Barlow Endowment

University of Missouri professor of composition and Mizzou New Music Initiative artistic director Stefan Freund has won a commission for 2021 from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition. Freund (pictured) was one of 9 composers selected from among 259 applications this year to the Endowment’s General and LDS commissioning programs, which will award grants totaling…

Mizzou composer, musicians featured in PBS special celebrating Missouri’s bicentennial

A new work written by a Mizzou composer and performed by MU faculty members will be featured in "Show Me the Music: A Celebration of the Missouri Bicentennial," a television special that will air beginning this week on PBS affiliates in Missouri. "Waterways" was written on commission specifically for the bicentennial project by Stefan Freund…

Composers Festival spotlight: Chen Yi

The Mizzou New Music Initiative is pleased to welcome Chen Yi as one of two distinguished guest composers for the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Chen (pictured) is a distinguished professor of composition at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Music…

Composers Festival spotlight: David T. Little

The Mizzou New Music Initiative is pleased to welcome David T. Little as one of the two distinguished guest composers for the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Called “one of the most imaginative young composers” by The New Yorker, he has been recognized particularly for his operas "Dog Days," "JFK," and "Vinkensport" (with librettos by…

Composers Festival spotlight: Nina Shekhar

Resident composer Nina Shekhar is a first generation Indian American who grew up in Detroit and now lives in New Jersey, where she is pursuing her PhD in composition at Princeton University. She previously completed composition graduate studies at the University of Southern California and undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, earning dual degrees…

Composers Festival spotlight: ANTiCX

Founded in 2021, ANTiCX is an artist collective of composers and makers. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of the first names of its members. They are (pictured clockwise from upper left): Annika Socolofsky is a composer and avant-folk vocalist who is assistant professor of composition and artistic director of Pendulum…

Composers Festival spotlight: Andrew Tholl

Andrew Tholl comes to the 2021 MICF from Los Angeles, CA, where he works as a violinist, composer, drummer, and improvisor. He holds degrees from Arizona State University, University of Michigan, and the California Institute of the Arts, and has served on the faculty at CalArts, Moorpark College, Ventura College, The Kadima Conservatory of Music,…