March 10, 2020
Missouri student composers to present award-winning works
at Mizzou’s COMP Festival on Saturday, April 25 in Columbia
All COMP winners receive personalized plaques and cash prizes, plus cash prizes for their schools. Talented young composers and songwriters from all across Missouri will come together for a performance of their award-winning works at the Mizzou New Music Initiative’s 15th annual Creating Original Music Project (COMP) Festival from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday, April 25 in the Sinquefield Music Center on the campus of the University of Missouri. Admission is free and open to the public. The junior division concert, featuring works from elementary and middle school winners of this year’s competition, begins at 11:30 a.m., with…
Feb. 28, 2020
Mizzou New Music Ensemble to preview music from upcoming tour of South America and more on Monday, March 9 at Sinquefield Music Center
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will present a preview of music from their upcoming tour of South America and more in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 9 at the Sinquefield Music Center on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. The concert is free and open to the public. For their first concert of 2020 and their first public performance at the new Sinquefield Music Center, the Ensemble (pictured) will play two new works written by Mizzou graduate composition students, “Cataretê” by Luis Hermano Bezerra and “Ancient Echoes” by Daniel Fitzpatrick. Both pieces were composed specifically for…
Feb. 27, 2020
Mizzou New Music Ensemble hitting the road in May
for concert in Texas, tour of South America
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will hit the road this spring to perform a concert in Fort Worth, TX, followed by a tour of South America that will take them to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay. The journey will begin with a performance at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, May 9 at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Ft. Worth, TX, where the Ensemble (pictured) will perform a program of new works created by Mizzou composition students in response to images from the museum’s collection. Junior composition major Ben Dawson’s piece is inspired by the Carter Museum’s…
Feb. 6, 2020
School of Music celebrates opening of Sinquefield Music Center
The University of Missouri School of Music celebrated the opening of its new building, the Sinquefield Music Center, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Saturday, February 1. The building (pictured) is named for lead donors Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, who contributed $10 million toward the $24 million total cost of design and construction. Located in the heart of campus on University Avenue, the 47,000 square foot facility includes dedicated spaces for vocal and instrumental ensemble performances, 26 practice rooms, and a recording studio large enough to fit an 18-piece jazz big band. Attendees at the ceremony heard…
Feb. 5, 2020
Quatuor Diotima to perform in two concerts, present world premiere during residency at University of Missouri
The internationally acclaimed group Quatuor Diotima is coming to the University of Missouri for a residency that will include two performances and the world premiere of a new commissioned work composed by Mizzou post-doctoral fellow Yoshiaki Onishi. Formed in 1996 by graduates of the Paris National Conservatory, Quatuor Diotima (pictured) is a string quartet that performs contemporary classical music and offers a fresh look at works by the great composers. The quartet’s members are violinists Yun-Peng Zhao and Constance Ronzatti, violist Franck Chevalier, and cellist Pierre Morlet. They will perform at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 20 at Whitmore…
Jan. 30, 2020
Aaron Perrine to visit Mizzou for residency, concert
Composer Aaron Perrine is coming to the University of Missouri in February for a residency and concert featuring the premiere of a new commissioned work he wrote for the Mizzou Wind Ensemble. Perrine (pictured) will arrive in Columbia on Thursday, February 13. While he’s on campus, he’ll give lessons to composition students; make a presentation about his music; and coach the Wind Ensemble and the Symphonic Band, which will perform two of his older works at a concert later in the month. His visit will conclude with a performance by the Wind Ensemble and All-Juniors Honor Band at…
Jan. 30, 2020
Missouri Composers Project selects four works for concert by Columbia Civic Orchestra, Columbia Chamber Choir
Clockwise from top left: Jiyoun Chung, Dan Viggers, Robyne Sieh & David McCaulley The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) has announced the selection of four winners in the 2020 Missouri Composers Project (MOCOP) competition. Now in its ninth year, MOCOP is a collaborative effort involving MNMI, the Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO), the Columbia Chamber Choir, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. Composers from all over Missouri are invited each year to submit orchestral and choral works for potential performance, with winners selected in two age categories, “open” and “high school.” All four winners of the 2020 competition…
Jan. 28, 2020
Bret Bohman named 2019 MTNA Distinguished Composer of the Year
The Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) has named Bret Bohman as the 2019 MTNA Distinguished Composer of Year. Bohman (pictured) teaches courses in electronic music composition and music theory at the University of Missouri. He is a co-founder of the new music group Khemia Ensemble, and also records original electronic music under the name Bels Lontano. Bohman previously taught at the University of Michigan, where he received his doctorate. The MTNA award is given to the composer of the most significant work from among all compositions commissioned during the year by the organization’s state affiliates,…