Post Archive

Jan. 21, 2020

Mizzou International Composers Festival announces resident composers for 2020

The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) has selected eight resident composers to participate in the 2020 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). Presented by MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 27 through Saturday, August 1 in Columbia, the eleventh annual MICF (http://composersfestival.missouri.edu/) will feature world premieres of new works written by each of the selected composers. Listed with their current places of residence, they are: * Yu Kuwabara – Tokyo, Japan * Pascal Le Boeuf – New York, NY * Shuying Li – Boston, MA * Celka…

Nov. 19, 2019

2020 Mizzou International Composers Festival gets
record number of resident composer submissions

A total of 346 composers from around the world have applied for the eight resident composer spots at the 2020 Mizzou International Composers Festival, a new record for the MICF. Submissions were received from 24 different countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The 2020 MICF will be held Monday, July 27 through Saturday, August 1 on the University of Missouri campus and at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia, and will feature…

Oct. 31, 2019

Mizzou New Music Ensemble to perform works from Missouri, South America, and more on Sunday, November 17 at Whitmore Recital Hall

The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will offer new music from Missouri, South America, and more in concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, November 17 at Whitmore Recital Hall on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. The concert is free and open to the public. From close to home, the Ensemble (pictured) will perform the two winning works written for the 2019 Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music (MADSM) Collegiate Composition Competition. “Cadencia” was composed by Truman State University student Samuel Tillman, the 2019 winner in the undergraduate category winner, and “Hitt Street Harangue” is by…

Oct. 28, 2019

Ken Thomson Sextet to perform with Concert Jazz Band
on Monday, November 4 at Stotler Lounge

Clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer Ken Thomson is bringing his sextet to Mizzou for a performance with the university’s Concert Jazz Band at 7:00 p.m. Monday, November 4 at Stotler Lounge in the Memorial Union building on campus. The concert will feature sets from both Thomson’s group and the Concert Jazz Band, and some students from the band also will sit in with the sextet. Admission is free and open to the public. In addition to the performance, Thomson during his visit will give a presentation to jazz and composition students, and teach a composition master class, and…

Oct. 28, 2019

Tesla Quartet coming to University of Missouri
for residency, concert on Sunday, November 3

The internationally acclaimed Tesla Quartet is coming to the University of Missouri for a Mizzou New Music Initiative residency that will include a concert at 4:00 p.m. Sunday, November 3 at Whitmore Recital Hall on campus. Admission to the concert is free and open to the public. The group’s visit to Columbia comes as they’ve just released their second album, “Joy & Desolation,” on the Orchid Classics label. A collaboration with clarinetist Alexander Fiterstein, the disc features a recording of “Ius in Bello” by Mizzou assistant professor of composition Carolina Heredia, as well as works by Mozart, Finzi,…

Oct. 22, 2019

Samuel Tillman, Daniel Vega chosen as winners
of the 2019 MADSM Collegiate Composition Competition

From left: Samuel Tillman, Daniel Vega The Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music (MADSM) and the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) have chosen the winners in the 2019 MADSM Collegiate Composition Competition. The winning work in the Undergraduate category is “Cadencia” by Samuel Tillman, a student at Truman State University, and the winner in the Graduate category is “Hitt St. Harangue” by Daniel Vega of the University of Missouri. The two winning compositions will be workshopped by the Mizzou New Music Ensemble with help from the composers; recorded; and then performed in concert next month on the…

Oct. 17, 2019

2020 Creating Original Music Project (COMP) offers
awards, cash prizes for Missouri student composers

2019 COMP High School division winners From parchment and quill to pen and paper to computer and software, the tools used by composers to set down their musical ideas may have changed over the years, but one thing remains the same: every composer still needs a chance to be heard. That’s why the Mizzou New Music Initiative is inviting young composers from across Missouri to take part in the 2020 Creating Original Music Project (COMP). Now in its 15th year, COMP is an annual statewide competition sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Music and the Sinquefield…

Oct. 9, 2019

Olivia Bennett wins 2019-20 Luna Composition Lab fellowship

Missouri student composer Olivia Bennett has been named one of five 2019-20 fellows by Luna Composition Lab, a program at the Kaufman Music Center in New York City that provides mentorship and performance opportunities to young composers who are female-identifying, non-binary, or gender non-conforming. Bennett (pictured), a 17-year-old home-schooled student from Nixa, Mo (just south of Springfield), has won multiple awards in competitions sponsored by the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Those awards include a total of five prizes in the annual Creating Original Music Project (COMP), a statewide composition competition for students in grades K-12, and two…