
July 10, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Aaron Mencher
Resident composer Aaron Mencher is representing the University of Missouri at this year’s Mizzou International Composers Festival. Originally from Atlanta, GA, Mencher (pictured) received his bachelor’s degree in music from Mizzou this year, and in the fall will begin studies for a master’s in music at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, MD. For the MICF, he’s written a piece titled “Haworthia,” which will be performed by Alarm Will Sound along with new music from the seven other resident composers as part of the festival’s grand finale on Saturday, July 27 at the Missouri Theatre. While at…

July 9, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Nicole Murphy
Originally from Sydney, Australia, Nicole Murphy is only the second Australian to be a resident composer for the Mizzou International Composers Festival. (Holly Harrison, MICF ’14, was the first.) Murphy (pictured) earned her PhD from the University of Queensland and is represented as an associate artist by the Australian Music Centre. Her music is published by Wirripang, Austalia’s leading independent print music publisher of classical and jazz. She is composer-in-residence at the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries in Brisbane, Queensland, and in 2018 was the inaugural recipient of the Australia Ensemble‘s Emerging…

July 8, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Theo Chandler
Resident composer Theo Chandler comes to the 2019 Mizzou International Composers Festival by way of Houston, TX, where he currently is working on a doctorate of musical arts at the Rice University Shepherd School of Music. He’s already had a busy summer, having served as composer in residence for the Maryland Wind Festival, held in June in Frederick, MD, and as a fellow at the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, which is going on right now in Suffolk, England. The piece Chandler (pictured) has written for the MICF, “Familiar Punchlines,” will be performed by Alarm Will…

July 1, 2019
If you’re coming to Columbia…
There’s never been a better time to visit Columbia for the Mizzou International Composers Festival, because to celebrate its tenth year in 2019, the MICF has added more concerts and has made ALL festival events, including Saturday’s grand finale featuring eight world premieres performed by Alarm Will Sound, FREE. You can see a complete schedule of all 2019 MICF events here. Also, you may find these links useful for planning and/or during your visit: Visitors information Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau University of Missouri Visitors Guide Columbia Regional Airport…

May 20, 2019
Mizzou New Music Initiative 2018-19 year in review

May 16, 2019
2019 Mizzou International Composers Festival adding
more concerts, offering free admission to all events
Khemia Ensemble For its tenth year, the Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF) in 2019 is adding five more concerts and an audio installation, and is making all MICF events free and open to the public. Presented by the Mizzou New Music Initiative and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 22 through Saturday, July 27 in Columbia, the MICF once again will feature three evening concerts at the Missouri Theatre. Resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound will perform on Thursday, July 25, followed by “Mizzou New Music” on Friday, July 26 and “Eight World Premieres”…

April 18, 2019
Mizzou New Music Ensemble to debut “Influences Symphony” with performances in St. Louis and Columbia
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will explore the influence of various styles of music created in Missouri with performances in Columbia and St. Louis of “Influences Symphony,” a new collaborative, multi-part work by four Mizzou student composers. “Influences Symphony” will be premiered in a concert at 7:00 p.m. Friday, May 3 at the World Chess Hall of Fame, 4652 Maryland Ave. in St. Louis, with an encore performance at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, May 5 at Whitmore Recital Hall on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. The concert in Columbia is free and open to the public. General admission…

April 8, 2019
Mizzou seeks high school students for Missouri Summer Composition Institute
The Mizzou New Music Initiative is looking for Missouri high school students interested in music composition to attend the 2019 Missouri Summer Composition Institute, which will be held from Sunday, June 16 through Saturday, June 22 on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. Known informally as “COMP Camp,” after MNMI’s annual Creating Original Music Project contest for student composers, the Institute is open to students entering grades 9-12 and entering college freshman. The week-long program offers young composers from across the state the opportunity to receive composition lessons from MU faculty, learn from and interact with other creative…