July 16, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Khemia Ensemble
Khemia Ensemble will play a prominent role during their Mizzou International Composers Festival debut this year, presenting three performances featuring works by a total of 16 different composers. Founded and led by University of Missouri School of Music faculty members Carolina Heredia and Bret Bohman, and including Mizzou assistant professor of cello Eli Lara, Khemia (pictured) is “a contemporary chamber ensemble focused on championing the works of living composers through vivid, multimedia performances.” Members of Khemia will be featured in two afternoon “pop-up” concerts in downtown Columbia, on Thursday, July 25 outside Sparky’s Homemade…
July 15, 2019
2019 Mizzou International Composers Festival complete schedule
Here is the complete schedule of events for the 2019 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Celebrating its tenth year in 2019, the MICF begins on Monday, July 22 and continues through Saturday, July 27. All festival events listed are free and open to the public, with general admission seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Events will take place at the Fine Arts Building and Loeb Hall on the campus of the University of Missouri; at the Missouri Theatre, Cafe Berlin, and two “pop-up” locations in downtown Columbia; and at the Firestone Baars Chapel on the campus of Stephens College.
July 14, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Mizzou New Music Ensemble
Occupying their usual spot in the festival lineup, the Mizzou New Music Ensemble will be performing during the 2019 Mizzou International Composers Festival as part of Friday night’s “Mizzou New Music” concert at the Missouri Theatre. Their portion of the evening’s program will include works by the MICF’s two distinguished guest composers – “The Blotting” by Donnacha Dennehy and “World Under Glass No. 2” by Amy Beth Kirsten – as well as music by Mizzou student Jack Snelling. The Mizzou New Music Ensemble (pictured) is made up of University of Missouri graduate students under the direction of…
July 13, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Kristina Wolfe
2019 MICF resident composer Kristina Wolfe describes herself as “a composer, wanderer, electronic musician, maker, and multi-instrumentalist.” A native of Tampa, FL, Wolfe (pictured) currently is a composer and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Scholar working in sound archaeology exhibition and composition at the University of Huddersfield in the UK. She earned her PhD in multimedia and electronic music experiments from Brown University in 2016, having previously completed an MA in digital music at Dartmouth College and a BA in music technology at Florida International University. For the MICF, Wolfe has composed a new work titled “A…
July 12, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: “0150719 by reference”
In addition to the expanded schedule of concerts celebrating the festival’s tenth year, another first for the 2019 Mizzou International Composers Festival is “0150719 by reference,” a generative eight-channel audio installation created specifically for the MICF by Kenneth Kirschner and Daniel Neumann. The installation will be open starting on Tuesday, July 23 and continuing through Saturday, July 27 in the second-floor lobby of the Missouri Theatre. Hours are 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, and 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The sounds for “050719 by reference” are based on a…
July 11, 2019
2019 MICF in the media
With this year’s Mizzou International Composers Festival fast approaching, MNMI has been working to get the word out via local media. For starters, the “Mizzou Music” radio program, heard at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday evenings on Columbia’s classical music station KMUC, has been airing a series of interviews with participants in this year’s MICF. Composers interviewed by host Aaron Hay so far include Peter Shin, Nicole Murphy, Inti Viggis-Vizueta, Donnacha Dennehy, Chelsea Komschlies, Kristina Wolfe, Theo Chandler and Mizzou’s own Aaron Mencher. Still to come are interviews with Charles Halka, Amy Beth Kirsten,…
July 11, 2019
Composers Festival spotlight: Eli Keszler
For this year’s expanded edition of the Mizzou International Composers Festival, the Mizzou New Music Initiative is teaming up with Columbia-based experimental music organization Dismal Niche to present two free late-night concerts on Thursday, July 25 and Friday, July 26 after the performances at the Missouri Theatre. Friday’s late-night concert will feature percussionist, composer, and artist Eli Keszler in a solo performance starting at 9:30 p.m. at the Firestone Baars Chapel on the campus of Stephens College. Keszler (pictured), who’s based in New York City, earned his BA in music performance and composition from the New…
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…