Sep. 24, 2018

Composer Michael Daugherty’s upcoming residency at Mizzou inspires three concerts featuring his music

Grammy Award-winning composer Michael Daugherty is coming to Columbia for a residency, and the University of Missouri School of Music and the Mizzou New Music Initiative are welcoming him with three concerts featuring his music in October. Daugherty, who is a professor of composition at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, will be in Columbia for two days. On the first evening of his residency, the MU Wind Ensemble will perform his works “On the Air” and “Niagara Falls” as part of a concert at 7:00 p.m. Monday, October 8 at the Missouri…

Sep. 21, 2018

Dustin Dunn wins UMSL Young Composers Competition

Dustin Dunn’s composition “In the Shadow of Shepherd Mountain” has been selected as the winner of the 2018 UMSL Young Composers Competition (Wind Ensemble, division 2). The work will be premiered by the UMSL Wind Ensemble as part of a concert at 7:30 p.m.  Wednesday, October 17 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri – St. Louis. Dunn (pictured), a senior from Annapolis, Missouri, is attending Mizzou on a full Sinquefield Scholarship from the Mizzou New Music Initiative. He previously has received awards for his music from the Music Teachers National…

Sep. 17, 2018

Missouri Composers Project (MOCOP) seeks new orchestral, choral music for concert in March 2019

Writing a new work for orchestra or chorus is a major accomplishment, yet for many composers, it’s just the first step in bringing their music to life. A commissioned work customarily will get a premiere performance, but there’s no guarantee it will be heard again – unless the composer can find more opportunities to get it played. Recognizing this ongoing issue, the Missouri Composers Project (MOCOP) once again in 2019 will offer performance opportunities for new, large-ensemble music written by Missouri residents. Now in its ninth year, MOCOP is a collaborative effort involving the Mizzou New Music Initiative, the…

Sep. 14, 2018

Composer Yevgeniy Sharlat coming to Mizzou for residency, concert

Composer Yevgeniy Sharlat is coming to Mizzou next month for a residency and concert. Sharlat, who’s an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin, will be in Columbia on Monday, October 1 and Tuesday, October 2. While he’s on campus, he’ll give a presentation and private lessons to composition students and coach the Mizzou New Music Ensemble, who will perform his piece “Divertissement” in their first concert of the semester on Monday, October 15. Sharlat’s visit will conclude with the premiere of his new work “Trio Contemplating the Moon,” which was commissioned by Trio Séléné…

Sep. 4, 2018

St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to read works by Mizzou composers Mikkel Christensen, Ben Colagiovanni, and Libby Roberts

From left: Colagiovanni, Roberts, Christensen Three University of Missouri student composers will have their works played this year by musicians with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as part of a joint educational venture between the orchestra and the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Student composers Mikkel Christensen, Ben Colagiovanni, and Libby Roberts were selected by SLSO Resident Conductor Gemma New to write new works for a 40-piece chamber orchestra drawn from the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony. The three works will be read, played and critiqued in a private session on Wednesday, October 31 in St. Louis. The composers…

Aug. 23, 2018

MADSM Collegiate Composer Competition entry deadline extended to Friday, October 19

The entry deadline for the 2018 MADSM Collegiate Composer Competition has been extended to Friday, October 19. “Since this a new competition this year, and the fall semester has just begun, we wanted MADSM member institutions to have more time to get the word out, and their students to have more time to respond,” said Jacob Gotlib, managing director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). MNMI is co-sponsoring the competition with the Missouri Association of Departments and Schools of Music (MADSM) to encourage the creation of original chamber music that can be played by high-school level musicians. The…

Aug. 20, 2018

Arrangement by Mizzou’s Stefan Freund featured on new album by Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound

An arrangement by Mizzou’s Stefan Freund is featured on Omnisphere, the new album by Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound. Freund is a professor of composition and the artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, as well as the cellist and a co-founder of Alarm Will Sound. Recorded live in February 2015 at The Newman Center in Denver, Colorado, Omnisphere represents the first collaboration between “one of the most adventurous groups to emerge in jazz and improvised music in the last three decades” and “an orchestra that counts among the boldest forces in contemporary…

Aug. 16, 2018

Construction progressing on Mizzou’s new School of Music building

After a ground-breaking ceremony in April, construction of the School of Music’s new building has been progressing throughout the spring and summer. For an overview of what’s happened so far, check out the embedded video in this post. The new building will bring together in one place offices and classrooms that currently are spread across six different locations on the Mizzou campus, and is scheduled to open in time for the Fall 2019 semester. The project is being funded by donations including a $10 million lead gift from Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.