July 12, 2016
Composers Festival spotlight: Matthew Browne
It’s been a busy year for Matthew Browne. Even before coming to Columbia as one of the eight resident composers for the Mizzou International Composers Festival, he’s already been one of seven young composers attending the 13th annual Composer Institute sponsored by the Minnesota Orchestra in conjunction with the American Composers Forum. Not only that, just before his visit to Missouri, he’ll be taking part in the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s 2016 Edward T. Cone Composition Institute at Princeton University. Born in Burlington, Vermont and raised in Colorado, Browne (pictured) currently is working on a…
July 11, 2016
Composers Festival spotlight: Takuma Itoh
As preparations continue for the official start of the Mizzou International Composers Festival on Monday, July 25, this will be the first of a series of brief profiles of the resident composers, distinguished guest composers, and musicians taking part in this year’s MICF, including (whenever possible) samples of their music. Born in Japan, raised in Northern California, and now living in Hawaiʻi, where since 2012 he has been a faculty member at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, Takuma Itoh brings a well-traveled perspective to his turn as a resident composer at this year’s festival.
July 7, 2016
If you’re coming to Columbia
If you’re planning on coming to Columbia for the 2016 Mizzou International Composers Festival, you can get advance tickets online for all three concerts, which are being presented again this year at the Missouri Theatre: Thursday, July 28: Alarm Will Sound Friday, July 29: Mizzou New Music Saturday, July 30: Eight World Premieres with Alarm Will Sound 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…
June 15, 2016
Mizzou New Music Initiative awards postdoctoral fellowship to Phillip Sink
The Mizzou New Music Initiative and the University of Missouri School of Music have awarded the Initiative’s first-ever postdoctoral fellowship to composer Phillip Sink. Starting with the Fall 2016 semester, Sink (pictured) will teach classes in composition and electronic music at Mizzou, and also will begin a major research project to be completed during the two years of his fellowship. “We’re delighted to have Phillip as our first postdoctoral fellow,” said Stefan Freund, associate professor of composition at Mizzou and artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. “He’s an accomplished composer who has a lot of experience…
June 9, 2016
Mizzou New Music Initiative seeks new managing director
The University of Missouri School of Music is looking for a new managing director for the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). The managing director is responsible for administering all of MNMI’s various programs, which include the Mizzou International Composers Festival, the Creating Original Music Project (COMP), the Missouri Composers Orchestra Project (MOCOP), and more. The job begins on August 1, 2016, and offers a competitive salary and full benefits package. It is a full-time, 12-month faculty position with at least 75% administrative duties and potential for up to 25% teaching, depending on the applicant’s area of specialty.
May 26, 2016
Tickets for 2016 Mizzou International Composers Festival go on sale Friday, June 3
Alarm Will SoundTickets for the 2016 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF) will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. CDT on Friday, June 3. Hailed as “a vibrant inferno of creative energy” by the internationally syndicated radio program “Relevant Tones,” and praised for offering “kinetic excitement” by the hometown Columbia Daily Tribune, the MICF will take place this year from Monday, July 25 through Saturday, July 30 in Columbia, and will include three public concerts of new music by living composers. Returning for the seventh year as the festival’s resident ensemble, Alarm Will Sound will begin…
April 22, 2016
Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams” to be performed by St. Louis Symphony in concert on Friday, April 29
The St. Louis Symphony once again will feature music from a Mizzou composer as part of their subscription season when they perform Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams” in a concert at 8:00 p.m. Friday, April 29 at Powell Hall in St. Louis. Freund (pictured) is associate professor of composition and music theory at the University of Missouri, co-artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and director of the Mizzou New Music Ensemble. The Memphis native also is a cellist and founding member of the new music group Alarm Will Sound, and is the music director and…
April 20, 2016
Mizzou New Music Ensemble to present benefit performance of “The Sound of Chess”
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will be the featured performers in “The Sound of Chess,” a benefit concert at 7:00 p.m. Saturday, April 30 at the Kingside Diner, 4651 Maryland Ave in St Louis’ Central West End. The Ensemble will perform three new works written by Mizzou student composers inspired by the game of chess: “Love Your Enemy,” composed by Henry Stewart; “Caution” by Luke Henderson; and “The Endgame” by Alex Williams. The concert also will include a performance of “Illegal Cycles,” written in 2015 by Mizzou graduate student José Martínez. Proceeds from the event will benefit…