Feb. 18, 2015
Mizzou students are winners in young composers competition
Erin Hoerchler Mizzou composition students Erin Hoerchler and Gus Knobbe are among the winners of the Community Music School of Webster University‘s 11th Annual Young Composers Competition. Hoerchler, a 19-year-old freshman from Jefferson City, won first place in the 17-21 age division for her work “Flight of the Hang Gliding Nightingale Nurses.” Knobbe, who’s also 19 and a freshman from Webster Groves, MO, took second place in the same division with his composition “Murmurations.” Before enrolling at Mizzou, both Hoechler and Knobbe also were winners in the annual Creating Original Music Project (C.O.M.P.) statewide competition for…
Feb. 12, 2015
Mizzou New Music Ensemble to perform
new works by visiting and student composers
Sunday, March 8 at Whitmore Recital Hall
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will play works by two visiting composers and three Mizzou students in their first concert of the new year at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 8 in Whitmore Recital Hall, 135 Fine Arts Building on the University of Missouri campus. Admission is free for Mizzou students, faculty, and staff with MU ID, $5 for the general public, with tickets available at the door. The Ensemble (pictured) will perform “The Gargoyles of Notre Dame” by Andrew List, who will be visiting the Mizzou campus that week to work with them, as well as select…
Feb. 11, 2015
St. Louis Symphony to perform Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams”
Original music from Mizzou will be heard once again next year at Powell Hall in St. Louis, as the St. Louis Symphony’s announcement last Tuesday of their 2015-16 season schedule included the news that they’ll perform Stefan Freund’s “Cyrillic Dreams” as part of a concert on Friday, April 29, 2016. Stefan Freund Freund is associate professor of composition and music theory at the University of Missouri and co-artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. The Memphis native also is a cellist and founding member of the new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound, and is…
Feb. 5, 2015
Missouri Composers Orchestra Project chooses works
by Zachary Cairns, Hans Heruth for performance on Saturday, March 7
The famous conductor James Levine once compared the orchestra to a “treasure chest,” but the relative scarcity of modern works on orchestral programs means that few contemporary composers ever get the chance to access those riches. Zachary Cairns Now, two more Missouri composers will receive that valuable opportunity, as the Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO) and the Mizzou New Music Initiative have announced the selection of two orchestral works written by Missouri residents to be performed by the CCO at a concert on Saturday, March 7 in Columbia. The winning compositions were chosen in a statewide competition conducted under…
Jan. 5, 2015
Mizzou International Composers Festival announces resident composers for 2015
The Mizzou New Music Initiative has selected eight resident composers to participate in the 2015 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Presented by MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 20 through Saturday, July 25 in Columbia, the sixth 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 (from top left): * Thomas Dougherty, Houston, TX * Emily Koh, Waltham, MA * Andrew McManus, Chicago, IL * Justin…
Dec. 18, 2014
Relevant Tones two-part radio special about
Mizzou International Composers Festival now available online
Last Saturday, the syndicated radio program “Relevant Tones” broadcast the second part of a two-hour special about the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Now, both episodes about the MICF can be streamed online. You can hear part one of the special here, and part two here. Originating from WFMT (98.7 FM) in Chicago, “Relevant Tones” also is heard on nearly 40 other NPR, public, and commercial stations, plus 150 “translator” frequencies, in the USA, Canada and New Zealand.
Dec. 16, 2014
Mizzou International Composers Festival gets
record number of resident composer applicants for 2015
With all the applications for 2015 submitted and logged, the Mizzou International Composers Festival has set another new record this year for the number of submissions from prospective resident composers. The MICF got a total of 231 applications for the 2015 festival, including 82 returning applicants and 149 who applied for the first time. Fifteen percent of the submissions came from outside the US, with applications arriving from composers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Last weekend, festival organizers met in St. Louis to review…
Dec. 4, 2014
Missouri Composers Orchestra Project
2015 entry deadline extended to Monday, December 15
The Missouri Composers Orchestra Project (MOCOP) deadline for 2015 submissions has been extended until Monday, December 15. Now in its fourth year, MOCOP is a collaborative effort of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, the Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO), and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation to bring attention to orchestral works written in the state of Missouri. By identifying composers of orchestral music and providing opportunities for the performance of their work, MOCOP strives to showcase the talent of Missouri and share it with the community Each year, works are selected through a competitive, blind judging process to…