July 25, 2014
More media mention MICF
Media attention for the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival continued into the week of the fest, with St. Louis magazine publishing a preview story, including quotes from guest composers Zhou Long and Nico Muhly, online on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, the Columbia Missourian ran their story about the festival, while a separate feature in the accompanying Vox Magazine focused on three of this year’s resident composers. On Friday, the festival was featured in a report on the morning newscast of local NBC affiliate KOMU. As for the photo accompanying this post,…
July 22, 2014
Composers Festival Spotlight: Zhou Long
Zhou Long It’s an honor to have Zhou Long as one of the two guest composers at this year’s Mizzou International Composers Festival. Currently the Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance, Zhou won the Pulitzer Prize in music in 2011 for his opera “Madame White Snake.” He graciously agreed to serve as one of this year’s guest composers on short notice after Beat Furrer, who originally had been scheduled to appear, was unable to attend for medical reasons. During the MICF, he will give a public…
July 21, 2014
Columbia media previews 2014 MICF
With the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival starting today, the Columbia Daily Tribune had two stories in Sunday’s paper, plus another online, which together offer a thorough preview of the week’s events. The Tribune‘s Aarik Danielsen interviewed managing director Billy Lackey and resident composer José Martínez for an overview of the festival, and also wrote separate articles about guest composer Nico Muhly and resident composer Nicholas Omiccioli. Also last week, Mizzou professor, MICF co-artistic director and Alarm Will Sound cellist Stefan Freund appeared on KBIA’s “Radio Friends with Paul Pepper” to talk…
July 20, 2014
Composers Festival Spotlight: Nico Muhly
Nico Muhly It’s a great pleasure to have Nico Muhly as one of the two guest composers for the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival. One of the most talked-about individuals on the contemporary music scene, often provocative and occasionally controversial, Muhly will work with the MICF’s eight resident composers both as a group and individually during the festival. He’ll give a free public presentation on his music at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday in the Fine Arts Building on campus, and also will be present at the Missouri Theatre for performances of his “Seeing is Believing” by…
July 19, 2014
Composers Festival Spotlight: Christopher Weiss
Christopher Weiss 2014 MICF resident composer Christopher Weiss may have been born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and grown up in the northeast, but as it turns out, his musical beginnings have a connection to the Show-Me State. His paternal grandfather, a fisheries biologist here in Missouri, was an amateur violin-maker who enjoyed experimenting by constructing violins using unconventional woods. When Christopher was five, his grandfather presented him with a handmade, one-quarter-size violin, and he began taking his first music lessons. Christopher taught himself to play the piano at age 12, and first developed an interest in…
July 18, 2014
Composers Festival Spotlight: José Martínez
José Martínez Resident composer José Martínez is representing the University of Missouri and the Mizzou New Music Initiative at this year’s MICF. Originally from Cali, Valle del Cauca, Colombia, José earned his diploma at the Conservatory of Music at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá, and currently is studying for a master’s degree in composition at Mizzou. For the festival, he has written a new work, “Dances Torridas” that will be one of eight world premieres performed by resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound at the Festival’s grand finale on Saturday, July 26 at the Missouri Theatre.
July 18, 2014
Composers Festival Spotlight: Mizzou New Music Ensemble
Mizzou New Music Ensemble One week from tonight, the Mizzou New Music Ensemble will take the stage at the Missouri Theatre as part of the “Mizzou New Music” concert of the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Comprised of graduate students on scholarship, the Ensemble is directed by faculty composer and Alarm Will Sound member Stefan Freund. They serve as the flagship group of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, collaborating with student, faculty and visiting composers throughout the year to perform a variety of new works. The Ensemble’s members for the 2013-14 season are Rachel Czech,…
July 17, 2014
Composers Festival Spotlight: Ashley Fu-Tsun Wang
Ashley Fu-Tsun Wang Ashley Fu-Tsun Wang is another of the resident composers helping to put the “international” into this year’s Mizzou International Composers Festival. A native of Taiwan, Ashley comes to the MICF via the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she’s studying for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Ashley also holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and SooChow University, and her work draws on an eclectic musical palette, ranging from Western and non-Western classics to jazz and pop. In a statement on her website, she says she seeks to “capture the…