May 5, 2025
Mizzou New Music Initiative to expand thanks to $4.6 million gift
A $4.6 million gift from Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, Rex Sinquefield, and the Sinquefield CharitableFoundation will ensure University of Missouri students continue to redefine the sounds oftomorrow through the Mizzou New Music Initiative. The funding will expand opportunities for students and faculty, supercharging a program alreadyknown for fostering bold, original compositions and turning visionary ideas into reality. “My goal is to make Missouri a mecca for musical composition,” said Jeanne Sinquefield, amember of the UM Board of Curators and founder of the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). “The MNMI covers K-12, undergraduate,…
Jan. 30, 2025
Mizzou International Composers Festival Announces Resident Composers for 2025
The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and Alarm Will Sound have selected eight Resident Composers to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). Presented by the MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 21 through Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Columbia, the sixteenth annual MICF will feature world premieres of new works written by each of the selected composers. Listed with their birthplaces, they are: Amy Brandon (Prince Edward Island, Canada)Chris Thompson (Savannah, GA)Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei (Denton, TX)Geli Li (Guangzhou, China)|Matt Smith (San Diego, CA)Parker Callister (Ithaca, NY)Seda Balci (Eskişehir, Turkey)Robert Ge (Atlanta,…
Sep. 10, 2024
Mizzou International Composers Festival announces 2025 Festival Dates and Distinguished Guest Composers; applications to become Resident Composers now open
The Mizzou New Music Initiative has set the dates, named the Distinguished Guest Composers, and is now accepting Resident Composer entries for the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). The 16th annual MICF will take place Monday, July 21 through Saturday, July 26 2025 at the University of Missouri School of Music in Columbia, MO. MICF will once again feature concerts of music by contemporary composers performed in front of live audiences, along with in-person workshops, master classes, and other events. Saturday night’s grand finale will present the world premieres of new works from each of the Festival’s Resident Composers, performed by Resident…
Sep. 10, 2024
Five Fall Concerts in Columbia to Showcase Mizzou New Music Initiative Performers and Composers; Applications for Programs Announced
The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) will present five concerts this fall in Columbia to showcase the program’s newest musical groups and composers. MNMI is also seeking applications from original music composers locally and nationwide toparticipate in three of its programs. MNMI is a diverse array of programs that position the University of Missouri School of Music as a leading center for the composition and performance of new music. The initiative is supported by the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, led by Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield. Their vision is to create an incubator for the composition and performance of new music and…
Sep. 5, 2024
Mizzou Music Composition Alum Nikolaus Schroeder Awarded Prestigious Barlow General Commission
University of Missouri graduate Nikolaus Schroeder has received a 2024 Barlow Endowment General Commission to write a new intermedia work for Kali Ensemble, a contemporary music collective based in the Hague, the Netherlands. Schroeder graduated from Mizzou in 2020 with a Master of Music in Composition degree. The Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, one of the premier commissioning organizations for new concert music in the U.S., was established in 1983 through the generosity of Milton A. and Gloria Barlow and is administered by Brigham Young University. Schroeder was…
Aug. 1, 2024
Premieres of works by Resident and Guest Composers highlight the 2024 Mizzou International Composers Festival
The 2024 Mizzou International Composers Festival, held July 22-27 at the University of Missouri and various locations in Columbia, concluded with a concert at the Missouri Theatre. It featured new works by eight MICF Resident Composers, performed by Ensemble-in-Residence Alarm Will Sound. This year’s Resident Composers are Lukáš Janata, Davor Vincze, Yingting Liu, Lila Meretzky, Benjamin Scheuer, ess whiteley, Mahbod Shirvani, and Claire Hu. The Festival also included a concert in which Alarm Will Sound performed pieces by Distinguished Guest Composers Mary Kouyoumdjian (Paper Pianos, a finalist for…
July 23, 2024
Q&A with MICF Guest Composer Mary Kouyoumdjian
This year is not the first time MICF Guest Composer Mary Kouyoumdjian has been a part of the festival. In 2016 she was a Resident Composer still learning her art and forming new alliances with groups such as Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound. Paper Pianos, a piece she was working on back then, grew into an evening-length multimedia “audio documentary” that was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music. We conducted an email interview with Kouyoumdjian to learn about her past experiences at MICF and what she expects from…
July 17, 2024
MICF Resident Composer Spotlight: Lila Meretzky
Lila Meretzky is a composer, educator, and visual artist born and raised in New York City. She works primarily in chamber, vocal, electronic, and electroacoustic mediums for concerts, dance, film, and installation. Her work often concerns the warping of memory and language, and subjective experiences of time. It has been programmed and commissioned by leading ensembles and institutions including Contemporaneous, TAK Ensemble, the MATA Festival, Sandbox Percussion, Unheard-of//Ensemble, icarus Quartet, and percussionist Ji Hye Jung. Meretzky’s composition Dinner will receive its world premiere at MICF, performed by Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound. Lila Meretzky She…