July 1, 2026
Five Questions for MICF Resident Composer Tan Yuting
Tan Yuting is one of eight Resident Composers selected to participate in the 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival. MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound will perform her composition glossy starlings in glassy trees at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre. The concert is free and open to the public. Singaporean composer Tan Yuting explores the interaction of different sounds and the manipulation of rhythm, texture, and timbre to create evocative soundscapes. Her music has been recognized with awards including First Prize in the Macht Orchestral Composition Competition (2018), First Prize in the Virginia Carty DeLillo…
June 30, 2026
Five questions for MICF Resident Composer Ihlara McIndoe
Ihlara McIndoe is one of eight Resident Composers selected to participate in the 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival. MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound will perform her composition Sleepwards, but aware meanwhile, at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 25, at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre. The concert is free and open to the public. Ihlara McIndoe is a composer from Ōtepoti Dunedin, Aotearoa New Zealand, currently based in New York City. Her compositional work draws on themes of exploration and preservation to investigate artistic ecologies and creative modes of (re)thinking, (re)making and remembering. Her work has been performed in Aotearoa…
June 4, 2026
MNMI releases schedule for Mizzou International Composers Festival
The Mizzou New Music Initiative has released the schedule for the 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival, which takes place Monday, July 20 through Saturday, July 25 in Columbia, Missouri. Public events run from July 21-25. Admission is free. The schedule is as follows: Tuesday, July 21, 7:30 p.m., Sinquefield Music Center (SMC 130)Distinguished Guest Composers Jlin and Karola Obermüller deliver lecture presentations on their works and careers Wednesday, July 22, 7:30 p.m., Sheryl Crow Concert Hall (SMC 132)New-music quartet Yarn/Wire…
Feb. 12, 2026
Eight Internationally Acclaimed Resident Composers Selected for 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival
The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and 2026 Grammy Award-winning new classical music ensemble Alarm Will Sound have selected eight internationally acclaimed Resident Composers from five countries to participate in the 2026 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). The 17th annual MICF will be presented by the MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 20 through Saturday, July 25 in Columbia. It will feature world premieres of new works written by each Resident Composer and performed by Alarm Will Sound. The…
Feb. 2, 2026
Alarm Will Sound, Featuring University of Missouri School of Music Faculty Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos, Wins 2026 Grammy Award
Two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members were recognized as winners at the 2026 Grammy Awards on February 1 in Los Angeles. Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos are founding members of Alarm Will Sound, whose album Land of Winter won the Grammy for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. Alarm Will Sound is the ensemble-in-residence for the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, Co-founder and the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and Director of…
Feb. 1, 2026
MNMI in the news
Here is some recent media coverage of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, its faculty, and students. Trent Fitzsimmons, whose composition Equinox Serenade, will receive its world premiere at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis on Thursday, February 5, was interviewed on the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra‘s St. Louis Stories blog. You can read the interview here: Five Questions with Mizzou Composer Trent Fitzsimmons Mizzou’s Maneater wrote about two University of Missouri Music Department faculty members,…
Jan. 15, 2026
MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound Releases New Work by Composer Matt Smith on its YouTube Channel
Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released As Brightness is to Time, a new work by composer Matt Smith on its YouTube channel. Smith was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members, Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos. Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative,…
Jan. 15, 2026
MICF Resident Ensemble Alarm Will Sound Releases New Work by Composer Geli Li on its YouTube Channel
Contemporary music ensemble Alarm Will Sound has released The Smell of Sunshine, a new work by composer Geli Li on its YouTube channel. Li was one of eight composers selected to participate in the 2025 Mizzou International Composers Festival. The piece was recorded at Columbia’s Missouri Theatre during its world premiere performance in July, as part of the 2025 MICF. Alarm Will Sound is the MICF Resident Ensemble and includes two University of Missouri School of Music faculty members, Stefan Freund and Bill Kalinkos. Freund is a Professor of Music Composition, the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, and…