April 11, 2018

Mizzou New Music Initiative awards postdoctoral fellowship to Yoshiaki Onishi

The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and the University of Missouri School of Music have awarded a postdoctoral fellowship to composer Yoshiaki “Yoshi” Onishi. Starting with the Fall 2018 semester and continuing for two years, Onishi will teach private composition lessons, composition seminar, and freshman ear training to Mizzou students; serve as assistant conductor for the Mizzou New Music Ensemble; and assist with various MNMI programs. He also will begin a major research project to be completed during the two years of his fellowship. Onishi (pictured) made news last week when he was awarded a 2018…

March 14, 2018

Carolina Heredia to join faculty of University of Missouri School of Music as assistant professor of composition

The University of Missouri School of Music will welcome Carolina Heredia as an assistant professor of composition starting with the fall semester in 2018. Currently a post-doctoral fellow with the Mizzou New Music Initiative, Heredia (pictured) first came to Columbia as one of the eight resident composers for the 2017 Mizzou International Composers Festival. In her new tenure-track job, she’ll teach individual lessons, lead and teach independent and collaborative intermedia projects, and continue to assist with various MNMI programs. “Carolina Heredia was the best fit for the job, and with that credential, we’re very pleased…

Feb. 27, 2018

Khemia Ensemble visiting Mizzou for residency, concert on Tuesday, March 6

The new music group Khemia Ensemble will visit Columbia next week for a residency that will include a concert at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 6 at Whitmore Recital Hall. Admission to the performance is free and open to the public. With eight instrumentalists, two resident composers, and a visual artist, Khemia Ensemble (pictured) will present a concert program including works by the group’s founders Carolina Heredia and Bret Bohman, plus a new piece by Mizzou’s Dustin Dunn and music by Andy Akiho, Marcos Balter, Luciano Berio, Pierre Jalbert, and Harold Meltzer. While they’re on campus, the…

Nov. 14, 2017

Mizzou New Music Ensemble presenting “Words and Music” and more on Sunday, December 3 at Whitmore Recital Hall

The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will premiere new works by seven different Mizzou composers in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 3 at Whitmore Recital Hall, 135 Fine Arts Building on the Mizzou campus. Admission is $5 for the general public, free for Mizzou faculty, students and staff with ID. The full Ensemble (pictured) will present the premiere performances of “notfromme” by Mikkel Christensen, a first-year master’s student; “Night Blossoms,” by senior composition major Ben Colagiovanni; “If you have nothing nice to say [say it softly],” by Libby Roberts, also a first-year master’s student and the pianist for…

Oct. 16, 2017

JACK Quartet coming to Mizzou for residency, concert on Friday, October 27

The acclaimed new music group JACK Quartet is coming to the University of Missouri for a two-day residency, culminating in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, October 27 at Whitmore Recital Hall. Admission to the concert is $5 at the door for the general public, free to Mizzou students, faculty and staff with ID. In addition to the concert, while they’re on campus the quartet (pictured) will have coaching sessions with the university’s graduate string quartet and Mizzou New Music Ensemble, and take part in a convocation with the entire School of Music. They also will present a…

Sep. 26, 2017

Mizzou New Music Ensemble playing works by Mizzou composers past and present on Monday, October 16 at Whitmore Recital Hall

The Mizzou New Music Ensemble‘s first concert of the 2017-18 season will feature music from two Mizzou alumni, one new faculty member, and more. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Monday, October 16 at Whitmore Recital Hall on the Mizzou campus. Admission is $5 for the general public, free for Mizzou faculty, students and staff with ID. Works to be performed will include “Lus in Bello” by Carolina Heredia, who this fall joined the University of Missouri faculty as the Mizzou New Music Initiative’s new postdoctoral fellow. Heredia first composed the piece in 2014 for the…

Aug. 31, 2017

Mizzou faculty ensemble ZouM to perform Friday, September 8 in Columbia and Saturday, September 9 in St. Louis

The Mizzou faculty collective ZouM will showcase new music from six living composers with performances next weekend in Columbia and St. Louis. They’ll play at 7:30 p.m. Friday, September 8 at Whitmore Recital Hall on the MU campus, then travel to St. Louis for a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 9 at Washington University’s 560 Music Center. Admission to the concert in Columbia is $5 for the general public, free to Mizzou students, staff and faculty with ID. The St. Louis concert is free and open to the public. In all, fifteen Mizzou faculty members (plus one guest…

July 23, 2017

MICF in the news

With the 2017 Mizzou International Composers Festival set to start on Monday, July 24, the MICF has been in the news. The website I Care If You Listen, which has an international following among composers, musicians, and new music enthusiasts, offered extensive coverage of the festival with “5 Questions for Stefan Freund,” which included several photos and a SoundCloud playlist of the 2016 MICF’s eight world premieres. Freund – the artistic director of the MICF and the Mizzou New Music Initiative, professor of composition at Mizzou, and cellist for Alarm Will Sound – used the opportunity…