Oct. 7, 2025
Dean Wibe wins 2026 Sinquefield Composition Prize
Award includes scholarship and a commission to create new work that will premiere at the 2026 Chancellor’s Arts Showcase. The University of Missouri School of Music and Mizzou New Music Initiative have awarded the 2026 Sinquefield Composition Prize to student composer Dean Wibe. The prize is the top award for composition students at Mizzou, made possible by Dr. Jeanne Sinquefield, Rex Sinquefield and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. Wibe is a composer and cellist from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Iowa. He completed…
Aug. 27, 2025
Three 2025 Mizzou Master of Music Composition graduates accept placements at prestigious universities
Three 2025 Mizzou Master of Music Composition graduates have accepted placements at prestigious universities where they will pursue further advanced degrees in music. Seda Balci has accepted an assistantship to pursue a PhD in Music Composition and Technology at Northwestern University. Harry Gonzalez has accepted an assistantship to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition at Rice University. And Giovanni Porfirio has been accepted to the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. Seda Balci Harry Gonzalez Giovanni Porfirio Balci says her music is shaped by her three great…
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,…
Nov. 18, 2024
Giovanni Porfirio wins 2025 Sinquefield Composition Prize: New composition to be premiered at Chancellor’s Arts Showcase
The University of Missouri School of Music and the Mizzou New Music Initiative haveawarded the 2025 Sinquefield Composition Prize to student composer GiovanniPorfirio. The prize is the top award for a composition student at Mizzou. Porfirio is a composer from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and earned a bachelor’s degree from SaoPaulo State University. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Missouri. As the Sinquefield Composition Prize winner, Porfirio will receive a $2,500 scholarshipand be commissioned to write a new work for the University Philharmonic Orchestra, which willpremier to…
April 6, 2016
Mizzou’s fine arts departments to celebrate Shakespeare at Chancellor’s Arts Showcase Monday, April 11 at Missouri Theatre
The fine arts departments at the University of Missouri will join together to celebrate the works of William Shakespeare at the annual Chancellor’s Arts Showcase, starting at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 11 at the Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth St. in Columbia. The event will feature the world premiere of “Sonnet 73: De Profundis,” a musical setting of a Shakespeare poem composed by this year’s Sinquefield Composition Prize winner, Henry Breneman Stewart (pictured), and performed by the University Singers. In addition to the world premiere and other selections from the University Singers, the showcase also will include…