Chen Yi

Dr. John Orfe

Dec. 1, 2025

Mizzou New Music Ensemble Presents December 7 Concert Featuring World Premiere of Dr. John Orfe’s Four Ozark Fable Sketches, Composed Expressly for the Ensemble

The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will present a concert featuring the world premiere of Dr. John Orfe’s Four Ozark Fable Sketches at 7:30 p.m. December 7, in the Sinquefield Music Center’s Sheryl Crow Hall. Written expressly for the MNME, the piece’s four movements – Monarch’s Theme, Monster the First:  MoMo, Monster the Second:  Spooklights, and Monster the Third:  Ozark Howler – are part of an original story in the manner of a folk tale whose characters hail from Missouri folk legends and jazz history. Dr. John Orfe The program includes…

July 23, 2021

Composers Festival spotlight: Chen Yi

The Mizzou New Music Initiative is pleased to welcome Chen Yi as one of two distinguished guest composers for the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Chen (pictured) is a distinguished professor of composition at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Music for her composition “Si Ji” (“Four Seasons”), she was born and raised in Guangzhou, China and is known as a prolific composer who blends Chinese and Western traditions, transcending cultural and musical boundaries. She holds a BA and MA in music composition from…

June 14, 2021

Mizzou International Composers Festival to return
July 26-31 with nine world premieres and more

After a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic forced last-minute changes in programming, the Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF) is back in 2021 in a more familiar form. Presented Monday, July 26 through Saturday, July 31 by the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and the University of Missouri School of Music, the twelfth annual MICF will showcase the world premieres of new works from nine resident composers and more, with all four concerts streamed online for free. The schedule of performances is: Tuesday, July 27: “World Premieres I,” featuring resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound performing…

Jan. 28, 2021

Mizzou International Composers Festival announces resident composers for 2021

Clockwise from top left: Ana Paola Santillán Alcocer, Daniel Fitzpatrick, Paul Mortilla & Nina Shekhar The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) has selected four resident composers to participate in the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF). Presented by MNMI and the University of Missouri School of Music from Monday, July 26 through Saturday, July 31 in Columbia, the twelfth annual MICF will feature world premieres of new works written by each of the selected composers. Listed with their current places of residence, they are: * Ana Paola Santillán Alcocer – Mexico City, Mexico * Daniel Fitzpatrick –…

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Nov. 24, 2020

2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival
gets submissions from around the world

A total of 300 composers from around the world have applied for the four resident composer spots at the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival. Submissions were received from 24 different countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The 2021 MICF will be held Monday, July 26 through Saturday, July 31, and will feature Chen Yi and David T. Little as distinguished guest composers and Alarm Will Sound as resident…

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Oct. 8, 2020

Mizzou International Composers Festival set for July 26 – 31, 2021;
applications for resident composers now open

The Mizzou New Music Initiative is accepting applications for resident composers to take part in the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF), which will take place starting Monday, July 26 through Saturday, July 31. Reprising their roles from the online-only 2020 edition of the MICF, Chen Yi and David T. Little (pictured) will serve as the festival’s two distinguished guest composers for 2021, teaching and consulting with the resident composers and ensemble. Little also has written a new commissioned work specifically for the festival. The week-long MICF will feature concerts of music from contemporary composers, along with…

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Aug. 11, 2020

A look back at the 2020 Mizzou International Composers Festival online

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July 13, 2020

Mizzou International Composers Festival going online for 2020,
will take place Monday, July 27 – Saturday, August 1

Clockwise from top: Alarm Will Sound, Khemia Ensemble, Mizzou New Music Ensemble Responding to the restrictions on live events imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mizzou International Composers Festival is going online for 2020. The 11th annual edition of the MICF is set for Monday, July 27 through Saturday, August 1, with events streamed online from the Facebook pages of the Mizzou New Music Initiative and resident ensembles Alarm Will Sound and Khemia Ensemble, and from the YouTube channels of the University of Missouri School of Music, Alarm Will Sound, and Khemia Ensemble. At 9:00 p.m. CDT on…