April 19, 2011
C.O.M.P. winners make news
The announcement of the winners of this year’s Creating Original Music Project (C.O.M.P.) competition has prompted a flurry of press coverage around the state. In St. Louis, sisters Bella and Lilly Ibur have been the subjects of several news stories. They recently were featured on Show Me St. Louis, which airs weekday afternoons on local NBC affiliate KSDK (Channel 5), in a segment that also included Lilly performing her composition “Spinning.” The story was reported by KSDK’s Dana Hendrickson, and you can see it online here. Meanwhile, Lilly had a chance to perform her song…
March 30, 2011
Missouri student composers win prizes in statewide music competition
The University of Missouri School of Music has announced that 28 elementary, middle school and high school students from across Missouri have been awarded prizes in the sixth annual Creating Original Music Project (C.O.M.P.) competition. C.O.M.P. is a joint venture of the University of Missouri School of Music and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation, which provides an annual gift of $50,000 to sponsor the competition. The program was created to encourage K-12 students in Missouri to write original musical works and to encourage performances of those works. The 2011 competition had the most submissions in the event’s six-year…
July 27, 2010
Zhou Juan, Christopher Dietz win faculty appointments
While the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival was going on, two of our resident composers got some good news regarding their academic careers. Christopher Dietz has won a one-year appointment as a full-time composition instructor at Bowling Green State University, home of the MidAmerican Center for Contemporary Music. Dietz’ music was performed at BGSU in 2008 and 2009 as part of the the university’s annual new music festival. Meanwhile, Zhou Juan (pictured) has been appointed to a full-time teaching position in the composition department of the Central Conservatory of Music in…
July 12, 2010
Spotlight on Stefan Freund
Cellist and composer Stefan Freund is a big part of the Mizzou New Music Initiative. As associate professor of composition and music theory, Freund teaches young composers at Mizzou and directs the Creating Original Music Project (COMP). He’ll be busy during the inaugural Mizzou New Music Summer Festival, too, both as a teacher and as a performer with Alarm Will Sound, the Fest’s resident ensemble. A native of Memphis, TN, Freund received a BM with High Distinction from the Indiana University School of Music and an MM and a DMA from the…
July 12, 2010
Spotlight on W. Thomas McKenney
As the Mizzou faculty member charged with overseeing the Festival, W. Thomas “Tom” McKenney has been involved in the event since its inception. During the next week, his task will be even more hands-on, as he works with the Festival’s eight resident composers, takes part in faculty presentations, and more. McKenney, who is professor of composition and music theory and director of Mizzou’s electronic music studios, also will be represented during the Festival as a composer. His piece “Thirteen Ways of Looking at A Blackbird” will receive its world premiere performance by Alarm Will Sound at the Festival’s…
July 10, 2010
Spotlight on Edie Hill
Here’s another in our series of profiles of the resident composers taking part in this year’s Mizzou New Music Summer Festival: The most experienced among the 2010 Festival’s eight resident composers, New York City native Edie Hill (pictured) earned a bachelor’s degree in music composition and piano performance at Bennington College, where she studied with Vivian Fine. She earned her master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota with principal composition teacher Lloyd Ultan, and also has studied extensively with Libby Larsen. Currently, Hill serves as composer-in-residence at The Schubert Club in St. Paul, Minn. and lives…
July 10, 2010
Spotlight on Martin Bresnick
We are honored to have Martin Bresnick as one of the guest composers and instructors who will work with the eight resident composers taking part in the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival. Bresnick (pictured) was born in New York City and educated at the High School of Music and Art, the University of Hartford, Stanford University, and the Akademie für Musik in Vienna. His principal teachers of composition included György Ligeti, John Chowning, and Gottfried von Einem. He is presently Professor of Composition and Coordinator of the Composition Department at the Yale School of Music,…
July 9, 2010
Spotlight on Zhou Juan
Here’s another in our series of profiles of the resident composers taking part in this year’s Mizzou New Music Summer Festival: A native of Sichuan, China, Zhou Juan (pictured) was raised in Kelamayi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) in Beijing, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Composition, studying with Guo Wenjing. In 2007 she was named the first Edgar Snow Scholar from CCOM and began doctoral studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City with Zhou Long, Paul Rudy, Chen Yi and James Mobberly, ultimately…