July 10, 2015

MICF on TV

Along with such familiar public TV fare as Charlie Rose and Great Performances, Missourians who tune into their local PBS affiliate over the next couple of weeks may see an ad for the Mizzou International Composers Festival. The :30 spot will run on KETC in St. Louis, KCPT in Kansas City, and KMOS in Jefferson City/Columbia, as well as on YouTube. The ad presents a quick-cut look at the MICF’s resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound in performance, underscored by “Fuse,” which was written for last year’s festival by Kansas Citian and 2014 resident composer Nicholas Omiccioli.

Dec. 1, 2014

Mizzou New Music Ensemble to perform new works from Missouri composers
and more on Sunday, December 7 at Whitmore Recital Hall

The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will play their second concert of the academic year (and their final show of 2014)  at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, December 7 in Whitmore Recital Hall, 135 Fine Arts Building on the University of Missouri campus. Admission is free for Mizzou students, $5 suggested donation for the general public. The program will feature a turn-of-the-century piece from a Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award winning composer, plus four brand new works written right here in Missouri. The prizewinner in question is Jennifer Higdon (pictured), the acclaimed contemporary composer whose major awards include a Pulitzer…

Oct. 13, 2014

Mizzou composer Trey Makler wins 2015 Sinquefield Composition Prize

Trey MaklerThe University of Missouri School of Music and the Mizzou New Music Initiative have awarded the 2015 Sinquefield Composition Prize to Trey Makler. Makler, a junior from Farmington, MO, is studying composition at Mizzou with W. Thomas McKenney and Stefan Freund. He submitted “Elysium,” a work for chamber ensemble, to the competition and was selected for the prize by a panel of independent judges. The adjudicators for the 2015 competition were Mara Gibson, associate teaching professor, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance ; Eric Honour, professor of music and director of the Center for Music…

Aug. 1, 2014

A look back at the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival

Here’s a comprehensive look back at this year’s Mizzou International Composers Festival via news coverage and social media: [View the story “Mizzou International Composers Festival 2014” on Storify]…

July 25, 2014

More media mention MICF

Media attention for the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival continued into the week of the fest, with St. Louis magazine publishing a preview story, including quotes from guest composers Zhou Long and Nico Muhly, online on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, the Columbia Missourian ran their story about the festival, while a separate feature in the accompanying Vox Magazine focused on three of this year’s resident composers. On Friday, the festival was featured in a report on the morning newscast of local NBC affiliate KOMU. As for the photo accompanying this post,…

July 21, 2014

Columbia media previews 2014 MICF

With the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival starting today, the Columbia Daily Tribune had two stories in Sunday’s paper, plus another online, which together offer a thorough preview of the week’s events. The Tribune‘s Aarik Danielsen interviewed managing director Billy Lackey and resident composer José Martínez for an overview of the festival, and also wrote separate articles about guest composer Nico Muhly and resident composer Nicholas Omiccioli. Also last week, Mizzou professor, MICF co-artistic director and Alarm Will Sound cellist Stefan Freund appeared on KBIA’s “Radio Friends with Paul Pepper” to talk…

July 17, 2014

Composers Festival Spotlight: Nicholas Omiccioli

Nicholas Omiccioli Although this year’s Mizzou International Composers Festival is in one sense the most international to date, with resident composers who were born in Australia, Colombia, South Korea and Taiwan in addition to the USA, it’s also the first MICF with two resident composers currently living in Missouri. One is José Martínez, who came to Columbia, MO from Colombia to study for his masters degree, and is representing Mizzou in this year’s festival. (More about him in this space soon.) The other is Nicholas Omiccioli, who will be making the trip to Mizzou from Kansas…

Dec. 17, 2013

Mizzou International Composers Festival announces resident composers for 2014

With resident composers originally from Australia, Colombia, South Korea, Taiwan, and across the USA, the 2014 Mizzou International Composers Festival will bring a world of music to mid-Missouri next year. Scheduled for Monday, July 21 through Saturday, July 26 in Columbia, the fifth annual MICF will present world premieres of new works from eight resident composers who were announced today by the University of Missouri School of Music and the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Listed with their current places of residence, they are: * Ian Dicke, Riverside, CA * Holly Harrison, Sydney, Australia…