July 19, 2022

2021 MICF performances by Alarm Will Sound: “Nested Time” by Yu Kuwabara and “Rainbow Diamond” by Paul Mortilla

The 2022 Mizzou International Composers Festival is scheduled from July 25th – 30th in Columbia,Missouri. Once again, Alarm Will Sound will perform world premieres of works by the eight Resident Composers chosen for this year’s MICF. AWS recently released recordings by two 2021 MICF Resident Composers: “Nested Time” by Yu Kuwabara, and “Rainbow Diamond” by Paul Mortilla. Alarm Will Sound in concert at the Missouri Theater Here’s how Kuwabara describes his compositional approach to “Nested Time.” “I have always been trying to find an answer which intermediates in-between some things or some contexts; sometimes in-between the past…

July 8, 2021

Composers Festival spotlight: Paul Mortilla

When Paul Mortilla began his studies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music in 2014, he already had more experience and training as a composer than most undergraduates. That’s because Mortilla, a Florida native who is one of nine resident composers for the 2021 Mizzou International Composers Festival, actually began writing original music on his own at the precocious age of 11, drawing on a eclectic variety of influences ranging from church hymns to electronic dance music. A couple of years later, he began studying formally with faculty members from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. Mortilla…

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 –…