Feb. 3, 2013
Missouri Composers Orchestra Project selects works
by Stephanie Berg, Dustin Dunn for performance in March
Stephanie Berg Continuing their collaborative efforts to spotlight the work of Missouri composers, the Columbia Civic Orchestra (CCO) and the Mizzou New Music Initiative have announced the selection of two orchestral works written by Missouri residents to be performed by the CCO at a concert in March. The two winning pieces were chosen in a statewide competition conducted under the auspices of the Missouri Composers Orchestra Project (MOCOP). The winners will receive a $500 honorarium from MOCOP’s sponsor, the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. The work chosen in the Open category is Ravish and Mayhem by Stephanie Berg,…
Oct. 2, 2012
Sinquefield Charitable Foundation commissions new works from Mizzou composers to celebrate The Sheldon’s 100th anniversary
The famous German composer Robert Schumann once said, “In order to compose, all you need to do is remember a tune that nobody else has thought of.” While that may be true, getting that new composition performed and heard once it is written can be another matter entirely. For an emerging composer writing music inspired by the classical tradition, performance opportunities can be few and far between. To give some of those composers a chance to be heard, the Mizzou New Music Initiative, the Sheldon Concert Hall and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation have joined forces to commission…
Sep. 9, 2012
Mizzou New Music Initiative’s summer event gets a new name:
Mizzou International Composers Festival
With applicants coming from dozens of countries on five different continents, the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival already has attracted significant international attention in its first three years. The composers from abroad who have been selected to participate clearly have influenced the Festival’s musical direction. They also have helped to spread the word about the event much farther and faster than originally anticipated. In a nod to these welcome developments, the event now will be known as the Mizzou International Composers Festival, effective immediately. Though the name has changed, the format will remain essentially the same. The…
June 24, 2012
Patrick David Clark traveling to Iraq to teach composition
Patrick David ClarkComposer and Mizzou graduate Patrick David Clark (pictured) will bring new music to an ancient city when he goes to Iraq at the end of this month. His mission: to teach composition to students in the northern Iraqi town of Erbil. “It’s a kind of cultural diplomacy,” said Clark, who will be traveling under the auspices of the organization American Voices. He will leave for Iraq this Wednesday, June 27 and stay until July 15. “We bring American music and teachers to places where the education system is not its best, due to the country…
June 14, 2012
2012 Missouri Summer Composition Institute
to conclude with concert on Saturday, June 23
The Mizzou New Music Initiative’s Missouri Summer Composition Institute will wrap up this year’s session with a concert at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, June 23. The concert will take place at Whitmore Recital Hall in the Fine Arts Building on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia, and is free and open to the public. The concert will feature two resident ensembles giving world premiere performances of sixteen new works created by student composers participating in the Institute. The students will be on campus beginning next Monday, July 18. They will spend the week receiving composition lessons from MU…
June 6, 2012
Tickets now on sale for 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival
Tickets are now on sale for the 2012 Mizzou New Music Summer Festival’s concerts on Thursday, July 26; Friday, July 27; and Saturday, July 28. Now in its third year, the Mizzou New Music Summer Festival will take place starting Monday, July 23 through Saturday, July 28 in Columbia, MO. The MNMSF already is established as one of the most noteworthy contemporary music events in the Midwest, attracting attention from composers, musicians, music educators and media around the world. This year’s grand finale will feature the world premieres of eight new works written by the festival’s…
April 30, 2012
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis to host
“New Music, New Works” on Saturday, May 19
Inspired by the Great Rivers Biennial 2012 exhibition, the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (CAM) and the Mizzou New Music Initiative will present “New Music, New Works” at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, May 19. The event at CAM, 3750 Washington Blvd in St. Louis’ Grand Center district, is free and open to the public. The concert will feature the world premiere of original compositions by University of Missouri students Grant Fonda, Joe Hills, and Joseph Weidinger, each of whom has created a new piece that attempts to capture the aural essence of one of the three…
April 19, 2012
C.O.M.P. Winners on TV in St. Louis
Three of the winners in this year’s Creating Original Music Project (C.O.M.P.) competition had the opportunity this week to perform their winning compositions on local TV in St. Louis. Lily Ibur of Wydown Middle School played her song “Nothing Boy” on Wednesday for the 9:00 a.m. edition of FOX 2 News. You can see that performance in the embedded video window below: Later that same day, Menea Vladi Kefalov and Ande Celeste Siegel of Reed Elementary Schol could be seen performing their song “War” for a feature story on local NBC affiliate KSDK’s program Show Me St.