Sep. 4, 2018
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra to read works by Mizzou composers Mikkel Christensen, Ben Colagiovanni, and Libby Roberts
From left: Colagiovanni, Roberts, Christensen Three University of Missouri student composers will have their works played this year by musicians with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra as part of a joint educational venture between the orchestra and the Mizzou New Music Initiative. Student composers Mikkel Christensen, Ben Colagiovanni, and Libby Roberts were selected by SLSO Resident Conductor Gemma New to write new works for a 40-piece chamber orchestra drawn from the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony. The three works will be read, played and critiqued in a private session on Wednesday, October 31 in St. Louis. The composers…
Aug. 20, 2018
Arrangement by Mizzou’s Stefan Freund featured on new album by Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound
An arrangement by Mizzou’s Stefan Freund is featured on Omnisphere, the new album by Medeski Martin & Wood with Alarm Will Sound. Freund is a professor of composition and the artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, as well as the cellist and a co-founder of Alarm Will Sound. Recorded live in February 2015 at The Newman Center in Denver, Colorado, Omnisphere represents the first collaboration between “one of the most adventurous groups to emerge in jazz and improvised music in the last three decades” and “an orchestra that counts among the boldest forces in contemporary…
May 18, 2018
Tickets for 2018 Mizzou International Composers Festival go on sale Friday, May 25
Tickets for the 2018 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF) will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. CDT on Friday, May 25. Recognized as an important regional showcase for new works by top young composers, the MICF will take place this year from Monday, July 23 through Saturday, July 28 in Columbia, and will include three public concerts. Returning for the ninth year as the festival’s resident ensemble, Alarm Will Sound will begin the weekend of shows at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 26 at the Missouri Theatre, 203 S. Ninth St. in downtown Columbia. They’ll perform music…
May 8, 2018
Stefan Freund’s “Unremixed” featured in new Alarm Will Sound music video
“Unremixed,” a composition by Mizzou’s Stefan Freund, is featured in a new music video from Alarm Will Sound. Freund, who is professor of composition at Mizzou and the artistic director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, also is a co-founder of and cellist for Alarm Will Sound, the new music group who since 2010 has served as resident ensemble for the Mizzou International Composers Festival. There’s another local connection, too, as the video was shot at Spectrum Studios in Columbia. You can see the complete music video for “Unremixed” in the embedded window below, followed…
April 16, 2018
Mizzou New Music Ensemble to debut “Innovation Symphony” with performances in Columbia and St. Louis
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will celebrate the spirit of creativity in technology and the arts with performances in Columbia and St. Louis of “Innovation Symphony,” a new collaborative, multi-part work by four Mizzou student composers. “Innovation Symphony” will be previewed in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 23 at Whitmore Recital Hall on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. The work’s official premiere will be presented by Venture Cafe St. Louis at 8:00 p.m. Saturday, April 28 at the Cortex Innovation Community‘s @4240 building, located at 4240 Duncan Ave. in St. Louis. The concert…
April 11, 2018
Mizzou New Music Initiative awards postdoctoral fellowship to Yoshiaki Onishi
The Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI) and the University of Missouri School of Music have awarded a postdoctoral fellowship to composer Yoshiaki “Yoshi” Onishi. Starting with the Fall 2018 semester and continuing for two years, Onishi will teach private composition lessons, composition seminar, and freshman ear training to Mizzou students; serve as assistant conductor for the Mizzou New Music Ensemble; and assist with various MNMI programs. He also will begin a major research project to be completed during the two years of his fellowship. Onishi (pictured) made news last week when he was awarded a 2018…
April 6, 2018
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra musicians to perform three new works by Mizzou composers on Sunday, April 29 at Powell Hall
Dustin Dunn, Aaron Mencher and Douglas Osmun Members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, led by the SLSO’s resident conductor Gemma New, will perform three new works by student composers from the University of Missouri School of Music at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 29 at Powell Hall in St. Louis. Admission to the performance is free and open to the public, but those wishing to attend are requested to RSVP via the SLSO’s website at https://www.slso.org/en/com/community_concerts/community-events/mizzou-composers/. The event is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between the SLSO and the Mizzou New Music Initiative, with funding from…
Nov. 14, 2017
Mizzou New Music Ensemble presenting “Words and Music” and more on Sunday, December 3 at Whitmore Recital Hall
The Mizzou New Music Ensemble will premiere new works by seven different Mizzou composers in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 3 at Whitmore Recital Hall, 135 Fine Arts Building on the Mizzou campus. Admission is $5 for the general public, free for Mizzou faculty, students and staff with ID. The full Ensemble (pictured) will present the premiere performances of “notfromme” by Mikkel Christensen, a first-year master’s student; “Night Blossoms,” by senior composition major Ben Colagiovanni; “If you have nothing nice to say [say it softly],” by Libby Roberts, also a first-year master’s student and the pianist for…