The Mizzou New Music Initiative will welcome Meredith Monk and Angélica Negrón as distinguished guest composers at the 2022 Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF), scheduled for Monday, July 25 through Saturday, July 30, 2022 on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.
The week-long MICF will feature concerts of music by Monk, Negrón, and other contemporary composers performed in front of live audiences, along with in-person workshops, master classes, and other events. All events will take place at the Sinquefield Music Center. Saturday night’s grand finale will present the world premieres of new works from the festival’s resident composers performed by resident ensemble Alarm Will Sound, conducted by artistic director Alan Pierson.
Meredith Monk
Meredith Monk is a composer, singer, director/choreographer and creator of new opera, music-theater works, films, and installations. Recognized as one of the most unique and influential artists of our time, she is a pioneer in what is now called “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance.” Monk creates works that thrive at the intersection of music and movement, image and object, light and sound, discovering and weaving together new modes of perception. Her groundbreaking exploration of the voice as an instrument, as an eloquent language in and of itself, expands the boundaries of musical composition, creating landscapes of sound that unearth feelings, energies, and memories for which there are no words.
In addition to her numerous vocal pieces, music-theater works, and operas, Monk has created vital new repertoire for orchestras, chamber ensembles, and solo instruments, with commissions from Carnegie Hall, Michael Tilson Thomas/San Francisco Symphony and New World Symphony, Kronos Quartet, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, among others. Her music can also be heard in films by such directors as Terrence Malick, Jean-Luc Godard, David Byrne, and the Coen Brothers.
Puerto Rican-born composer and multi-instrumentalist Angélica Negrón writes music for accordions, robotic instruments, toys, and electronics as well as for chamber ensembles, orchestras, choir, and film. Her music has been described as “wistfully idiosyncratic and contemplative” (WQXR/Q2) while The New York Times noted her “capacity to surprise.” Negrón has been commissioned by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Kronos Quartet, loadbang, Prototype Festival, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, Sō Percussion, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, and the New York Botanical Garden, among others.
Angélica received an early education in piano and violin at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico where she later studied composition under the guidance of composer Alfonso Fuentes. She holds a master’s degree in music composition from New York University where she studied with Pedro da Silva and pursued doctoral studies at The Graduate Center (CUNY), where she studied composition with Tania León. Also active as an educator, Angélica is currently a teaching artist for New York Philharmonic’s Very Young Composers program.
She has collaborated with artists like Sō Percussion, Lido Pimienta, Mathew Placek, Sasha Velour, Cecilia Aldarondo, Mariela Pabón, Adrienne Westwood, Tiffany Mills and has written music for films, theater and modern dance. She was recently an Artist-in-Residence at WNYC’s The Greene Space working on El Living Room, a 4-part offbeat variety show and playful multimedia exploration of sound and story, of personal history and belonging. Upcoming premieres include works for the Seattle Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Louisville Orchestra and NY Philharmonic Project 19 initiative and multiple performances at Big Ears Festival 2022.
A complete schedule of events, times, dates, and venues for the 2022 Mizzou International Composers Festival will be made available at a later date.
Although all 2022 MICF performances and events are planned to take place with live audiences, the COVID pandemic makes future conditions difficult to predict. MNMI will have contingency plans in place if safety concerns, University policy, or state or local laws make it impossible to present the festival “in-person” on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia. Those plans may include (but are not limited to) an online-only festival, a limited in-person experience, or some combination of online and in-person activities.
The Mizzou New Music Initiative brings together an array of programs positioning the University of Missouri School of Music as a leading center in the areas of composition and new music. The Initiative is the direct result of the generous support of Dr. Jeanne and Mr. Rex Sinquefield and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.
