The Mizzou New Music Ensemble, under the direction of faculty composer and Alarm Will Sound member Dr. Stefan Freund collaborates with MU’s faculty and student composers, performs frequently on and off campus, and works with some of the world’s leading composers and interpreters of new music. Seven Graduate Assistantships are available for New Music Ensemble members.

For 2024-25, the ensemble members are:

• Kyrsten Wehner, flutes
• Meghan Brown, clarinets
• Alexandre Negrao, violin
• Emily Aponte, horn
• Dean Wibe, violoncello
• Seda Balci, piano
• Jinhong Yoo, piano
• Cheok Kai leong, percussion
• Daniel Noonan, percussion

Over the last ten years, the ensemble has performed regularly in St. Louis through MNMI's Sound of Art partnerships, in such venues as the Sheldon Concert Hall, Shoenberg Theatre at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Contemporary Art Museum, World Chess Hall of Fame, St. Louis Science Center, and collaborating with visual artists at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The Ensemble has been coached by prestigious guest composers and performers that have visited the campus as a result of the New Music Initiative, including Steven Stucky, Tod Machover, Matt Haimovitz, eighth blackbird, the Verdehr Trio, and others.

Listen to a selection of performances by the Mizzou New Music Ensemble here:

The ZouM Faculty New Music Collective was conceived in friendship during the Spring of 2015. Our discussions over coffee about the desire to truly connect with our audience members blossomed into a realization of our determination to present good contemporary chamber music together. After only two seasons, ZouM has already enlisted the talents of over 25 faculty performers, composers, and academics from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Music to present innovative programs that promote contemporary chamber works by living composers.

Recent projects have featured works by Jennifer Higdon, Gabriel Prokofiev, Dennis DeSantis, and Mizzou composers Stefan Freund, Trey Makler, Jacob Gotlib, and Carolina Heredia. The ensemble's 2017-18 season features the premieres of two specially commissioned works by composers Christopher Stark and Asha Srinivasan, both of which were made possible by the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation and the Mizzou New Music Initiative.