Assistant Professor Stefan Freund conducts an ensemble during a Monday announcement of a gift to the Mizzou New Music Initiative by Jeannie and Rex Sinquefield.
Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, residents of Westphalia, Missouri, have given a gift of more than $2 million over three years to the University of Missouri to support the Mizzou New Music Initiative (MNMI). The MNMI brings together a diverse array of programs which position the MU School of Music as a leading national and international center in the areas of composition and new music. This latest gift will support the MNMI through 2019.
Jeanne Sinquefield speaks Monday during the announcement of the gift she and her husband Rex’s are making to the Mizzou New Music Initiative.
The Sinquefields are long-time supporters of music and the arts, specifically music composition. The Sinquefields’ support for composition at Mizzou began more than 10 years ago with the Creating Original Music Project (COMP), a statewide K-12 competition and affiliated high school summer camp. In 2009, they gave MU $1 million to create the Mizzou New Music Initiative. With this most recent gift, the Sinquefields have given nearly $4.5 million to support the MNMI and more than $15 million in total giving to MU, including a recent $10 million gift in support of a new School of Music building.
Violinist Britney McMurray plays the "Forest Park Rhapsody" composed by Ben Colagiovanni, a student in the Mizzou New Music Initiative.
“The Sinquefields’ most recent gift helps position the MU School of Music as a recognized leader in music composition nationally and throughout the world,” MU Interim Chancellor Hank Foley says. “By combining their love of the arts with their financial support to MU, the Sinquefields have found a meaningful way to showcase their passion for musical composition and their love of performance arts. We are grateful for their generosity and for their leadership in supporting the arts here in Missouri, nationally and internationally.”
More on the Mizzou New Music Initiative gift from the MU News Bureau »
