Freund at Fifty’ Concert to Feature Original Chamber Music Written by Renowned 50-Year-Old MU Composition Professor Stefan Freund

Five original chamber music compositions created by renowned University of Missouri Professor of Composition Stefan Freund will be performed at a special ‘Freund at Fifty’ concert on Saturday, November 2 in Columbia that will also celebrate the cellist, composer and conductor’s 50th birthday two days prior.

“I will joyfully celebrate my music and my birthday with my family, friends, colleagues and music lovers through this recital,” said Freund, who is also Music Director of the Columbia Civic Orchestra and a member of famed contemporary classical music ensemble Alarm Will Sound.

Freund will be joined on the program by fellow faculty members Rachel AuBuchon, Natalia Bolshakova, Eli Lara, Peter Miyamoto, Julie Rosenfeld, Leo Saguiguit, and Dan Willett, plus Siri Geenen and Carol Elliott, Columbia Civic Orchestra Concertmaster and Principal Cellist, respectively. They will perform the following original Freund compositions:

  • Life (Still) Goes On featuring Julie Rosenfeld, violin and Peter Miyamoto, piano;
  • Le Tombeau de Ravel featuring Dan Willett, oboe and Natalia Bolshakova, piano;
  • Final Descent featuring Siri Geenen, violin and Carol Elliott, cello;
  • Epic featuring Eli Lara, cello; and
  • Screams and Grooves with Leo Saguiguit, alto saxophone and Rachel AuBuchon, piano.

The recital will be held at 7:30 p.m. November 2 in the Sinquefield Music Center’s Sheryl Crow Hall, 1101 University Avenue in Columbia. Admission is $5 for the public and free to University of Missouri students, faculty and staff with ID.

Freund is also the Artistic Director of the Mizzou New Music Initiative, which is sponsored through the generous contributions of the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation.