SEMO Student wins statewide music composition competition

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., (KBSI) — Southeast Missouri State University senior Stephen Casey has won the 2025 Missouri Composers Project in the Orchestral Open Age category.

Casey, a music education major from Sullivan, Missouri, composed “The Dear King,” which was performed by the Columbia Civic Orchestra on April 13.

The Missouri Composers Project, sponsored by the Mizzou New Music Initiative and the University of Missouri School of Music, honors composers in four categories for best new choral and orchestral musical compositions.

Casey received a $500 honorarium from the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. His achievement reflects the strength of SEMO’s music program and his own dedication to storytelling through music.