Music Composer Program
Maximina
Develop a high artistic level of composition and be prepared for a career in composition, film and media scoring, orchestration and arranging, copying, and/or producing with a Bachelor of Music in Composition degree from Nazareth University. You will be able to create an individualized musical career that combines your musical expertise with the strong liberal arts background that is part of every Nazareth University undergraduate degree.
Learn artistic, intellectual, entrepreneurial, and technical skills necessary for career development, from current aesthetic trends to negotiating a commission agreement, through presentations and master classes by faculty and visiting guest composers. Learn about topics such as music notation software, music publishing standards and options, performance-rights associations, commission and recording contracts, copyright law, and contemporary techniques and approaches to composition.
Students who complete the BM, MM or DMA in composition at USC Thornton are given priority consideration for admission to the MM Screen Scoring program, if they apply to the USC Thornton Screen Scoring program within one year of completing the degree in composition. Those wishing to pursue this opportunity are required to meet with the director of the screen scoring program as early as possible in their composition studies at USC Thornton in order to determine which additional courses (typically 7 units or less) they must successfully complete and what other steps they must take, including but not limited to submission of an application.
The MM in composition is a two-year, 30-unit program consisting of individual instruction in composition, special topics in graduate composition, course work in music history, ensemble participation and individual instruction in any performance medium. A graduate recital and composition portfolio are required.
The Master of Music in Composition Program develops the unique musical voice of each composition student through exposure to a broad range of compositional styles. A key feature is weekly private composition lessons with a member of our internationally acclaimed faculty. Composers produce at least seven concerts each year, with additional performance opportunities on the programs of the Biannual International Electroacoustic Music Festival, conTEMPO New Music Ensemble, Brooklyn Electroacoustic Ensemble, and Computer Music Showcase.
Composers can follow variety of career paths, often combining composition with another aspect of music-making. With a master of music in music composition you can become a composer-conductor, composer-performer, music copyist, music director, professor or instructor of composition, or video game composer. You can work in the recording industry or in a symphony orchestra, or compose for software.
A placement examination is given to all applicants for admission. The test includes writing skills (harmonic and contrapuntal techniques), analysis, history, and literature. Further information about the examination may be obtained from the assistant director.
Students must also complete requirements for the program in composition or in performance as follows. Any remaining credits required for the degree must be in courses chosen in consultation with the assistant director.
The portfolio should consist of from three to five pieces showing the range of music created by the composer. A variety of types of works are preferred, from solo, to ensemble, to electronic, to works with media.
Music that can be notated (conventionally or non-conventionally) should be submitted in Adobe PDF format as a publication ready document. A recording of the piece may also be provided in mp3 format for audio only or mp4 format for audio with video. No audio of MIDI playback (such as Sibelius or Finale playback) should be sent unless the MIDI playback represents the final version of the piece.
Works for which notation is not relevant or impossible to provide (such as with some works employing electronics or improvisation) need to include a recording of the piece and a description of the work as well as any instructions that might be provided to a performer (if appropriate).
Brooklyn College is an integral part of the cultural and artistic energy of New York City. Our faculty members in the Conservatory of Music offer incomparable expertise and tremendous talent, and each brings a unique perspective to their teaching and mentoring in and out of the classroom.
Through job fairs, the internship database, and internship panels, the Magner Career Center gives students in the music composition program access to career opportunities at a wide variety of employers, including:
To succeed as a media composer, you need to be ready to adapt to an ever-evolving music-for-media landscape. Columbia College Chicago's two-year Music Composition for the Screen Master of Fine Arts program is designed to give you the in-depth training, professional connections and hands-on experience you need to develop your own voice, launch your career, and succeed in the industry.
Program music is a term applied to any musical composition on the classical music tradition in which the piece is designed according to some preconceived narrative, or is designed to evoke a specific idea and atmosphere. This is distinct from the more traditional absolute music popular in the Baroque and Classical eras, in which the piece has no narrative program or ideas and is simply created for music's sake. Musical forms such as the symphonic poem, ballade, suite, overture and some compositions in freer forms are named as program music since they intended to bring out extra-musical elements like sights and incidents.
Opera, ballet, and Lieder could also trivially be considered program music since they are unintended to accompany vocal or stage performances. They will be excluded from this list except where they have been extensively popularised and played without the original vocals and/or stage performance.
Any discussion of program music brings to mind Walt Disney's animated features Fantasia (1940) and Fantasia 2000 (1999), in which the Disney animators provided graphic visualisation of several famous pieces of program music. However, not all the pieces used in the films were particularly programmatic, and in most cases, the narratives illustrated by the animators were different from whatever programmatic narrative might have existed originally.
Liszt is considered the inventor of the symphonic poem and his programmatic orchestral works set the framework for several composers of the romantic era. He composed a total of thirteen symphonic poems as well as two programmatic symphonies, drawing his inspiration from a variety of literary, mythological, historical and artistic sources.
Much of Mahler's early work was designed programmatically. However, he made serious efforts to downplay the programmatic reputation of many of these pieces later in his life, including removing some of the programmatic titles from his symphonies.
Sibelius composed several tone poems throughout his career, often making use of stories and motifs from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. Early in his career he also wrote works on national and historical subjects.
A major developer of the tone poem as a musical form, Strauss displayed outstanding skill at musical description. He claimed that he was capable of "describing a knife and fork" in music, and said that a sensitive listener to Don Juan could discern the hair color of Don Juan's amorous partners.
The innovative, multi-year program offers students a high level of consistent and intensive focus on the process and production of music composition, giving them the tools and freedom necessary to shape the future of concert music.
Designed by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky, this tuition-free program is administered by the LA Phil, under the direction of CFP Program Director Andrew Norman, Assistant Director Sarah Gibson, and Teaching Artist Daniel Allas.
Meetings with important composers of our time. Past visits have included artists such as John Corigliano, John Adams, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho, Michael Giacchino, Caroline Shaw, Magnus Lindberg, and Ludwig Gransson.
The ideal composer fellow is creative and curious and desires to learn in community with other young musicians. The following guidelines are intended to ensure the best possible experience for participating composers and fulfill the LA Phil's commitment to increasing access to world-class learning opportunities for the Los Angeles community.
Be currently active as a musician (including but not limited to private lessons; composition lessons; participation in an ensemble such as orchestra, concert band, jazz band, choir, or musical theater; participation in music production and technology; or other individual study)
The Fellow Year runs from October to early June. Availability and participation on all scheduled program dates are required as a fellow in the Composer Fellowship Program. Accepted fellows are expected to commit to scheduled programming, including but not limited to group sessions, community events, readings and performances of fellows' works, and LA Phil concerts. Accepted fellows are expected to work on their compositions and review class materials outside of scheduled programming.
Here's a sample of what a fellow year might look like (note: this is a sample only).
The Composition BMus degree focuses on developing your creative voice as a composer/performer and sharpening your ability to create music for various media, theater, dance, film, and the concert stage. You learn up to date compositional skills in all styles in a collaborative environment to create a significant body of original work.
Learn to produce your compositions with industry-standard technology and equipment, master current music notation and production software, learn digital and acoustic orchestration, gain practical studio skills such as mastering multitrack recording as well as acoustic and digital music creation so you can make your work ready for sharing it with the world. You complete ensemble requirements and take instrumental or vocal and composition private lessons, which are taught by our faculty of professional musicians.
c80f0f1006