Composition/Music Technology

The Composition / Music Technology program puts primary emphasis on individual student creative goals in any style or genre of their choosing. Our goal is to guide our students to develop the ability to realize their musical ideas fully and completely. As a part of this task, all students develop basic skills in using notation and sequencing programs; additional work in digital recording, sound design and multi-media is also available for students interested in those areas.

We also encourage student composers to work collaboratively with Theater Arts students on dance and drama projects, and with Communication Studies students in video production. Advanced composition students can have their work performed by faculty directed campus performing ensembles. The program is dedicated to developing an outreach to the general public at large by having four performances a year at the school, plus another two off-campus or joint department performances in order to demonstrate the versatility and diversity of our student creative endeavors.

Students whose primary interest is jazz composition should choose the Jazz Studies concentration. Other composition students may choose either the Applied Music concentration or the Liberal Arts concentration.

In every case, students pursuing the Composition program as the core of their work should plan their program in close collaboration with a Music department advisor. In most cases, coursework beyond the unit requirements of the concentration chosen as the framework for study will be desirable.

Prospective students are welcomed to make an appointment with any of the composition faculty for a tour of the facilities and advising.

Admission requirements for the composition program

In addition to the music program requirements (PDF), we require all prospective students to submit of the following:

  • An audio CD of original music, and/or
  • Samples of scores, lead sheets, or MIDI files on CD
  • Video performances