Composition

This two-quarter course will provide a conceptual and practical introduction to the art, the craft, and the practice of orchestral conducting. The course is targeted primarily toward graduate students in Music Composition, but is open to advanced undergraduate or graduate students with orchestral or choral performance experience as well. Interested students should have had some experience playing or singing in a performance ensemble, as well as a basic familiarity with orchestral instruments and with the standard orchestral repertoire.

During the winter quarter, class sessions, readings, and repertoire assignments will provide the practical and philosophical basis for subsequent work in the course. Important technical exercises will be assigned every week, as well as several short papers and worksheets over the course of the quarter. The overall workload of the course is commensurate with a one-half course load per quarter. Because of the workshop nature of the course, class attendance and class participation are of prime importance. Students will receive one course credit upon successful completion of the two-quarter sequence (Winter and Spring 2026).

The class studies and practices advanced concepts of orchestration. It will analyze concepts and techniques that go beyond traditional “scoring” for the orchestra. Subjects include “shaping sound”, instrumental synthesis, techniques of temporal organization beyond a common meter, spatialization, and others. While the focus of the class will be on analysis and discussion of seminal works, small studies and exercises will be complement the theory. For their final project the students will write a short ensemble piece that will be rehearsed and performed.

The composition seminar is a weekly session designed for undergraduate students in composition lessons. It is an open forum for composers to listen to recent music, including their own, and to discuss issues connected with trends, esthetics, and compositional techniques. The entire composition faculty takes part in these sessions. The composition seminar often hosts well-known visiting composers whose works are performed in the city by various groups or ensembles, as well as performers specializing in new music and contemporary techniques. 

Students may enroll in this course more than once as an elective, but it may be counted only once towards requirements for the music major or minor. Students must also register for MUSI 24100, Seminar: Composition. 

In this introductory course, students will expand their understanding of music composition by delving into experimental and creative practices in sound. During this course, students will create sound compositions and electroacoustic pieces. The topics will include physics of sound, soundscape composition, binaural sound recording, introduction to modular synthesis, electromagnetic field listening, and multichannel sound. There will be an emphasis on production and experiential learning through exercises and workshops. Along with readings and discussions, we will examine numerous examples from sound art and experimental music by various composers, including, but not limited to, Pauline Oliveros, Alvin Lucier, Daphne Oram, Lawrence Abu Hamdan, Christine Sun Kim, and Yvette Janine Jackson. This course is introductory; however, it is open to students who want to incorporate sound-based works in their interdisciplinary projects at any level. 

This introductory course in music is intended for students who are interested in exploring the language, interpretation, and meaning of music through coordinated listening, analysis, and creative work. By listening to and comprehending the structural and aesthetic considerations behind significant written and improvised works, from the earliest examples of notated Western music to the music of living composers and performers, students will be prepared to undertake analytical and ultimately creative projects. The relationship between cultural and historical practices and the creation and reception of music will also be considered. The course is taught by a practicing composer, whose experience will guide and inform the works studied. No prior background in music is required.

The class will survey and discuss recent aesthetic positions and examine their influence on 20th century music and on current compositional activities. Besides some of the classics of modern aesthetic theory (Adorno/Horckheimer, Derrida, Butler, Deleuze, Zaid) some more recent essays will be read and we will elaborate on contexts, connections, and contradictions of the texts. An important part of the course will be discussions about the relevance of the aesthetic positions surveyed for contemporary music and for our own positions as artists in today’s political situation.

Designed for beginning composers to practice and hone the nuances of their musical craft, this course introduces some of the fundamentals of music composition through a series of exercises as well as several larger creative projects. Professional musicians will perform students’ exercises and compositions.

This is primarily a creative, composing course. Through a combination of composition assignments, listening, discussion, analysis, and reading, we will explore and practice the fundamental aspects of music composition. Repertoire study, harmony, counterpoint, rhythm, orchestration, timbre, form, transformation, and several other pertinent essentials are included in the curriculum. This laboratory-style, practical course is interactive and discussion-based.

The composition seminar is a weekly session designed for undergraduate students in composition lessons. It is an open forum for composers to listen to recent music, including their own, and to discuss issues connected with trends, esthetics, and compositional techniques. The entire composition faculty takes part in these sessions. The composition seminar often hosts well-known visiting composers whose works are performed in the city by various groups or ensembles, as well as performers specializing in new music and contemporary techniques.