Composition Undergrad

For Composition Undergrad. Generally speaking,

What are the most important factors to be accepted into various music conservatories and colleges?

Do the schools generally more like compositions with a lot of instrumentation (So like, sending in a symphony compared to a string quartet)?

Or maybe personal professors's taste in music? (picking based on styles)

please give me any kind of response

No, normally, what they judge is how well what you are presenting is written.

If you submit a dozen symphonies, but they are badly orchestrated and badly notated, that will not weigh in your favour.

On the other hand, a few well-written pieces for chamber ensembles WILL speak highly in your favour.

lol, well i assure you, finance won't be a problem.

It's not like we are super rich, but somehow through, scholarship, etc...

my career goal, is of course being a composer. I'm looking forward to doing concert music (like getting commissions from NY Phil or something) and I am also interested in doing movie scoring. I'm interested in variety right now as an undergrad but doing concert music is of course my number one goal. It's something not that special from other undergrad composers.

my style is.... my style -0-; I do both tonal and atonal things... I like to use the schoenberg's 12 tone technique... I also like classical way of organizing my music like using Sonata forms, etc...

I studied with my private teachers for 3 years now. They were the ones who encouraged me to do this and I started to love this.

Yes, of course I have a portfolio.

just generally, i want know what factors in a lot. Is using a lot of instrumentation important? Or maybe the professors pick the students based on style...

Thank you A LOT for taking your time to answer this for me.

Oh Thank you for the tip QcCowboy. So basically, send in the best I got regardless of number of instrumentation.

Oh Thank you for the tip QcCowboy. So basically, send in the best I got regardless of number of instrumentation.

Yes....of course! Be yourself, and present your music and abilities as completely and honestly as possible.

Don't try and tailor yourself for different schools; don't try and be anything you're not. Find the right school/prof/city/environment for YOU and it'll all be okay.

Mannes College of Music

Manhattan School of Music

Juilliard School of Music

^ The "Big Three" in NYC

Also in the Northeast:

Peabody in Baltimore

Eastman in Rochester

Curtis Institute in Philadelphia

New England Conservatory in Boston

Boston Conservatory

Midwest:

Oberlin in Ohio

Cincinati College-Conservatory of Music

Cleveland Institude of Music

Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago

Indianna University School of Music

University of Michigan School of Music

In Canada:

University of British Colombia Chan School of Music

McGill University School of Music in Montreal

Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto

etc. etc. etc.

Justin,

What was the point of that post? The kid asked for advice regarding acceptance and audition/submission materials and requirements...why'd you spout off a list of random schools?

lol, well i assure you, finance won't be a problem.

It's not like we are super rich, but somehow through, scholarship, etc...

Yes it will. You WON'T get scholarship at a MAJOR conservatory unless you're Mozart reborn and then surpass his ability. With the recession, schools have less and less money to give away esp. the more expensive ones. Money IS an issue. Don't ingnore it.

my career goal, is of course being a composer. I'm looking forward to doing concert music (like getting commissions from NY Phil or something) and I am also interested in doing movie scoring. I'm interested in variety right now as an undergrad but doing concert music is of course my number one goal. It's something not that special from other undergrad composers.

Special = concert music. New concert music will NOT get played unless you are something special. And certainly not the New York Philharmonic. They only commission works by EXTREMELY well known names. It's an unrealistic aspiration, to be frank. And since you don't live in NYC, you won't have a chance against those that already have a shot by living here who have been networking longer than you.

my style is.... my style -0-; I do both tonal and atonal things... I like to use the schoenberg's 12 tone technique... I also like classical way of organizing my music like using Sonata forms, etc...

Good to be verstitile. Good for movie scoring. But again, if you're still trying to find your voice compositionally, it may be too early to be in conservatory.

I studied with my private teachers for 3 years now. They were the ones who encouraged me to do this and I started to love this.

You can't "love" it to be in conservatory. You have to "live" it, quite literally. If you can see yourself as being something else other than a composer, conservatory is not the way to go.

just generally, i want know what factors in a lot. Is using a lot of instrumentation important? Or maybe the professors pick the students based on style...

Neither actually. A score which looks professional and that you put a great deal of time into it will get you in. It's not so much on ability as willingness to learn. If you have tremedous potential, they will consider you more highly. Potential, though, is measured by what you have done in the past. Make it count and write well. My suggestion is give a variety of pieces. An orchestral piece, a chamber, a solo, etc.

Wow.. garfield conservatory is a conservatory... you're right.

It is this kind though:

con

And his advice after the post I quoted you on Robin is useless too.

As is yours Corbin.

Ooh, Heifetz.

Wow, this topic has gone ballistic.

I'll say one thing. It doesn't matter what university you go to, it is how much you apply yourself to what you want to study. If you don't practice and just think taking classes will make you better, then you are studying the wrong.

=)

Very true. And then there's also the thing of finding a teacher that is right for you. It doesn't have the "best composer" or even the "best teacher" and this teacher doesn't have to be at the "best school". But ideally it should be someone who understands your musical aims and is both critical and supportive in working with you towards them, or even just to uncover them - and at the same time presenting an alternative position than your own, which you may or may not choose to draw something from. But not someone who either is indifferent towards what you do at all, or just wants to turn you into a copy of her- or himself.

Very true. And then there's also the thing of finding a teacher that is right for you. It doesn't have the "best composer" or even the "best teacher" and this teacher doesn't have to be at the "best school". But ideally it should be someone who understands your musical aims and is both critical and supportive in working with you towards them, or even just to uncover them - and at the same time presenting an alternative position than your own, which you may or may not choose to draw something from. But not someone who either is indifferent towards what you do at all, or just wants to turn you into a copy of her- or himself.

I'm not familiar at all with composition curricula. Does it usually involve tutelage with only one teacher?

It's usually is not much different from studying an instrument. Generally you have your composition teacher with whom you have one-to-one lessons, and additionally you may have other one-to-one lessons on various subjects (such as instrumental lessons) with other teachers and group lessons. It depends a lot on where you study though. At some places it's also possible to split up your composition lessons between different teachers. And of course most places allow you to change to a different teacher after some time.

Where I study, we (technically, but not always practically) have 90 minutes of single composition lessons weekly (60 for undergraduates), plus 60 minutes of single lessons of our own choice (instrumental lessons, score playing, etc.). And then there are regular group lessons in eartraining, analysis, conducting, instrumentation, composer's colloquium and electives, with various teachers. So we do have lessons that have much to do with composition with various teachers, but your personal composition teacher is still probably the most important one.

I just clarify something here after seeing the recent shoutbox flame.

I never sugested that I was "Mozart re-born". When I said you couldn't get commisions from the New York Philarhomic, I was telling the truth. I didn't get a commision. They played it, sure, but it was through my own connections, not through them contacting me and paying me to write a piece for money. That's definition of commision. I'm no where near the ability for them to ask for a piece from me yet. I hope that one day I will be, but I'm not now. I was being very blunt with the truth, not arrogent. Ok?

Where I study, we (technically, but not always practically) have 90 minutes of single composition lessons weekly (60 for undergraduates), plus 60 minutes of single lessons of our own choice (instrumental lessons, score playing, etc.).

Wow, what exactly happens in a 90-min composition lesson - is it mostly discussion? In performing lesson the bulk of the time is taken up by playing music.

A lot of discussion, yes. It differs a lot from teacher to teacher and from student to student though. Some also do things from time to time that aren't strictly "composing" in that lessons, such as analysing other music that might be helpful for the student. I did that with my previous teacher too. Currently however, it's mostly showing my teacher what I have written, what I have sketched, discussing the ideas I have for my pieces, telling her my compositional problems, etc. and we discuss it.

But as I said, it's 90 minutes in theory. My teacher can only come to the university every two weeks because she lives abroad, and doing 3 hours at once would just be way too long, so I often only have 90 minutes every two weeks (in return she also gives me lessons during the holidays from time to time).