<p>What are some great contemporary music composition programs? I enjoy playing New age/ambient piano, violin, and electronica. Thank you!</p>
<p>USC Thornton School of Music’s Popular Music Program</p>
<p>From a quick google search [please don’t kill me if I’m wrong] the program is open to those interested in contemporary pop/rock, folk-rock, R&B/Urban, Latin/Salsa and other popular styles. Do you know whether ‘other’ includes new age, ambient, or electronica? </p>
<p>Honestly, I’m looking for as many great places to apply as possible. Any others on your mind would be extremely helpful</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re going to be able to find a traditional program to study those styles of music. But you should be able to find a student body with such interests. Look at schools like Warren Wilson, Evergreen, New College of Florida, Naropa etc. and maybe they’ll have fellow musicians interested in the same kind of music as you. On the other hand, I know a composer at Yale who is writing Electronica…</p>
<p>Look at the TIMARA program at Oberlin Conservatory. It stands for “Technology in Music and Related Arts” and is the electronic music major within the Conservatory.</p>
<p>Alright, so, so far:</p>
<ol>
<li>USC Thornton</li>
<li>Warren Wilson</li>
<li>Evergreen</li>
<li>New College of Florida</li>
<li>Naropa</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>Oberlin Conservatory</li>
</ol>
<p>From a College Confidential point of view, how hard is it to get into these programs/Universities? </p>
<p>(assuming 3.95 UW GPA, 2200 SAT, proficient, contemporary pianist, founder of two music clubs, officer of 3 others, leader of community service project with 1000 comm service hours, blah blah, etc (^-^)b )</p>
<p>For Oberlin Conservatory your grades and scores are fine if you apply to the Conservatory alone. What is more important for TIMARA is the prescreen audition and the interview. Admission is difficult.</p>
<p>That’s something i’d love to know more about, the audition process, I mean. It sounds nerve wrecking but exciting at the same time. Have any of you had a ‘top tier’ audition before?</p>
<p>My point about Yale is just that you can write electronica anywhere - it’s not like the composition department is teaching it! Go to whatever school you want - no one is going to teach ambient music, trance music, electronica - but that doesn’t mean you can’t make such music yourself. TIMARA, and other such electronic music departments focus on academic electro-acoustic music usually using MAX/MSP. I don’t think from your posts that is your primary interest. Pick a school for reasons other than the music program - then likely if you like the rest of the school, you’ll find things in the music department to like, as well. For instance - as an aspiring herbalist - USC would not be my first choice.</p>
<p>Worth a look: CalArts, UC Santa Cruz, and UC Santa Barbara College of Creative Arts, maybe UCSD</p>
<p>Spirit Manager you bring up a great point. Still, I know myself enough - I need an appropriate environment to improve. If I go to Bastyr, my herbalism skills would flourish, but I would not feel as motivated to practice my music. If I go to a solely musical school however, my piano performance/composition would improve immensely, but my herbalism skills would remain at a basic level.</p>
<p>Ideally, I’d like a school that offers both. But it seems like I’m being forced to choose :l</p>
<p>Perhaps you could study privately with a composer whose work you admire. It could even be done via skype. Then you could choose a school for any other reason you wish.</p>
<p>That’s actually a really nice idea! I guess it’s discouraging to know that academic programs are still mainly traditionally classical; it’s been a few centuries. You are definitely right, I do not like classical music, why should I be ‘forced’ to study it for 4 years? </p>
<p>I will e-mail a few of the composers I admire and see how it goes. Thanks [:</p>
<p>Definitely look at New School in nyc. so many hipsters there!</p>
<p>UC Santa Cruz…</p>
<p>Bennington, Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Oberlin, Hampshire, Lewis and Clark, NYU…You would not necessarily like a traditional BM program or even a traditional BA in music. The schools I mentioned might have a “hipster” element but also allow some independent and/or interdisciplinary work. You could do your own thing, so to speak. I would echo some of the other schools mentioned.</p>
<p>Take a look at the Future Music program at the University of Oregon: [Future</a> Music Oregon](<a href=“http://pages.uoregon.edu/fmo/home/]Future”>http://pages.uoregon.edu/fmo/home/)</p>
<p>You do have to audition on a “traditional” instrument and be accepted into the Music Dept.so it’s a combination of classical and modern studies.</p>
<p>What should I do now to prepare for application season?</p>
<p>If it’s of any help, this is the kind of music I play:</p>
<p>[Dax</a> Johnson - Zavior (piano) - YouTube](<a href=“Dax Johnson - Zavior (piano) - YouTube”>Dax Johnson - Zavior (piano) - YouTube)</p>
<p>[Roy</a> Todd - Sad Reflections - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>
<p>[Sprinkle</a> To Rain - Isaac Shepard (Swept Away) - YouTube](<a href=“Sprinkle To Rain - Isaac Shepard (Swept Away) - YouTube”>Sprinkle To Rain - Isaac Shepard (Swept Away) - YouTube)</p>
<p>Gonzalo, my son attends the University of Michigan in a hybrid BFA program called Performing Arts Technology that includes some composition, some technology, some engineering (and some intermedia/programming course work as well). There are variants of it suited to BMus Perf and BSc. Eng.</p>
<p>I told him about your post, because much of the music he writes is (to me) either “new-age-ish” or experimental electronica or at times alternative-contemporary (he’s all over the place) and he thinks you should take at look at Michigan despite it’s “traditional” rep. for composition. He says if you choose your classes/who you work with very carefully, you will find a lot of composition profs who have a non-traditional bent/appreciation of the kinds of work you like/aspire to create.</p>
<p>Even this year, we thought he might have trouble in a course that one of the more “traditonal” composition profs taught, and on the contrary, he excelled and his work was very well-received.</p>
<p>I’ve also noticed that much of the music written/performed by the PAT program students seems to defy genre as well - so perhaps that program (if you have any technical inclination as well) or programs like it (there are a few out there) might be worth investigation. (But I note that he says if composing is your focus you’d likely be happier in the composition program and that he feels you could make it work.)</p>
<p>Let us know if you read up and determine an interest in PAT as there are prep specs we may be able to assist you with. I’ll let the straight comp folks address the comp prep, but generally what is required will be a number of scores; a few performances of said scores recorded; an audition on your principal instrument (which is piano, I’m guessing?) (and sometimes a recorded sample that serves as a bit of a prescreen) and preparation for an interview with faculty.</p>
<p>Best wishes in your search.</p>
<p>(P.S. Your stats are very suited to UMich’s overall stat profile. Nice work!)</p>