<p>What schools have more progressive-leaning (less tonal, more experimental) departments of composition? The ones I know of so far are Oberlin and CalArts. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Are you interested in conservatories or colleges? Meaning BM or BA? Just to narrow it down a little.</p>
<p>Asides from the two programs you mention in which the predominant aesthetic is what you seek, there are a number of experimental, and/or atonal or electroacoustic composers teaching in a number of otherwise more conventional departments all across the country - even if the overall tenor of the department is not such. As you research schools look deeply at the composition faculty - it’s quite possible there will be one professor who will be of more interest to you than another.</p>
<p>I would take a look at Wesleyan which has Alvin Lucier and Paula Matthusen. And there are less known programs you might not have considered, like Grand Valley State in Michigan, and Univ. of Missouri at Columbia (I think that’s the one - the one they call Mizzou.) And then many of the academic music departments such as Harvard, Columbia, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and Stanford lean towards modernist, European, atonal or electroacoustic music.</p>
<p>I’ve definitely thought alot about Stanford (mostly because of Brian Ferneyhough), but I’m not sure I would be able to get accepted at Stanford academically. I didn’t know about mizzou or Wesleyan, though-- I’ll be sure to check those out.</p>
<p>Optimally, I’d rather go for a B.M. than a B.A, just so I could focus more on music during my first few years of college, and be less weighted down with extensive liberal arts requirements. That being said, I’d still be open to pursuing a B.A. if I could get accepted to the school, and if they had excellent faculty, like the ones SpiritManager mentioned above.</p>
<p>Missouri-Columbia offers two full tuition composition scholarships each year. Their focus is modern composition and their faculty is from Eastman. Certainly worth exploring. At Oberlin, a conservatory student can take whatever LA courses they want with no distribution requirements provided they are not in the five year dual degree program. Keep in mind that while many schools may have great composition programs, they are geared toward graduates students. Undergrads only get a sniff, if that. This of course is not an issue at Oberlin.</p>
<p>What part of the country do you want to be in, or does it matter?</p>
<p>I would suggest looking at faculty and courses on various websites. Faculty bios can tell you a lot, as can descriptions of programs. You have probably done that, but that is the best advice I can think of.</p>
<p>You never know how your own compositional style and tastes may change over time. If at all possible, I think it is helpful to attend concerts of composition students at particular schools: when all the student pieces are quite different, it is a good sign that students’ individual compositional voices are being honored and developed.</p>
<p>I think freedom to be yourself musically, along with appropriate level of technical skill to help you achieve that personal vision, is most important.</p>
<p>Brian Ferneyhough was at Harvard 4 or 5 years ago. Faculty may move around. So, again, I think the important thing is to find an environment that lets you be yourself, because people can change.</p>
<p>Oberlin, a few years back, seemed anxious to change some of the orthodoxy there. So even atonal, post-modern composition departments can find that they are confining students to a style, whether they intend to or not. I think they were trying to shake it up. Bartokrules would know more about that, and Spirit Manager knows Bard.</p>
<p>You could check out, besides Oberlin, Bard and Cal Arts: Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory, Indiana/Jacobs, Eastman, Mannes, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Rice, Lawrence, U. of Michigan, Ithaca, Hartt School. I think Juilliard and Curtis tend to be a little more conservative, but I really love some of the composers who come out of Juilliard. </p>
<p>Others will add to this list. Spirit Manager really knows a lot more about schools than I do.</p>
<p>My daughter thinks that conservatories are, in some ways, a little more conservative than academic music departments. Don’t know if that is true or not, but that was her comment when I asked her your question. She eventually chose a university.</p>
<p>She also said, right away, “Oberlin” !</p>