I’m applying to USC music composition. They require a music resume and repertoire list. Can someone elaborate what each list should consist of, as well as how to best format each?
There is no hard and fast rule or standard format. Do these in the way that best represents your work and musical activities. These are just examples:
Repertoire list would consist of compositions you have written. You should have the title of the piece, date written, instruments written for, and if performed, where performed, when and by whom, and duration such as 3:41. Also include any awards won by a particular piece. You can list all the pieces and star the ones that were performed.
An example of a music resume would have education at the top (high school); composition study (teachers, summer programs, workshops); performances of compositions (this is different from the repertoire in its focus on performance); awards won; theory and other music study, such as music history; and then a section on instrumental experience, if you play an instrument (teachers, a small list of repertoire if appropriate, performances or who you played with, dates, etc.). If you have a rich musical life, try to convey that by organizing the sections in a way that highlights what you have been doing.
If you have done other music-related things, such as interning, or studio work that reflects some experience with technology, you can include that too.
Again, this is only one set of examples and you can really do it any way you want 
If you feel unsure, call USC and ask them. Admissions offices tend to be helpful!
Thanks compmom.
Can you give a little more input on the Repertoire list? I write songs all the time (composed in Logic and bounced to audio files, some uploaded to Youtube, some put into an album, some never used, but still created). What would I include? If I include every single audio file song I’ve ever bounced, that’s going to be a LONG list…
@EnduranceArtist - USC is a classical music composition department. It is not ‘contemporary’ music, nor game/video/film scoring. You might want to reconsider applying as it doesn’t sound like it fits your interests. They’re looking for classical compositions, notated formally, and, at least some, performed (and recorded) live by acoustic instruments. They’re not looking for songs. Unless they’re concert art songs. You might check out the San Francisco Conservatory’s TAC program which is for media scoring.
@SpiritManager - Understandable, yet USC’s composition program is the gateway into their SMPTV program. Faculty have told me that It is not uncommon for the composition department to admit students with a more contemporary approach to orchestral composition. In sum, they are focused on individual talent over the creative structure of one’s musical background or work.
It is hard for me to answer your question about repertoire without knowing more about what you do.
What are you going to submit as a portfolio? They want three original compositions with recordings. Generally there is a preference for performance by live musicians, but they don’t explicitly say that, and maybe electronic work is accepted- with a score.
Here is a paragraph from the admissions site for Thornton:
•Students are required to submit scores and recordings of three contrasting pieces of varying instrumentation. Students should submit works that best represent their creative abilities. Pieces in a popular music or jazz idiom may be submitted as an extra element of the application, but the primary focus of the USC Thornton composition department is concert music (contemporary classical music).
You say that faculty have told you that students can “submit a more contemporary approach to orchestral composition.” This may be a misunderstanding on your part. “Contemporary classical” or "new music"are terms used to describe exactly that- classical composition. For examples, listen to faculty pieces, such as Andrew Norman’s “Play” or “Try.”
Is your work “orchestral”? Do you have scores at all? Scores are required. How are you going to submit your work?
Every school says they are looking for raw talent at the undergrad level. But that still means working in a medium that the school teaches, unfortunately, simply because you need something to submit!
Some young composers still write with pencil and paper and then transfers to Finale so musicians can have parts.
I feel that you may very well have some wonderful talent. Feel free to PM music to me. I wonder if you can somehow get your music down on paper or a software program (if you haven’t done this) and have a discrete recording of each piece so you can hand in three full compositions.Or perhaps you have that ready already?
Spirit Manager is trying to save you trouble. There are programs for contemporary work if you want info on them. USC requires a classical foundation before doing film scoring studies. You can also do a BA in music or any other subject at a non-conservatory and continue to develop your work. USC composition is very competitive so we are just trying to prepare you or point you in the best direction for success.
If you have three scores and recordings that you can submit, great! Don’t get hug up on the repertoire list. I described what they are usually looking for, but go ahead and list the pieces you feel best represent your work. Good luck.
Okay so I looked up Logic and apparently the program can generate scores. But it is more about samples, patches, beats, right? I would really like to here what you have written on this so I understand. Here is text from the Logic site about scores:
http://www.apple.com/logic-pro/what-is/
Music notation the way it should be.
Instantly convert any MIDI performance into notation or use extensive step input options to enter the music manually. Then you can edit those parts, knock out lead sheets, or create elaborate orchestral compositions using a complete set of music notation tools — from comprehensive layout and print options to instrument transposition, drum notation, and adaptive lyric input. Staff Styles let you tailor the size, clef, transposition, and other details for a particular instrument and save them for easy recall. Instrument Sets let you switch quickly between viewing, editing, and printing any subset of your ensemble. And an extensive set of features for guitar make it easy to generate tablature, insert Chord Grids from a library of over 4000 chords, or notate every hammer-on and bend in that wild solo.
For repertoire, go ahead and submit a list of your best, as I said. Include the date you created each piece, duration, and note that it was with Logic, with the full name of the program.
We tend to think of composing as a process quite different from this. Certainly there are experiments in new music using computers to generate sound. I can’t think of a reason why this shouldn’t be called “composing” but it is very different from traditional process and I have no idea what USC will do with it. Things are changing in the field, because almost everyone who posts about composing is doing this stuff. Then again the kids doing composing in conservatory prep are probably not coming on here. I hope it works out for you.
Carta sells manuscript paper that is horizontal, and, for orchestral works, vertical. This will give you an idea of what I am used to: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=carta+orchestral+manuscript+paper&qpvt=CARTA+Orchestral+Manuscript+Paper&qpvt=CARTA+Orchestral+Manuscript+Paper&FORM=IGRE
Thanks for the reply, compmom!
I created all the music in Logic, bouncing recordings with samples (I’ve had professionals tell me that they cannot tell that it isn’t live). However, I’ve translated each song into Sibelius, making them orchestra-friendly (which really isn’t that much work since all my songs in Logic are already written for orchestra; just tweaking up the MIDI and adding the standard notations and dynamics and symbols).
Yes, it has been a bit worrisome that my background is mostly electronic as opposed to classical, but I agree that this is how it is mostly done (not just among people my age, but in the film scoring industry, it’s simply the most efficient way to write music. For live players, it’s just a matter of orchestrating the MIDI).
So, to summarize, this is what my two “lists” compromise of:
- Music Resume: Performances, projects, experience, skills
- Repertoire list: Best songs, links to Youtube/Soundcloud, some info on creative process.
Sound good?
And one last question: Most of my songs have an orchestral emphasis, but are commonly layered with other electronics. Will the Music admissions team mind that? Do they want a pure orchestral sound (I have two scores/songs ready for that), or will they not mind the added electronic elements so long as I have the orchestral foundation present?
As always, thanks so much for your input.
A bit of advice - lose the word ‘songs’ when referring to your music - or you’ll probably be rejected in the first pile. If you had to write your pieces from scratch - without a computer - starting with pen and paper- could you do it? Have you ever had a live orchestra try to perform those pieces Sibelius created from the midi? Or a small chamber group perform a piece scored for fewer instruments? If so, then that’s great. If not, then you’re at a disadvantage for admissions to an elite program like USC. It’s not that any of the professors there are dismissive of computer created work - or media scoring - it’s just not their particular emphasis or interest - even if they can appreciate it.
Here’s the program which I think you would really like: http://www.sfcm.edu/tac
Some programs explicitly state that some electronic elements are okay in submissions. In the case of USC undergrad, which is classical, I think you should call and ask that particular question.
Many “classical” programs involve electronic work, but it is a bit different from what you are doing now. Still, your skills may serve you well. Listen to Nina Young, Phillipe Manoury, or Marco Stroppa for examples. Nina Young is a PhD student who is doing very well in the field, the other two are esteemed composers who use electronics. I really think it is important for you to listen to their music to see what is going on with electronics in the field of classical composition. A real classic old-timer, no longer with us, is Jonathan Harvey, who wrote a magnificent early electronic piece about the spirit of his son hovering around a bell in a cathedral- wish I could remember the name. The only way for me to try to convey what contemporary (academic) composition is like is to recommend listening. It is different in some ways from film work. (My daughter’s thesis was a string quartet with electronic manipulations of string quartet fragments woven into the live performance, using her computer. She was in a most definitely classical program.
“Electronic music” means so many things. There have been some discussions online about this. In a truly classical program you may need to go back to basics, backwards if you see it that way. People do the kind of thing you are doing for rock and pop and jazz, and, as you are apparently doing, classical/orchestral. But the machine, so to speak, is composing for you, or rather, executing the details of your ideas. You will need to learn how to execute them yourself, I guess you could say. It is slower and more laborious but allows for the individual “voice” that is so important.
USC’s program, which leads into its film scoring grad program, is intentionally like this, as a foundation.
If you want to work with electronics, there are many different paths to take. You can look a the popular music program at Thornton, at Berklee, Belmont, Miami Frost (as I remember), or the program Spirit Manager linked. Columbia College, Hartt at U. of Hartford, or NYU are other possibilities. University of North Carolina School of the Arts and SUNY Purchase has film schools and composers do scoring. Cal Arts. Others could suggest more.
Oberlin’s TIMARA program is another one to look at, very prominent. U. Michigan’s PAT program is very rigorous but give it a look.U. of North Texas is excellent for electronics.
At the grad level, for electronics, look at Royal Conservatory of the Hague’s Sonology program, Dartmouth’s Digital Arts Program, Brown’s MEME for examples of programs with interesting twists on the electronics field. Look at Columbia, Harvard and McGill’s grad programs with electronics as well.
Finally, you may end up interested in music production, or recording technology, or some sort of studio work and there are applied programs for that as well. Very confusing! UMass Lowell is one example.
I am listing all these because I think it would be good for you to better understand the field. But yes, your plan looks good for what you have, the resume looks good, the repertoire makes the best use of what you have written, and ask admissions or a composition department staff person about including electronics. You can continue in what you are doing or you can use the skills you have to transition to a different kind of work. I am just suggesting you choose where to apply based on which you really want to do.
Oh-and many liberal arts colleges or universities with BA programs will suit you as well. Check out Bennington College for one. http://curriculum.bennington.edu/spring2016/2015/10/13/interdisciplinary-projects-in-emusic-and-sound/ U. of Puget Sound, Lewis and Clark and Mills are possibilities if you want to be on the West Coast.
PM’ed you by the way…
ps Mills is coed only at the grad level. Undergrad is for women.