<p>There is a current discussion on New Music Box on what should be the next step for experienced teenage composers as they make decisions about college/conservatory or an alternate path. <a href="http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/what-lies-ahead-for-teenage-composers/">http://www.newmusicbox.org/articles/what-lies-ahead-for-teenage-composers/</a></p>
<p>I do think the author ignores the option my own son took of following both the liberal arts academic path, and the conservatory path. And I'm not sure I agree with him that it's necessary for a young composer to have the absolute best student musicians to perform his/her work. Instead I think the young composer needs enthusiastic and passionate musicians,who will rehearse the heck out of and perform their work, which is ultimately more important at that stage of development to a composer than perfection.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting this. New Music Box is always interesting.</p>
<p>I liked Jennifer Higdon’s comment, that she was able to take different things from different environments, and also that the author was perhaps too focused on career success rather than growth and learning.</p>
<p>As for his comments on college programs versus conservatories, there are excellent players at some colleges and universities, and students can make their own opportunities for performance by learning how to get funding, hire musicians, and work together.</p>
<p>That said, the heavier academic load in a BA program does mean less time for composing. With a longer term view, the liberal arts can enrich composition (learning poetry, art history, history, as well as music classes), but in the shorter term, it can be frustrating at times.</p>
<p>Finally, the article is about teenage composers and their next step. The journey in composition is over many years, and I am not sure whether it ultimately matters what type of program they go on to right after high school. Connections happen in many environments over many years, and as the student’s “voice” develops, different connections may be needed than those acquired at age 20.</p>
<p>Finally, composition is a life-long journey really. It has some aspects that are more spiritual or aesthetic than pragmatic or vocational. The fact that a student has already written a symphony at 13 or studied advanced theory at 17 should not make any type of further education boring: the challenges really are limitless, or should be.</p>
<p>I like the thought that composition is a lifelong thing, because it is, Beethoven’s late string quartets and the 9th Symphony were way different than his Opus 18 quarters or his 1st symphony. More importantly, because composition has always been a tough sled as a full time occupation, composers, like Ives or Borodin, had other main professions (insurance/Chemist, respectively) while they wrote…</p>
<p>I read this again and one comment was “Let your students go.” I can see where that comes from. It can seem like a really big deal to witness teenagers creating music that is both competent and interesting. Think parallel to child actors and other wunderkind. However, once in post-secondary education of whatever kind, many of these teen wonders (not all) are at the bottom of another totem pole and once again have much to learn. In this regard the author, a teacher of young composers, should just relax. Lots of good stuff ahead.</p>
<p>The idea that this particular part of the current generation will change the music world is a bit of a hyperbole. Hasn’t the music world always been changing? If history is any guide at all, the changes from this generation will happen in quite a few years, perhaps even posthumously, though history does seem to be speeding up with all this technology!</p>
<p>Anyway, I would add to the “let them go” one thought : no rush!</p>