Undergraduates interested in the Composition emphasis must audition on their primary instrument. During the first two years of study, students will take the Music Core classes (which are the same for all emphases), and private lessons on their primary instrument.
Once the lower division requirements have been completed, students should take MUS 425 Composition Workshop concurrently with Theory IV - MUS 420 20th Century Techniques. In these two classes, students compose works that they may then submit as a portfolio in application for the composition major.
To apply for the composition major, students should submit a brief letter of intent before taking Theory IV, and a portfolio of original compositions upon its completion. Students are advised to submit whatever they feel is their strongest compositional work.
**NOTE** Our composition program is not appropriate for students interested in composing in genres such as rock and roll, popular music, hip-hop, jazz, world music, film music, show music, etc.
Transfer students are not generally accepted directly into the composition program. As with freshmen, transfers should audition on a primary instrument, and apply for the composition emphasis upon completion of the Core classes, Theory IV and one semester of Composition Workshop.
