The ASU Composition Program offers young composers a diverse education in the practices and techniques of 21st Century musical composition. The composition area offers:

Each composition student may register for either a half-hour or full-hour lesson each week with either Dr. Tom O'Connor or Dr. Tim Crist. in these lessons students will learn to compose for a variety of instruments and media. Students may compose for all ASU performance ensembles including all small ensembles as well as the wind ensemble and orchestra.

Composition Seminar meets weekly. All composition majors are required to attend seminar. In seminar, students and faculty will discuss compositional issues, trends and techniques, the work of modern composers, as well as matters pertaining to the ASu composition program. Students will also present their own works for group discussion.

Composition majors will also have access to the ASU Electronic Music Studio. The Studio contains tools for hard disk recording, surround sound DVD production, synthesis techniques, audio and MIDI editing and sequencing, as well as interactive computer technologies.

ASU regularly brings to campus prominent new music composers who engage our students in masterclasses, lectures, and concerts. In 2004, ASU hosted the Society of Composers, Inc. 2004 Region VI Conference which included sixty composers from all over the United States.

The ASU SCI Student Chapter is very active in all functions of the ASU composition program and produces regular programs of new, original music. All ASu students are invited to join the Chapter.

Each year, the ASU Composition Program hosts a Young Composers Concert and Workshop on our campus in the Fowler Center's Riceland Hall. Young composers from all over the region attend this event to hear their music played by ASU faculty and students and to meet the faculty and students of ASU.

The many performance possibilites at ASU are one of the strengths of the ASU Music Department. ASU students and faculty have been very accomodating to the composition area's performance needs and ASU students rarely have trouble getting works performed well. We have several halls for the performance of student works including the Fine Arts Recital Hall, and the halls located in ASU's Fowler Center.

The ASU Main Library also has a substantial number of new music scores, videos, and recordings in both acoustic and electronic musical composition. The Music Department's Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) Lab houses several computers that have music notation software and audio editing software installed for student use. There is also a printer capable of printing large format scores available for student use.

For information on the area's requirements for each student, please see the "Composition Area Policies" below.

For further information please contact Dr. Tom O'Connor or Dr. Timothy Crist.

Please see the following links for downloadable files, Syllabi, ASU composition policies, and other materials:

Applied Composition Syllabus

Electronic Music Syllabus

New Music Ensemble Syllabus

Orchestration

Composition Area Policies

Electronic Music Studio

Theory

Finale Exercises

Library Materials Ordered (as of 10-10-01)

Links