On Becoming a Classical Composition Major: A Conversation with Jonathan Bailey Holland, Chair of Composition, Boston Conservatory at Berklee
by Mark Small
Jonathan Bailey Holland grew up in Flint, Michigan, where his early musical influences ranged from hip-hop artists Run DMC and Fat Boys to Aaron Copland. Holland began studying composition at the Interlochen Arts Academy and netted an award for his very first composition. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Curtis Institute where he studied composition with Ned Rorem. He later earned a Ph.D. in music from Harvard University where his teachers included Bernard Rands, Mario Davidovsky, Andrew Imbrie, and Yehudi Wyner.
Holland is an active composer whose works in a number of genres have been commissioned and performed by numerous orchestras, chamber ensembles, and soloists. He has served as professor of composition at Berklee College of Music and the Boston Conservatory. Following the merger of the two schools, Holland was named Chair of Composition for Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2017.
Below is our conversation with this esteemed musician.
Our Interview with Jonathan Bailey Holland
MS: What would you tell a young music school applicant about preparing to become a composition major?
JBH: At Boston Conservatory, we accept students with a range of composing experiences. We want to see that they have curiosity and an interest in the art of composition. Whether they have composed a lot already or not, we want to see that they take the initiative to seek out music that’s not familiar. For those who have experience with composing, we look for authenticity and originality. By originality, I don’t mean that they are writing in a way we’ve never heard before, but that it’s coming from them internally. We don’t want to have students trying to write like someone else. Schools can always tell if the music is not genuine, so don’t play what you think we want to hear. We want to see that students are trying to create musical works in their own way.
At the conservatory, the classical tradition is where study begins, but composers today come from all kinds of backgrounds. We have applicants whose portfolio might not have a string quartet, but rather, a big band arrangement that they wrote for their school band or something for which they recorded all the parts. At the end of the day, the emphasis is not on the style of music or instrument they are writing for. We want to see that an applicant has a grasp on putting notes together to create a musical work. The variety we are seeing now is greater than it has been in the past.
MS: Do you find that students interested in composition have diverse aspirations?
JBH: Students come here with some experience in classical music and repertoire from playing in ensembles, but a lot have been captivated by classically-influenced music from a film or a game. We get students to listen to music and composers that they may not have encountered and make that part of their portfolio. Most schools want students to be exposed to a variety of musical influences and repertoire that is considered historically important.
MS: Does Boston Conservatory’s program give guidance on the steps needed to launch a career as a composer of concert music?
JBH: We have students coming to our program hoping to go into film scoring, but they first want to get a strong foundation in composing—which is essential. They need an understanding about how music works. Those principles apply whether you are writing concert, film, or popular music. If you are an artist, your goal is communicating your perspective and your voice. That in itself is preparation for a career. You are honing your skills to present whatever you want to say to whoever wants to listen. That is the goal of any entrepreneurial training program. Students need to translate artistic training into career training. At the heart of things, it involves the same curriculum to a certain degree.
MS: Do you have any advice for students as they apply to music colleges?
JBH: A lot of people get nervous about the interview and audition process. I suggest to applicants that they are not just auditioning for a particular school, they are also auditioning the school to find the environment that is the right fit for them. Getting to know the community and what is available and if that is what you are looking for in a school are as important as your audition and interview. It helps to take some of the pressure off people as they go through the process to know that this is a two-way interaction.
MS: Students and their parents are interested in the prospects for making a living after studying music. Is there a range of music-oriented careers your graduates settle into?
JBH: A composer does different things than a violinist or singer, but they are all learning the same basic skills and then applying them to create a certain end product. A degree in composition could lead someone to a career in music technology or production. A composer could also maintain the skills needed for a performing career. He or she might also become a conductor, teacher, or something else. People are not limited by choosing a particular field at one stage of their academic career and can always move to a different specialization.
There are a number of options for our graduates. Some might later become lawyers and doctors. In any artistic field, you need to learn the mechanics and gain a perspective. Those skills are also transferable to other fields. Music school is not like trade school where you learn one specific skill and go to work in that field. Music students learn how to do several tasks and to understand how everything fits together. We always hear that the tech world wants people who are creative, think outside the box, and are malleable. That is exactly what artistic training is about.
Contact Us
Did you find this blog helpful? Do you want to attend a music collage or conservatory? If the answer to that is a “yes”, your next step is simple. Visit insidemusicschools.com and allow our team of industry insiders to guide you towards your goal of being a professional in the music industry. Through expert counseling, and real world experience, we will make sure you are prepared for the journey
To contact Jonathan Bailey Holland:
For press and public relations inquiries, please contact:
Stephanie Janes PR
Phone: 617-419-0445 or 646-598-3028
E-mail: stephaniejanespr (at) gmail (dot) com
Or, visit Contact — Jonathan Bailey Holland and enable the contact form.
A quick guide for prospective foreign students by the staff at IMS.
by Inside Music Schools
Studying Music in the United States
Inside Music Schools has helped many international music students seek acceptance at colleges and conservatories in the United States. We hear the same questions from many of them. You likely have the same questions if you are one of the many international musicians wanting to study in America. So, we thought we’d dedicate this post to answering some of the frequently asked questions we receive.
Which schools accept international students?
Just about every American college welcomes students from foreign countries. Many actively recruit them as a way of helping their school’s diversity to enrich the education of their students. In general, you can also expect to be accepted by your classmates. There are a few countries from which there are no students in the United States, like Cuba and North Korea, but this has more to do with political issues than college policy.
What types of schools are there in the United States?
There are different types of institutions of higher education (beyond high school) in the United States. While the terms college and university are often used interchangeably in casual conversation, there is a difference. Basically speaking, a college is a small school for undergraduate study. Many colleges champion the liberal arts—academic disciplines like literature, history, languages, philosophy, mathematics, and general sciences. This is in contrast with such professional and technical disciplines as business and engineering.
Many liberal arts colleges treat music as an academic discipline rather than a professional one. That means you take fewer courses to train you to become a professional musician and more in humanities courses to help make sure you receive a well-rounded education. This type of degree is known as a Bachelor of Arts. As a musician at most liberal arts colleges, you would receive a bachelor of arts in music degree.
How is a university different?
In comparison to colleges, most universities are large institutions that teach both undergraduate and graduate students. They are typically made up of various schools and/or colleges, such as a school of medicine, a school of architecture, and a school of foreign languages. Most universities also have a school of music. While some of these offer a Bachelor of Arts in music, the emphasis is usually on the Bachelor of Music degree. It requires more study in music and less in the humanities and other general education disciplines. It is a professional degree.
What about conservatories?
A conservatory stands as the third type of music school in the United States. It specializes in one or more of the fine arts—music, acting, dance, and the like. Conservatories in the United States developed to first foster classical music but have come to embrace jazz and other forms of music. Juilliard is a well-known conservatory in our country. Conservatories tend to be small, hundreds rather than thousands of students. However, Berklee College of Music in Boston is the world’s largest music school in the world and can be seen as a conservatory.
To keep things simple for the rest of this post, we’ll use the terms college and school to refer to all types of institutions of higher education. We’ll also use America to refer to just the United States even though the word includes other countries in this continent.
What is a for-profit school?
When we talk about colleges in this article, we are mainly referring to not-for-profit institutions. We tend to think of these as purer in intent since they focus on education more than their financial bottom line. Almost all are accredited by a regional agency that helps assure the quality of education you receive.
For-profit schools are just that, “for profit“. They include some well-known music institutions. Some offer quality education to their students while others are more questionable. Some are also accredited while others are not. If you are considering a for-profit college, look closely at its reputation.
How well do I need to know English?
The need to understand English is one of the first things we have to point out to international students who approach Inside Music Schools for help. Almost every college in the United States requires a certain proficiency in English. This makes sense as you will be studying in English. Most schools will expect you to have received a good score on a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam. You can find practice TOEFL exams online.
What does it cost to go to school in the United States?
The cost of going to school in the United States is the other thing we have to emphasize with international students. It is because it can cost a lot of money. The average tuition for a publicly supported, four-year university is around $20,000 if you are a non-resident of the state where the school is located. (All international students are considered non-residents.) The average cost to attend a private institution is closer to $40,000 a year no matter where you call home. A year’s tuition at a top conservatory is over $50,000, not including the cost of room and board.
Can I get scholarships?
Given the cost of going to school in the United States, international students are often interested in receiving scholarships. American colleges basically offer two types of financial assistance. The first helps need-based students and mainly go to American citizens of low income. Scholarships are talent-based and are awarded to highly skilled musicians, especially ones that are of interest to a particular school.
You should not necessarily expect to receive a scholarship from an American college to go to school as a music student from a foreign country. Sadly, if you cannot afford full tuition, you probably cannot afford to study here unless you can find some sort of scholarship in your home country to support students studying abroad. You can read more about music school scholarships here.
Are there other costs?
Tuition is just one of the expenses of going to school in America. You must also pay for room and board, textbooks, supplies, local transportation, and personal expenses. That’s in addition to flying to the city where a college is located and back home at the end of the school year. Together, these expenses can add up to almost as much as tuition itself.
College students around the world find ways of living cheaply. So do students in the United States. Still, you must budget.
How about visas and work?
International students are required to enter the United States with a F-1 student visa. Once accepted, the college will send you an I-20 form which you will take to the U.S Embassy in your country in order to receive the visa. Be sure to consult the American Department of State for the most current information.
International students are not permitted to work in the United States while they are on a student visa.
Contact Us
Did you find this blog helpful? Do you picture yourself in a music career? If the answer to that is a “yes”, your next step is simple. Contact insidemusicschools.com and allow our team of industry insiders to guide you toward your goal of being a professional in the music industry. Through expert counseling and real world experience, we will make sure you are prepared for the journey
How can Inside Music Schools assist an international student?
At Inside Music Schools, we help college-bound music students move decisively toward their future.
Visit Insidemusicschools.com and contact our staff. You can click this link to contact our staff directly and allow us to guide you during this process.
In a 1967 hit song, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds rock band sang:
So you want to be a rock ‘n’ roll star?
Then listen now to what I say.
Just get an electric guitar,
Then take some time,
And learn how to play.
And with your hair swung right,
And your pants too tight,
It’s gonna be all right.
The song was a satirical oversimplification even when it was written. Today, those wanting to pursue a career in popular music can take a more systematic approach with the help of colleges and universities with outstanding contemporary music programs.
Dr. David Lee Fish, a founding board member of the Association for Popular Music Education and director of Catawba College’s popular music program, points out an interesting statistic. While there are over 2,000 four-year colleges and universities in America, only about a dozen grant degrees in popular music studies. He adds that there are quite a few “pretenders” and suggests students keep two things in mind when assessing if a school has a true curriculum for contemporary music.
“The first thing to consider is the types of ensembles it offers,” says Fish. “The second is whether they offer songwriting. Many schools say they have a commercial music program, but their ensembles are primarily jazz bands. As for the second point, it’s hard to make the case for a pop music program if there are no songwriting classes. Songwriting is central to popular music.”
Below, we will look at five institutions with celebrated popular music studies programs that do meet these two criteria. At the end of the post, we follow it up with a list of notable programs at other institutions.
University of Southern California
The Thornton School of Music at USC has all-star faculty drawn from respected names in music. The overarching contemporary music program includes a range of areas for study in popular music, jazz, the music industry, music technology, musical theatre, popular music, screen scoring, and studio guitar. USC’s popular music department is within the Contemporary Music division. Founded by Christopher Sampson in 2009, it is chaired by composer, keyboardist, and four-time Grammy nominee Patrice Rushen.
USC’s popular music degree track embraces rock, R&B, pop, folk, Latin, and country styles. It emphasizes musical skills and the nuances of styles. Undergrads take classes in performance, songwriting and arranging, recording studio techniques, MIDI programming, music production, and entrepreneurship in addition to core courses in music theory, ear training, music history. Electives in contemporary music culture, film music, world music, and general education courses are also among degree requirements.
Located in Los Angeles, USC enjoys a roster of faculty who are veteran composers, performers, and producers with impressive credentials. Among them are guitarist Paul Jackson Jr., bassist Alphonso Johnson, drummer Will Kennedy, pop music violinist Ginny Luke, songwriter Andrea Stolpe, and multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Adriana Balic. The department strives to foster a creative and collaborative environment for students.
At the nexus of America’s music, movie, and TV industries, USC is near major concert venues, record industry headquarters, famous recording studios, and more. The proximity offers many extra-curricular learning experiences and employment opportunities. Admission to USC’s Thornton School of Music is competitive, with about a 20 percent acceptance rate. The popular music program has the reputation of being even more competitive. (For more information, visit https://music.usc.edu/departments/contemporary-music/.)
Belmont University
In 1979, Belmont University’s College of Music and Performing Arts became the first in the nation to offer a Bachelor of Music degree in commercial music. The course of study includes commercial music, music technology, and performance, but also embraces traditional offerings in classical, church music, music education, and more.
The program is built on a foundation of classical music, jazz, and blues to inform student studies of contemporary forms. Those majoring in commercial music can choose from five areas of emphasis: performance, songwriting, composition and arranging, music business, and music technology.
Belmont actually fields a second college dedicated to various aspects of popular music. The second is the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business. Founded in 2003, it bears the name of a legendary performer, songwriter, producer, and record company executive. The Curb College offers courses in songwriting, audio engineering, media production, music business, journalism, publishing, and more. Look inside its buildings, and you will find top-notch studios and technology.
Like USC, Belmont is in a musical hotspot with proximity to Nashville’s iconic Music Row. Many Belmont faculty members have had notable careers in the industry, and networking opportunities abound for students. Belmont has a high acceptance rate of 84 percent and prides itself on being the largest ecumenical Christian university in America. (Visit https://www.belmont.edu/cmpa/music/undergrad/index.html for further information.)
Berklee College of Music
The world’s largest institution for music studies is the combined Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. It ranks at or near the top of the list for best contemporary music colleges, with popular music being a key component in its expansive curriculum. Berklee grants undergraduate degrees in 12 majors and 30 principal instruments ranging from electric guitar, bass, and drums to orchestral instruments, banjo, electronic digital instruments, and more. For decades after its founding in 1945, Berklee was the only option for students to learn musical styles not taught at classical conservatories.
Berklee was the first school to offer studies in performance, composition and arranging for jazz musicians. Over the decades, it has burnished its outlier reputation by creating a very diverse curriculum. Berklee became the first institution in the nation to offer electric guitar as a principal instrument in 1962, a film scoring major in 1979, music synthesis studies in 1984, and songwriting in 1987. Further innovations included establishing an audio recording department (1977), music business major (1992), music therapy major (1996), hip-hop curriculum (1999), American roots music minor (2006), Africana musical studies (2006), video game scoring (2009), an institute for creative entrepreneurship (2014), and a popular music institute (2016).
In 2016, Berklee merged with Boston Conservatory (founded in 1867), expanding its curriculum to include musical theater and dance as well as operatic and symphonic orchestra instruction. As a result, Berklee became a musical melting pot with a vibrant atmosphere and teaching in many musical genres and styles. Numerous Berklee students have gone on to noteworthy careers as pop and jazz performers, film composers, record company executives, hit songwriters, recording engineers, producers, and more. To date, its alumni have won a total of 310 Grammys in addition to many other industry awards. Berklee has a high acceptance rate of 54 percent. (Visit https://www.berklee.edu.)
University of Miami
The Frost School of Music at the University of Miami (Florida) offers an array of highly respected studies among its eight departments. In addition to instrumental and voice performance studies (which embrace classical music, opera, jazz, and popular styles), other departments focus on music education and therapy, theory and composition, studio music and jazz, musicology, and music media and industry.
Frost’s Modern Artist Development and Entrepreneurship program (M.A.D.E.) is a comprehensive program for those seeking a BM in popular music and music business. The program’s approach allows students to tailor their studies for the career they envision. The school’s motto reflects this emphasis: “Build Yourself at Frost.” The M.A.D.E. program is designed for the business-minded musician; honing one’s musical craft is but one component needed for success in today’s music industry. The curriculum covers performance, writing, arranging and orchestration, musical directing, marketing and promotion, copyright and licensing, creating business plans, and more.
M.A.D.E. students who want to delve deeply into performing and songwriting can pursue a minor in the Bruce Hornsby Creative American Music program (C.A.M.), named for an iconic singer-songwriter and UM alumnus. C.A.M. is open to all Frost music majors by audition.
The overarching mission of the M.A.D.E. program, as articulated on its website, is to “provide the highest level of preparation for qualified performers and creatives to thrive in all aspects of the contemporary music industry.” The Frost School has a moderate acceptance rate of 40%. (Visit https://bulletin.miami.edu/undergraduate-academic-programs/music/music-media-industry/musicianship-artistry-development-entrepreneurship-bm/#textcontainer#text).
New York University
Like Belmont, the study of popular music takes place within two areas within New York University (NYU). The Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, with its Music and Performing Arts Professions Department, offers an expansive curriculum. Areas of emphasis include instrumental performance studies for orchestral players (brass, woodwind, strings, and percussion) as well as vocal and jazz studies. NYU’s popular music track leads to a BM in Music Theory and Composition with a concentration in Contemporary Production and Songwriting.
In addition to typical undergraduate music courses in aural comprehension, music history, music theory, and general keyboard skills, popular music majors study songwriting, music technology, music publishing, contemporary scoring, orchestration, and jazz arranging. Songwriters receive input from accomplished faculty members and songwriting professionals and collaborate with classmates as lyricists and composers. Liberal arts courses round out the degree.
For high school students wanting an advanced look at its songwriting studies, NYU offers an intensive, two-week songwriting seminar each summer. (Visit https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/programs/songwriting.)
T he Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music presents its own comprehensive program of study. It bears the name an NYU alumnus and distinguished music industry executive who signed such superstars as Billy Joel, Aerosmith, Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, and others. The institute’s mission is to equip students with the business and creative skills to become industry leaders in the art and commerce of recorded music. Among its many offerings are studies in entrepreneurship, analysis of the contributions of various popular music artists and movements, and such current issues as music streaming. (See https://tisch.nyu.edu/special-programs/courses-for-non-majors/clive-davis-institute-of-recorded-music.)
With a campus located in one of the world’s great cities—another music industry hub—and proximity to many cultural happenings, NYU is an excellent destination for those serious about a range of music careers. Acceptance into NYU is competitive at 16%.
Prepare for Your Next Step
The electric guitar and distinctive hairdo recommended by the Byrds may still have their place in rock stardom, but much has changed since 1967. Developing a multifaceted talent and gaining practical knowledge about the music industry at a college or university multiplies the options and increases the odds for developing a lasting career somewhere in the music business.
Additional Colleges and Universities with Strong Pop (Commercial) Music Programs
Catawba College (Salisbury, NC)
University of the Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
Los Angeles College of Music
Middle Tennessee State University
Fullerton College (Fullerton, CA)
Columbia College Chicago
The City College of New York
Also, visit the Association for Popular Music Education website at www.popularmusiceducation.org.
About the Author
Mark Small, classical guitarist, composer, and music journalist, has spent the majority of his life in New England. He has composed classical, jazz, pop, and sacred music for chorus, wind ensemble, orchestra, piano, and guitar. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical guitar performance from New England Conservatory and California State University, Fullerton. He also studied guitar and composition at Berklee College of Music, and served for 26 years as editor of Berklee today magazine until his retirement in 2018.
An active music journalist, Mark has written for Guitar Player, DownBeat, Acoustic Guitar, Soundboard, Classical Guitar, and other music publications.
Did you find this blog helpful? Do you picture yourself in a music career? If the answer to that is a “yes”, your next step is simple. Contact insidemusicschools.com and allow our team of industry insiders to guide you toward your goal of being a professional in the music industry. Through expert counseling and real world experience, we will make sure you are prepared for the journey
The effect movie, TV, and video game music has on viewers and gamers is powerful and has spiked an interest among musicians to learn the craft of writing to picture. Many composers work in all three mediums, which requires the ability to write for orchestral and electronic instruments, understanding the technology for pairing music and visuals, how to run a recording session, and the business aspects of this industry.
It’s a fairly technical field, so most college programs cover the same requisite skills for the job: foundational music theory and composition skills, history and techniques of film music, orchestration, conducting, and creating electronic scores using sequencers and sample libraries. Below, we will look at a three undergraduate and several graduate programs for those seeking a scoring career.
Berklee College of Music
https://college.berklee.edu/film-scoring
Many cite Berklee as having the nation’s top-rated undergraduate program which has been training media composers for decades. The college established a film scoring major in 1979, music synthesis major in 1984, and added video game scoring specialization within the Film Scoring curriculum in 2009. The Shames Family Scoring Stage is the largest recording studio at Berklee and ranks alongside the best studios in Hollywood, providing essential experiences for aspiring composers. With more than 6,000 students at the Boston campus, the instrumentalists and singers needed for even the most adventurous student scores are readily accessible.
The final project for Berklee students involves creating a finished media production that begins with creating a temp score for existing video and ends with a final soundtrack production plus additional steps that include recording and mixing scores and musical stems. Also addressed are the business, legal, and marketing aspects of a scoring career.
Berklee’s Valencia, Spain campus offers an intensive, one-year master’s degree program in scoring for film, TV, and video games, making a deeper dive into all facets of the field. The final project has students composing and conducting their orchestral score to picture at a top recording studio with professional players. Past projects have found the grad students leading sessions at London’s Abbey Road and Air Lyndhurst studios for their culminating experience, which becomes a major component of their portfolio. (Visit https://www.berklee.edu/berklee-today/fall-2015/abbey-road to read about a student group’s experience at Abbey Road Studios.)
New York University, Steinhardt School
https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/programs/screen-scoring
Located in Manhattan, Steinhardt offers a B.M. degree in Music Theory and Composition: Screen Scoring. Foundational training includes core music skills and historical survey courses in Western music, film music, and world music traditions. Further instruction includes four courses in orchestration and private composition lessons every semester. Students learn DAW technology and software programs as well as recording and mixing principles. Steinhardt’s undergrad students also take 20 credits of electives in composition, songwriting, and scoring and in other areas of their choice. NYU students also collaborate with young filmmakers among the university’s Cinema Studies students. The networking opportunities and internship possibilities in general around New York City are plentiful and enhance the student experience.
Steinhardt also offersr an M.M. degree in screen scoring. The program provides intensive training from faculty members and visiting artists as well as opportunities to work with celebrated professionals. Students collaborate on multiple scoring projects, and will graduate with a network of contacts and a portfolio containing many varied recordings that showcase their abilities.
University of Miami, Frost School of Music
https://mediawriting.frost.miami.edu/degrees/bm-in-media-scoring-and-production/index.html
Frost offers a B.M. in Media Scoring and Production with stated goals that include cultivating a highly competitive skill set in media scoring production techniques, an understanding of the music industry, and the ability to craft and execute a sound business plan. Frost graduates leave with a polished portfolio and electronic press kit showcasing their personal brand identity.
Frost also offers a two-year, M.M. program Media Scoring and Production with further emphasis on orchestral and electronic scoring, and more. The program is structured to be flexible enough for students to tailor their experience to their areas of interest and learn to adapt their skills to the future technological developments in the industry. Students also learn to create and execute a sound business plan and develop a portfolio that highlights their brand identity. The Frost media scoring program has been named by the Hollywood Reporter in their annual “Top 25 Music Schools for Film and TV” article for the past five years.
University of Southern California (USC)
The nation’s premier graduate-level scoring program is the intensive, one-year M.M degree track in Screen Scoring offered at USC’s Thornton School of Music. Occupying the catbird seat in Los Angeles, USC affords its students a vantage point for observing the entertainment industry close up. Students hear from its chief composers, recording engineers, music supervisors, and movie directors and producers, and other professionals who visit weekly for the Industry Forum and Composition Forum Lab.
The curriculum includes spotting for cinema, scoring for orchestra, and specialized explorations of scoring for motion pictures, TV, and games, conducting, film music history, recording, mixing, and editing for the screen, advanced scoring technology, and entrepreneurialism for composers.
Students write music for 10 scoring sessions booked at such iconic facilities as Capitol Studios, Warner Bros., and the Clint Eastwood Scoring Stage with first-call studio L.A. musicians in ensembles ranging from five to 65 players. Each student also composes for five film productions created by graduate students in USC’s School fo Cinematic Arts and recorded on campus at the John Williams Scoring Stage with Thornton School musicians.
University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music
https://www.esm.rochester.edu/
Eastman offers a Master of Music in Contemporary Media/Film Composition, and accepted students begin by taking placement tests in music history, jazz or traditional theory, and piano skills. The curriculum includes courses in film and video game scoring, history and analysis of film music, conducting, contemporary styles composition, digital programming, arranging for the recording studio, participation in ensembles, and a media composition forum.
Eastman’s Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media provides instruction and practical experience with visiting artists and opportunities to collaborate on cross-disciplinary and multi-media projects with students and faculty members from other departments. Institute students compose for recording sessions and live performances with Eastman instrumentalists, including conducting their scores live-to-picture.
Indiana University Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music
https://music.indiana.edu/admissions/auditions/music-scoring.html
The graduate degree program in Music Scoring for Visual Media Program at Jacobs, requires a bachelor’s degree in composition or a demonstrated equivalent before students can begin to explore the staples of a scoring education: orchestration and synth orchestration, tailoring music to dramatic storylines, as well as facets of music licensing. A plus for this program is that it facilitates collaborations across majors with filmmakers and video game designers from the Media Arts & Sciences studies area. Additionally, the Jon Vickers Scoring Award (named for Jon Vickers, director of IU Cinema) pairs a winning student composer of a score for a silent film with student musicians, audio engineering and production students, and IU Cinema technicians and projectionists for a live-to-picture event.
The Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program
https://www.pnwfilmmusic.com/master-of-music-in-film-composition
Seattle, Washington’s Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program has partnered with the Seattle Film Institute to offer a 40-week, low-residency M.M. degree in film composition. Like the Frost School, Pacific has been named among the top schools for scoring studies by the Hollywood Reporter. Areas of emphasis include instruction in software programs used in the industry, studio technology, mixing, creating music and sound design for games, plus business and contracts. Students write and conduct music for live recording sessions with professional musicians in state-of-the-art studios, and collaborate with student directors from around the world. By the end of the one-year program, graduates assemble a stylistically-rounded, demo reel, as well as invaluable connections from which to launch a career.
Columbia College Chicago
https://www.colum.edu/academics/programs/music-composition-for-the-screen-mfa
Columbia offers a two-year graduate program leading to an M.F.A. in composition for film, TV, video games, and augmented and virtual reality. The coursework includes techniques for dramatic scoring for live musicians and programming for digital instruments based on the industry standards for media music production. Through courses on the unique processes of film, TV, and interactive media, students learn to adapt their music to various contexts. For the program’s capstone project, students spend five weeks in Los Angeles for an internship with a composer of their choice based on their interests and aspirations. The end result is a student-led recording session for the thesis project with a full orchestra in a professional studio.
Important Considerations
Giving advice for future grad students, Dan Carlin, chair of the screen scoring program at USC, cites the choice USC made to create an intensive, one-year program requiring 18 credits per semester. “The high cost of tuition will deter some students from choosing a two-year program,” he says. “We want to attract the top students and cost can be a factor.”
Carlin also mentions the advantages of studying in New York or Los Angeles because of the entertainment industry presence in those cities. Both NYU and USC give students access to top figures employed in the industry.
“When our students record their projects with L.A. studio musicians, we build time into the schedule so they can get feedback from people who make their living playing this music,” Carlin says. “They tell students how to improve their conducting, copy work, voicings, or whatever. You can’t get that from student musicians. Additionally, we’ve had our graduates get jobs because these musicians have recommended them to filmmakers they know. This is a word-of-mouth industry, so this is a very important factor.”
About the Author
Mark Small, classical guitarist, composer, and music journalist, has spent the majority of his life in New England. He has composed classical, jazz, pop, and sacred music for chorus, wind ensemble, orchestra, piano, and guitar. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical guitar performance from New England Conservatory and California State University, Fullerton. He also studied guitar and composition at Berklee College of Music, and served for 26 years as editor of Berklee today magazine until his retirement in 2018.
An active music journalist, Mark has written for Guitar Player, DownBeat, Acoustic Guitar, Soundboard, Classical Guitar, and other music publications.
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