compclub

Hello everyone,

Can anyone give a potential BM student some much needed advice on composition programs in the Boston - namely NEC, BOCO, and BU? Of course the basic information on the websites are helpful, but I am really looking for some students and/or parents who have had experience, in any capacity, with these departments.

Thanks so much,
v

fiddlefrog

I am a student at BU and am involved in new music there. I was accepted into the composition program (as a second major in addition to performance) but chose not to enter it in order to focus on performing.
There are currently very few undergraduate composers at BU (there are usually more). However, the few that there are are very strong students and are happy with the program. They get a rounded education, writing everything from 12-tone music to piano reductions of major symphonies. In 2006, four students graduated with the BM in composition; one went to Yale to study with Kernis, two went to NEC, and one went to Peabody. Quite a good showing! The graduate program is also strong, drawing many students from major conservatories.

compclub

Thanks for the info fiddlefrog! Do you know any information on NEC or BOCO?

Best,
v

aLfR3dd

i just can say that BOCO this year will accept only 4 students in Composition (i talked with the admissions office)...quite selective....good luck

compmom

We've heard NEC is excellent for composition, and emphasizes finding your "own voice." We much preferred NEC to Boston Conservatory, for music. YOU might want to go to some of the free concerts at NEC (or any school, for that matter) to check out the music, and the vibes. We recently spent a couple of nights listening to performances of Steve Reich, and a Messaien festival is currently going on.

BU requires that composition majors also play an instrument in the conservatory, which was a problem for us, because our daughter is a serious classical guitarist, and they do not accept that as one of the instruments. She also plays the clarinet, but her practicing time for two instruments plus composing and other classes would not work out.

At NEC, all composers sing in a chorus, but an instrument is not required. This is the case at most conservatories, so don't know why BU is different. UMass Amherst has the same requirement, and does not accept classical guitar, so we were bummed, because our daughter, like many, many others, got the Adams scholarship for MCAS, for UMass, which she can't use.

Longy actually has some good composition teachers, didn't see that on your list. Tufts has the wonderful John McDonald, but is a BA, not BM. Berklee also has some great teaching, but with its size and different emphasis, we hear it takes work to make your way through and mold the program for this type of composing. Brandeis is good at the graduate level, we hear, also not a BM. And Harvard has good composition/theory with a BA/MM program in conjunction with NEC.

SpiritManager

I've heard mentioned a number of times here about the "wonderful John MacDonald" at Tufts. Anyone care to elaborate on what makes him wonderful, in particular?

I'm reluctant to have my S choose a university based on only one professor. What happens if he/she retires, goes on sabbatical, gets lured away to another institution, or decides just to compose rather than teach?

MacDonald is listed as the only composition professor at Tufts. Is there more to the composition program than him?

Thanks!

compclub

aLfR3dd: I spoke with the Chair of BOCO's composition department and he said that the school usually accepts 25 or so new students into the composition program and only about 6-10 people enter the program.

compmom

McDonald is actually director of graduate studies at Tufts. He does a seminar every week for graduate student composers (who have weekly meetings with him) which also includes undergraduates (who meet with him less often). He is on sabbatical right now. The thing with Tufts, versus a conservatory, is whether you have a chance for your pieces to be played (McDonald hires musicians 1-2/times/year, but it might be tough to get students to play pieces when you want) and also the fact that it is a rigorous BA program, with many distribution requirements etc. I am interested in the fact that you have seen John McDonald's name in lots of places. Good! He is a very nice person and an amazing musician.

compclub

Thank you, Compmom, for your insights. BU looks like a tough choice since I also play classical guitar and have no desire to pursue both performance and composition at this juncture. I have applied to both NEC and BOCO for the Fall '08 term and have an interview with BOCO at the end of this month. I received permission to submit my third piece to NEC under separate cover since I had only two ready by the deadline. Does anyone know NEC's selectivity for this department? I haven't been able to find adequate information on this.

Thanks,
v

fiddlefrog

BU does NOT require composition students to study an instrument while enrolled, only to demonstrate proficiency at the entrance audition.

aLfR3dd

compclub that's what the admission office told me....just 4 students..don t know

compmom

Fiddlefrog, BU does require that you play an instrument while a composition student. This means you have to play in ensembles that are required. I have gone to a panel discussion and called them twice, and have been told every time that my daughter cannot study there, because she is a composer who plays the classical guitar. (Same thing at UMass Amherst). And, since she gave up clarinet a couple of years ago, and practices guitar for 2 hours/day, an audition in an allowed instrument (clarinet) wouldn't do her much good, versus the instrument that is not allowed, in which she excels.

Other music programs, including Julliard, and NEC, have only asked for her scores and CD's, and do not require an audition with an instrument at all, to apply as a composer. This exception makes me wonder about the quality of BU's composition program-perhaps unjustly, but it is different from our experience elsewhere.

compmom

We were at NEC today by chance, and they said they admit 30 composition majors, including undergrad and grad but not doctoral. Of those, my daughter thinks maybe 10-15 actual spots, but she isn't sure.

fiddlefrog

I see, compmom. I was confused because I know a composer who graduated from BU without taking instrumental lessons, and he couldn't have played in ensembles because his major instrument is piano. I guess he auditioned on piano and fulfilled the ensemble requirement with chorus, as would any piano major.
They do seem to shoot themselves in the foot with that requirement, I agree. However,that's no reason to doubt the quality of the program; the accomplishments of the composition graduates from 2006 alone should make that clear.

compclub

Thanks Compmom for the info on NEC, very much appreciated. Give my luck to your daughter. BTW, what's her number one choice?

-v