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Music Compositionmvires2022-09-02T12:49:55-04:00
A Degree in Composition
The music composition program at FIU prepares students for either continued graduate studies in composition or as skillful composers continuing in a variety of related occupations. Hands on experience in the use of new technologies including computer music, film scoring, video, and interactive and notational software are an integral part of the curriculum.
B.M. in Composition
The FIU Music Composition Undergraduate Program is designed to give students a strong background in the techniques and languages of a variety of musical styles ranging from common practice music to the most experimental contemporary approaches. Combining writing with analysis, the program is designed to produce composers who are proficient in a variety of musical languages while at the same time allowing for the evolution of an individual’s personal compositional craft and approach. An emphasis on musicianship, including the performance and conducting of a student’s works, further enhances the student composer’s development as a competent musician. Numerous performance opportunities of students’ music by excellent performers and ensembles as well as hands on experience in the use of new technologies including computer music, film scoring, video, and interactive and notational software are an integral part of the curriculum. Many of our graduates have continued studies at other prestigious schools in the US and abroad and have been the recipients of ASCAP and BMI Student Composition awards and other important prizes. The four-year music composition program at FIU prepares students for either continued graduate studies in composition or as skillful composers continuing in a variety of related occupations.
Do You Have Questions?
Contact Our Coordinator of Composition
M.M. in Composition
The M.M. in Composition at Florida International University is designed to assist students with the development of their own individual voices as composers while helping them to continue to develop their craft. Numerous performance opportunities of student work by excellent performers and ensembles as well as hands on experience in the use of new technologies including computer music, film scoring, video, and interactive and notational software are an integral part of the curriculum. Many of our graduates have continued studies at other prestigious schools and have been the recipients of ASCAP and BMI Student Composition awards. This two-year program prepares composers for either continued graduate studies or as skillful composers continuing in a variety of other related occupations.
Do You Have Questions?
Contact Our Coordinator of Composition Studies
M.M. in Composition
4 + 1 Combined B.M. & M.M. in Music Composition
The 4+1 Combined Degree program is designed for serious composers who wish to complete both their B.M. and M.M. from FIU.
To be considered for admission to the combined bachelor’s/master’s degree program, majors must be in good standing. Eligibility will be determined during the Composition I and II classes which are taken during the sophomore year.
Do You Have Questions?
Contact Our Coordinator of Composition Studies
Minor in Music Composition
A Minor in Music Composition is available for students accepted into and working on the B.M. degree in areas of studies other than Composition (e.g. Jazz, Applied, Music Education, and Music Technology). Admittance into the Music Composition Minor is based on the results of an interview with the Music Composition Program Coordinator and pending availability within the program.
A Minor in Music with a Concentration in Music Composition is available for students accepted into the minor in music. Acceptance into the Music Minor is based on a successful audition on the student’s instrument. After successful admittance into the School of Music, admittance into the Music Minor with an emphasis in Music Composition is based on the results of an interview with the music composition program coordinator and pending availability within the program.
Minor in Music with a Concentration in Music Composition
Do You Have Questions?
Contact Our Coordinator of Composition
New Music Miami ISCM Festival
9 Concerts, 9 Forums, All Free
The annual New Music Miami ISCM Festival (NMMF) has developed numerous partnerships with presenting institutions throughout the world. The festival has enabled composers and performers to participate and present their work and has included music from countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, El Salvador, Mexico, Spain, Denmark, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Poland, Canada, and throughout the US.
Last year, our festival was presented partially in person and virtually with our new Festival YouTube channel as an additional way to connect with our audiences here: https://www.youtube.com/c/newmusicmiamiiscmfestival. Seven of the 9 concerts were presented virtually while the last two were realized at our new home in the Wolfsonian – FIU Museum on Miami Beach. We welcomed artists including Duo Duplum from Mexico, guitarists Colin McAllister and Jaime Marquez, flutist/vocalist Alice Teyssier, composers Ken Ueno, Javier Alvarez, and Zosha Di Castri, the Amernet String Quartet and the NODUS Ensemble. We also celebrated works by our FIU alumni and music from North and South America and South Florida.
This year’s festival will include award winning composers Chinary Ung, George Lewis, and Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez, virtuoso violinists Miranda Cuckson and Pauline Kim Harris, Transient Canvas duo, the Amernet String Quartet, and the NODUS Ensemble and will include music from Miami, North and South America, Europe, and Asia, as well as work by our FIU alumni composers.
About NMMF
The New Music Miami ISCM Festival (NMMF) originally began in 1993 as the May in Miami Music Festival, an annual, week-long festival occurring every May. The festival featured nightly concerts with performances by performers from the New World Symphony and FIU faculty of renowned, emerging, and student composers. In 1997, the festival expanded its scope by scheduling concerts throughout the year and became the New Music Miami Festival. By 2002, FIU became an associated chapter of the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM), a network that now includes over 60 organizations in over 50 countries, on every continent, dedicated to promoting contemporary music in all is varied forms.
The founder of the festival, Dr. Orlando Jacinto Garcia, runs the Composition Program at FIU, and oversees the artistic direction of FIU’s contemporary ensemble, NODUS Ensemble. The distinctive character of his music has been described as “time suspended-haunting sonic explorations” that he developed from his studies with Morton Feldman among others. Learn More at nmmf.fiu.edu.