Contemporary Composition - Electronic Music - Jazz Scoring for Media - Songwriting

VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

Low-Residency

MFA in Music Composition

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VCFAVermont College of fine Arts occupies a unique place in higher education.

renowned for our prestigious low-residency graduate programs, we seek to shape the

future of the arts by fostering the excellence of emerging and established artists.

our mfA in music Composition program is uniquely suited to music professionals and

teachers seeking to refine their composition skills, develop a body of work, explore new

styles, and advance their careers.

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Contents

The Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

The Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Residency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The Semester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Student Designed Curriculum . . . 11

Create Professional Work . . . . . . . 11

Admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Faculty Honors and Awards . . . . . 14

Faculty Bios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Composing in the 21st century is complicated,

and the traditional model of putting pen to paper

is only one of many options.

he best music enters through our ears and never leaves us.

t becomes part of how we move,

how we speak, how we think.

—Michael arly, Faculty

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Composing in the 21st century is complicated,

and the traditional model of putting pen to paper

is only one of many options.

The best music enters through our ears and never leaves us.

It becomes part of how we move,

how we speak, how we think.

—Michael early, Faculty

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the programThe MFA in Music Composition program is the nation’s first

low-residency MFA in the field. We welcome students from diverse

stylistic backgrounds and compositional approaches, including

Contemporary Composition, Jazz, Electronic Music, Scoring for

Media, and Songwriting. Twice a year, faculty and students gather

in Montpelier, Vermont to engage in hands-on workshops,

presentations, readings of student work, master classes, and

lecture-demonstrations.

The essence of our MFA Program in Music Composition is the

relationship of one teacher to one student. Our low student-faculty

ratio assures close attention to each student’s compositional process.

Whether face-to-face during residencies or via file-sharing through-

out the semesters, students engage in collegial exchanges with

distinguished composers and master teachers.

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the facultyour faculty represents a broad spectrum of the field of music com-

position. they are active composers, performers, and producers with

extensive lists of awards, commissions, and recordings. Composing

for symphonies, ensembles, bands, soloists, and even laptops, they

work in concert halls, film, television, dance, theater, advertising,

and many other venues. they perform and teach internationally,

lead their own production and publishing companies, and direct

music festivals and series. their works explore an extensive aesthetic

range, offering students the opportunity to study and incorporate

a variety of compositional approaches.

 

While they are first and foremost practitioners, our faculty also

brings an extensive history of teaching experience to the program.

Among them are composers who have written educational works

for youth concerts, professors who author texts and edit journals,

and designers and directors of composition programs. their famil-

iarity with the importance of one-on-one mentoring matches the

self-designed study model of VCfA’s low-residency program, yielding

a rich, productive environment for student growth and success.

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the residencyStudents come to campus for just one week of residence each semester. They study intensively with faculty, guest artists, and

ensembles; they hear and discuss each other’s work and participate in workshops and tutorials. Readings and recordings of student

work are central features of each residency, allowing students to share the music they write with a supportive, engaged community

of peers and distinguished faculty. This model both supports productivity and provides faculty and peer critiques throughout the

composition process. Students, faculty, and guests interact outside of the classroom as well, adding informal conversations to the

multiple exchanges that animate the week.

 

the semesterDuring residencies, each student is paired with a faculty advisor for the semester ahead. Together, they plan a course of study

tailored to the student’s individual goals. This collaboration continues over the six-month semester, as the student returns home to

pursue the creative work. Each month, the student submits sound files, notation, and other relevant work to the advisor,

who responds with detailed feedback and instruction.

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student-designed curriculum

Students work closely with faculty to build their own curriculum guided by the program’s mission to broaden and deepen

composition practice and skills. Our student-centered model invites exploration in a variety of forms and across genres.

Studying with a different faculty advisor each semester increases the opportunities to experiment with diverse approaches,

incorporate new styles, and expand creative potential.

create professional work

Our MFA focuses on the composition process and creative output. While students learn theory, history, and critique

appropriate to their study plans, their primary goal is to develop a body of work. During residencies, student compositions are

read, discussed, and developed. Over the course of four semesters, students create a portfolio of compositions and conclude

their studies by submitting a thesis-quality composition.

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admissionWe accept students as artists with distinctive voices and abilities, ready to devote themselves to their craft, discover new territory, and redefine themselves and their work.

Applicants should have:

• An undergraduate degree in music or its equivalent.

• Theory appropriate to the music they want to compose.

• A portfolio of compositions in the style or styles of their choice.

Please contact the Admissions office or visit our website for more information including application deadlines, current tuition, and fees.

Admissions MFA in Music CompositionVermont College of Fine Arts36 College StreetMontpelier, VT 05602

866.934.8232www.vermontcollege.edu

locationResidencies take place on VCFA’s campus overlooking the lively town of Montpelier, Vermont’s capital city. With several

bookstores, many restaurants and shops, and an array of cultural events, all surrounded by year-round outdoor oppor-

tunities in the Green Mountain State, Montpelier becomes a second home to VCFA students. They live in dormitories or

choose a local B&B if they prefer. Food services are offered by the New England Culinary Institute.

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our faculty is continually recognized

for their compositions, performances, and recordings.

their work is supported by prestigious commissions,

fellowships, and grants.

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faculty honors and awards

We all hear every detail. he difference between composers and clients is vocabulary.

o always try to be a translator, not just a composer.

– Ravi Krishnaswami, Faculty

rome Prize

guggenheim fellowship

Koussevitzky foundation and the library of Congress Commissions

fromm foundation Commissions

Copland fund recording grants

grammy Award nominations

emmy Award-winning film music supervision

AsCAP Young Jazz Composers’ Award

AsCAP emerging Composer Award in Jazz Composition

iAJe outstanding service to Jazz education Award

Heckscher foundation Composition Prize

Chamber music America/AsCAP Award for Adventurous Programming

American Composers forum Award

Jerome foundation Award

orchestral commissions from the Philadelphia orchestra, Cleveland orchestra, st. louis symphony, Baltimore symphony, and Albany symphony

Composer in residence with the Baltimore symphony

PBs award-winning documentary music

Percussive Arts society Award

American Academy of Arts and letters Award, ives fellowship, and goddard lieberson Award

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faculty honors and awards

We all hear every detail. the difference between composers and clients is vocabulary.

so i always try to be a translator, not just a composer.

– Ravi Krishnaswami, Faculty

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Tamar Diesendruck Faculty Chair Contemporary CompositionComposer Tamar Diesendruck, noted for virtuosic chamber music, also composes solo, orchestral, choral, wind ensemble, and vocal works. Often characterized as having a wide range of expression, works from the 1990s found common ground between disparate musical cultures; more recent works avoid specific references and explore guided improvisation in an ef-fort to create complex webs and networks of sound. Her work is performed throughout the U.S. and Europe, in the Middle East and Asia, and has been recognized by major commissions, honors, and awards. She earned a Ph.D.from the University of

California, Berkeley, and has served on the faculty of the University of Southern California, New England Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music.

Rick Baitz Scoring for MediaGrowing up in Los Angeles, not to mention Rio de Janeiro and South Africa, might seem like the perfect beginning for a composer for film. Yet Rick Baitz has more to his name than his impressive list of credits from HBO and PBS to Sundance and National Geographic. He is also an award-winning concert composer for dance, theater, and the concert stage whose work has been performed across the United States, Europe, and Latin

faculty bios

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America. An accomplished and popular teacher of film scoring, he currently directs an advanced film scoring workshop and mentorship program sponsored by BMI.

Wayne Cohen SongwritingInternationally successful songwriter Wayne Cohen knows many facets of the music business. In addition to becom-ing platinum-selling hits worldwide, Wayne’s songs appear in films, television shows, and major ad campaigns. He has extensive expertise as a film and advertising music supervisor, producer, and independent music publisher. A master teacher of composition at the Clive Davis Recorded Music, Tisch, and Steinhardt divisions of NYU, Berklee College of Music, SUNY Purchase, and CCNY, he has also translated his songwriting toolkit and passion for teaching into his popular Skype-based song-tutoring course.

Don DiNicola Scoring for MediaDon DiNicola not only writes extensively for the screen, he also directs his own music publishing company with an impressive broadcast music catalog. His compositions can be heard on national networks, including HBO, PBS, A&E, CNBC, Sundance, and Discovery. He also contributes to many Emmy nominated or award-winning series and films. Adding his own directorial debut, Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree, to his credits, he continues to develop DiNicola Films with many feature docu-mentary and industrial titles.

Michael Early Contemporary Composition, Songwriting, Electronic MusicMichael Early is a musical Renaissance man. Exploring classi-cal, popular, and experimental forms comes naturally to him, inspiring compositions that merge acoustic music with electronic

sound, concert halls with Rock bands, and traditional techniques with avant-garde approaches. His work has been performed internationally and has won prestigious awards and grants. Currently completing his doctorate at Princeton University, he continues to compose and performs with various ensembles on electric guitar.

Jonathan Bailey Holland Contemporary CompositionWhether composing for symphonies or soloists, Jonathan Bailey Holland draws on a broad spectrum of stylistic influences from classical to jazz and hip-hop. Composer-in-Residence for ensembles and music series across the country, he has also enjoyed commissions and performances of his music by a long list of major city orchestras. Dedicated to teaching, he composes for educational concerts, introducing young audiences to the building blocks of music and the sections of the orchestra. He is currently Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music.

Ayn Inserto Jazz Winner of the 2007 IAJE/ASCAP Emerging Composer Award, Ayn Inserto continues to add to her extensive list of commis-sions and performances. She is a preeminent voice of a new generation of jazz musicians and composers with two CD releases already to her credit. Her work has been performed internationally at conservatories, conferences, and jazz festivals. She is also a master teacher and guest artist who is currently an assistant professor at Berklee College of Music.

Andy Jaffe JazzAndy Jaffe is an award-winning jazz composer, performer, re-cording artist, author, and teacher whose work has earned him a place in the Routledge online Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians.

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Considered an expert on jazz pedagogy for over 30 years, he has been recognized internationally for his influential texts, lectures, and outstanding service to jazz education. He has taught at many high-caliber conservatories and universities throughout the Northeast, Europe, and Asia. Currently, he serves as Artist-in-Residence in Jazz and Director of Jazz Activities at Williams College, and co-directs the Bill Lowe-Andy Jaffe Repertory Big Band, now in its 25th year.

Ravi Krishnaswami Scoring for MediaAccomplished guitarist, songwriter, sound designer, producer, and engineer Ravi Krishnaswami composes in a wide array of media and forms. His work includes Super Bowl and major brand commercials heard by millions of television viewers, atmospheric scores for HBO documentary films, and recordings with his own indie-pop band. He is Founder, Partner, and Creative Director at COPILOT Music in New York where he continues to compose and oversee a wide network of professional composers. A student of ethnomusicology, he weaves traditional music with western scoring techniques to create music described as innovative, memorable, and organic.

John MalliaElectronic MusicJohn Mallia enjoys the diverse array of possibilities available in electronic music and sound art. Whether mounting multimedia installations, employing multichannel loudspeaker arrays, or blending electroacoustic sound objects with acoustic instruments, he often infuses his work with concepts of physical space. His compositions have been performed internationally, including as part of an exhibit that travelled through Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, Yugoslavia, and Slovenia. He currently teaches Composition and directs the Electronic Music Studio at the New England Conservatory.

John Fitz Rogers Visiting Faculty, Contemporary CompositionJohn Fitz Rogers’s alto saxophone concerto, commissioned by a consortium of seven universities and featured at the 2009 World Saxophone Congress in Thailand, is just one example of the composer’s broad reach. His work has been performed by leading ensembles, premiered at prestigious festivals, recorded on major labels, and recognized by numerous fellowships and awards. An advocate for contemporary music, he teaches com-position at the University of South Carolina School of Music, and is Founder and Artistic Director of Southern Exposure New Music Series, acclaimed as one of the most dynamic, innovative concert series in the southeast.

Roger Zahab Contemporary CompositionRoger Zahab composes for piano trios, trumpet, orchestra, voice, vibraphone, and occasionally for steel drums and the 12-string kayagum. He is also a conductor of symphonies and ensembles, as well as Director of the Orchestra and Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh. As a performer and violinist, he has premiered more than a hundred works and recorded on multiple labels. His succinct definition “time + memory = music” hints at the com-plex relationships that he instigates in his work, from multimedia performances to chamber music.

Composing can be like juggling a melon, a slinky toy, a frying pan, and a pearl;

what’s mysterious and miraculous is how being fully in the flow of musical thought allows one

to discover the musical embodiment of profound emotional states.

– Tamar Diesendruck, Faculty Chair

Designed by Serena Fox Design Company ©2011

Printed by Villanti & Sons, Printers, Inc.

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Composing can be like juggling a melon, a slinky toy, a frying pan, and a pearl;

what’s mysterious and miraculous is how being fully in the flow of musical thought allows one

to discover the musical embodiment of profound emotional states.

– Tamar Diesendruck, Faculty Chair

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36 College StreetMontpelier, VT 05602

VCFA Mission

Vermont College of Fine Arts is a national center for education in the arts, fostering the excellence of emerging and established artistsand advancing the arts to create a more humane world.

VCFA is accredited

by the New England

Association of Schools

and Colleges, Inc.

through its Commission

on Institutions of Higher

Education.

VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

The essential tools for any creative

artist are inspiration and the ability

to craft a work of art out of that

which inspires you.

—Jonathan Bailey Holland

www.vermontcollege.edu

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