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Music Composition
Create Your Masterpiece
The Bachelor of Music in Composition emphasizes instruction in musical composition, improvisation and multimedia creative activities. Many students in this major continue on to graduate studies in composition at well-known institutions with the goal of working in higher education or to compose vocationally.
The Composition Studio is a vibrant and highly active group within the University of Delaware’s School of Music. Composition students remain active as performers and are able to participate in all of the school’s ensembles and productions. Diversity in compositional style and philosophy is encouraged, as is interdisciplinary collaboration and experimentation. Close association with the theory and musicology areas, in addition to the performance area, provides for a well-rounded academic education where music composition students can enhance and support their creative work with specialized research and performance.
Composition students are active members of the contemporary music ensemble, which is dedicated to performing the works of late twentieth and twenty-first century composers. Their academic experience is further enriched by the annual New Music Delaware event, which for 40 years has been dedicated to performing and promoting the works of living composers.
RELATED MAJORS
AREAS OF STUDY
- Music Theory
- Aural Skills
- Music History
- Private Weekly Composition Lessons
- Private Weekly Instrumental or Vocal Lessons
- Ensembles
- Advanced Study in Orchestration, Music Analysis, Harmony and Recording Techniques
CAREER OPTIONS
- Vocational Composition and Arranging
- Collegiate-Level Teaching
- Music Engraver
- Songwriter
- Sound Mastering and Recording
- Sound Design
- Technical Music Assistant
GRADUATE PROGRAMS
- Music Composition
- Music Production
- Arranging and Scoring
- Music Theory
- Music Business
- Composition
- Music Education
- Music Therapy
What’s special about this program?
The music composition major can be personalized to fit the academic and professional pursuits of each student, individualized to incorporate minors, Honors Degrees, Degrees with Distinction, service learning, study abroad and research. We maintain a low student-to-faculty ratio and small classes, providing access to a passionate, invested and highly accomplished faculty comprised of professionally active performers, composers, educators, theorists and musicologists. The study of music at Delaware is enriched by nearly 300 performances each year by faculty, students, ensembles and guest artists. Additionally, the vast musical resources of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York City are easily accessible to our majors.
Get Involved
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (Xi Mu Chapter)
Sigma Alpha Iota (Eto Rho Chapter)
National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
The Society of Composers, Inc. (SCI)
American String Teachers Association (ASTA)
The Jazz Educators and Performers Association (JEPA)
Music Management Student Assoc (MMSA)
College Music Society (UD Student Chapter)
Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic
American Musicological Society, Mid-Atlantic Chapter
A cappella and other musical groups
Nationally Connected Organizations
Ensemble Opportunities
Sample curriculum
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| ENGL 110 - First-Year Writing | Mathematics Requirement* |
| MUSC 151 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music I | MUSC 152 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music II |
| MUSC 175 - Class Piano: Elementary I | MUSC 176 - Class Piano: Elementary II |
| MUSC 184 - Music Fundamentals: Theory and Fluency | MUSC 186 - Aural Skills II |
| MUSC 185 - Aural Skills I | MUSC 195 - Foundations of Music Theory |
| MUSC 231 - Orchestration | Breadth Requirement (2/8) |
| MUSC 298 - Beginning Music Composition (1/4) | MUSC 298 - Beginning Music Composition (2/4) |
| Breadth Requirement (1/8) | Ensemble Elective (2/8)* |
| Ensemble Elective (1/8)* | |
| First Year Seminar | |
| Credits: 17 | Credits: 16 |
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| MUSC 196 - Musical Objects: Analysis and Application | MUSC 212 - Narratives of Western Classical Music |
| MUSC 211 - Music, History, and Ideas | MUSC 252 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music IV |
| MUSC 251 - Private Study for Bachelor of Music III | MUSC 276 - Class Piano: Intermediate II |
| MUSC 275 - Class Piano: Intermediate I | MUSC 286 - Aural Skills IV |
| MUSC 285 - Aural Skills III | MUSC 295 - Chromatic Harmony and Modulation |
| MUSC 298 - Beginning Music Composition (3/4) | MUSC 298 - Beginning Music Composition (4/4) |
| Ensemble Elective (3/8)* | Ensemble Elective (4/8)* |
| Foreign Language Elective (1/2)* | Foreign Language Elective (2/2)* |
| Credits: 17 | Credits: 17 |
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| MUSC 296 - Post-tonal Music: Theory and Analysis | Breadth Requirement (4/8) |
| Music History Period Course* | Breadth Requirement (5/8) |
| MUSC 335 - Basic Conducting | MUSC 352 - Private Study for Music Education VI |
| MUSC 351 - Private Study for Music Education V | MUSC 420 - Private Study for Advanced Composition (2/3) |
| MUSC 392 - Contrapuntal Writing or MUSC 393 - Keyboard Harmony | MUSC 411 - Topics in Music History ** |
| MUSC 420 - Private Study for Advanced Composition (1/3) | Ensemble Elective (6/8)* |
| Ensemble Elective (5/8)* | |
| Breadth Requirement (3/8) | |
| Credits: 18 | Credits: 15 |
| FALL | SPRING |
|---|---|
| MUSC 392 - Contrapuntal Writing or MUSC 393 - Keyboard Harmony | MUSC 205 - Music of the World |
| MUSC 407 - Contemporary Music Literature | MUSC 401 - Senior Recital |
| MUSC 420 - Private Study for Advanced Composition (3/3) | MUSC 423 - Private Study Capstone for Advanced Composition (DLE and Capstone) |
| MUSC 484 - Recording and Media Techniques | MUSC 495 - Analysis and Interpretation |
| MUSC433 - Contemporary Music Ensemble | |
| Ensemble Elective (7/8)* | Ensemble Elective (8/8)* |
| Breadth Requirement (6/8) | Breadth Requirement (7/8) |
| Breadth Requirement (8/8) | |
| Credits: 15 | Credits: 16 |
