{"id":163,"date":"2018-04-03T17:15:09","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T17:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/?page_id=163"},"modified":"2026-01-16T20:50:05","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T20:50:05","slug":"composition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/disciplines\/composition\/","title":{"rendered":"Composition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em>Welcome to the Composers page!\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At KSC, we offer a robust Bachelor of Music in Composition degree.\u00a0 Click <a href=\"https:\/\/catalog.keene.edu\/bachelors-degree-programs\/music-composition-bm\/#requirementstext\">here<\/a> to see the composition curriculum.\u00a0 We also offer composition classes and lessons for non-majors.\u00a0 If you have an interest in composition but you&#8217;re not sure where to start, talk to our Composition Coordinator, Dr. Heather Gilligan.\u00a0 We&#8217;d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nathaniel Bridges &#039;22 - Music Performance and Composition\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/659063807?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_815\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-815\" style=\"width: 358px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-815\" src=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"358\" height=\"237\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1.jpg 4928w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1-768x509.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/890_edited-1-1200x795.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 358px) 85vw, 358px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-815\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Student Composers Recital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Our talented and experienced KSC Music Department composition faculty train students in compositional techniques within a variety of styles and forms. Student composers also learn about orchestration, notation, rehearsal skills, and applicable technologies.<\/p>\n<p>Students enrolled in composition classes or lessons must develop a piece from concept to performance by the end of each semester. These works are showcased in the bi-annual Student Composers Recital, which features student and faculty performers who work in collaboration with composition students to bring new compositions to life.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_818\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-818\" style=\"width: 176px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-818\" src=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/893.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"176\" height=\"234\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/893.jpg 2447w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/893-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/893-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/files\/2018\/10\/893-1200x1600.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 176px) 85vw, 176px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-818\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Composition major Alex Poor, Class of 2017, talks about his piece<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Students majoring in composition present a Senior Composition recital, and this semester we have three students giving recitals!<\/p>\n<p>Composition majors enrolled in applied composition lessons must present their works in a Portfolio Review at the end of each semester.\u00a0 This review enables students to meet with a panel of composition faculty, present the contents of their portfolio, and discuss their short- and long-term compositional goals.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Our composition program prepares students for life after graduation!\u00a0 KSC composition students have recently been accepted into masters and doctoral programs at McGill University, California Institute of the Arts, Boston University, Eastman School of Music, The Peabody Institute, The Longy School of Music, and the University of Miami.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Faculty<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.keene.edu\/site\/directories\/profile\/facstaff\/2358\/\">Steve Cady<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.keene.edu\/site\/directories\/profile\/facstaff\/190\/\">Heather Gilligan<\/a>, <\/strong>Composition Coordinator<br \/>\n<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.keene.edu\/site\/directories\/profile\/facstaff\/1609\/\">Andrew Smith<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.keene.edu\/person\/len-tetta\">Len Tetta<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Ensembles<\/h3>\n<p>Composers are encouraged to participate in a variety of instrumental and choral ensembles in order to write successfully for these combinations.\u00a0 We especially recommend composers enroll in<em> <a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/contemporary\/\">The Currants<\/a><\/em>, KSC&#8217;s Contemporary Music Ensemble.\u00a0 This mixed chamber ensemble invites instrumentalists and vocalists of any type and rehearses new music in small groups of duos and trios.<\/p>\n<p>The following ensembles are also beneficial to the training of successful composers; of course, it depends whether you play or sing!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/concert-choir\/\">Concert Choir<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/chamber-singers-ensemble\/\">Chamber Singers<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/vocal-consort\/\">Vocal Consort<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/concert-band\/\">Concert Band<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/orchestra\/\">Orchestra<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/guitar-orchestra-and-latin-american-ensemble\/\">Guitar Orchestra<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/woodwind-ensembles\/\">Woodwind Ensembles<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/disciplines\/brass\/\">Brass Ensembles<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/ensembles\/string-ensemble\/\">String Ensemble<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to the Composers page!\u00a0 At KSC, we offer a robust Bachelor of Music in Composition degree.\u00a0 Click here to see the composition curriculum.\u00a0 We also offer composition classes and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/disciplines\/composition\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Composition&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":257,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-163","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2233,"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/163\/revisions\/2233"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dept.keene.edu\/music\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}