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Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts
Student plays the keyboard.

Music Composition

Overview

Many people do not start pursuing composition until late in their music studies. Students who enjoy improvising or learning about how music is put together may be composers. Illinois State University composition majors receive reading sessions from nationally prominent ensembles such as Ensemble Dal Niente, Fulcrum Point, and ensemble mise-en. Our annual Red Note New Music Festival brings in prestigious composers such as Pulitzer Prize winners Steven Stucky and William Bolcom to campus.

Why Study Music - Composition?

Musicians may play musical instruments, sing, write musical compositions or conduct groups in vocal or instrumental performances. Majoring in music provides students with a sense of aesthetics and an understanding of human expression valuable to many employers. Majoring in music composition will help a student already interested in writing original music hone their craft and bring it to a higher level of professionalism. Our composition majors have gone on to obtain advanced degrees in music theory and composition at institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Miami, and the University of Iowa.

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Financial support

We offer scholarships to help you achieve your goals.

Learn more about music scholarships

Composition Faculty

  • Portrait of Martha Horst

    Martha Callison Horst

    Martha Horst has been commissioned by groups such as Earplay, Empyrean Ensemble, Dal Niente, Chicago Composers Orchestra, and the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and her music has been performed by such notable groups as the Fromm Players, Alea III, and the Women’s Philharmonic. Recent accolades include winner of Symphony Number One’s Call for Scores commissioning contest, the Aaron Copland Award and Residency, co-winner of the 2005 Alea III International Composition Competition, co-winner of the Rebecca Clarke International Composition Competition, and resident at the MacDowell Colony. She is composer-in-residence at the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.

  • Portrait of Roy Magnuson

    Roy David Magnuson

    The music of Roy Magnuson has been performed throughout the United States and Europe at venues such as the World Saxophone Congress, WASBE, CBDNA, SCI, and by ensembles such as the San Francisco Wind Ensemble, the Royal Northern Wind Ensemble, and the Air Force Band of Mid-America. Due to the success of his wind writing in 2008 he was asked to contribute a chapter to the GIA Publication Composers on Composing for Band, Volume IV which is currently available via GIA Publications. He is a member of ASCAP and his music is recorded on Albany Records and NAXOS.

  • Portrait of Carl Schimmel

    Carl Schimmel

    Praised by The New York Times as “vivid and dramatic”, the music of Carl Schimmel is dense with literary and musical references, often humorous, and combines intensity of expression with mathematical rigor. His honors include the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Bearns Prize, a Fromm Commission, the Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and residencies at MacDowell Colony, Yaddo, Bogliasco, and Copland House. His works have been performed worldwide by ensembles such as the Minnesota Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Da Capo Chamber Players, the Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, and many others.

Student Opportunities

  • RED NOTE New Music Festival

    A week of new music events and talks by visiting composers and ensembles from around the country such as Ensemble Dal Niente, Del Sol String Quartet, and ensemble mise-en. Illinois State University composition students receive reading sessions from these nationally prominent ensembles. Recent guest composers have included William Bolcom, Chen Yi, Martin Bresnick, and David Rakowski.

  • Ensemble Readings

    Annual large ensemble readings with both the Illinois State University Wind Symphony and the Illinois State University Symphony Orchestra. Select pieces are chosen for performance.

  • Performances

    Daily performances by students, faculty, and guest artists. Recent guest performers have included the Boston Brass, the Jupiter String Quartet, and violinist Rachel Barton Pine.

  • Concerts

    Chamber concerts of new student works each semester.

  • Private lessons

    Learn with faculty and nationally recognized guest composers.

  • Meaningful Connections

    Access to a large student body of approximately 400 music majors, and supportive applied faculty.

Current Work

Get in Touch

The School of Music is located two blocks from the Amtrak station with convenient service to Chicago and St. Louis, and ten minutes from the Central Illinois Regional Airport which has daily flights to Atlanta, Detroit, Dallas, and other cities.