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| Degrees Available | About the Composition
Program |
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Composition Faculty |
Degrees Available
- Bachelor of Music
- Bachelor of Arts
- Doctor of Music
About the Composition Program
The Composition Program is among the most vibrant and progressive in the country,
featuring internationally recognized faculty members who are regularly performed
by top  orchestras,
chamber ensembles, and soloists throughout the world. Because of the program’s
emphasis on individuality, the student body is impressively diverse, representing
a wide range of stylistic interests, techniques, notations, performance venues
and audiences. The school’s Michael
Ludwig Nemmers Prize in Music Composition provides a special dimension
to the program, as prizewinners – thus far John Adams, Oliver Knussen
and Kaija Saariaho – spend
four weeks on campus, closely interacting with students and faculty.
Students draw upon the excellent resources of the Bienen School of
Music, comprising premier researchers and performers, and a
music library that houses the largest collection of post-1945
music in the world. Students are also encouraged to take advantage
of the many assets of the larger university community, which
provides opportunities for collaborative and experimental work
and research in other disciplines. Off campus, the thriving
cultural community in Chicago offers students a full complement
of theater, dance, art, and music, the latter ranging from
jazz to experimental to standard repertoire by the Chicago
Symphony and Lyric Opera of Chicago.
New music plays a vital role in Northwestern’s musical
life. In addition to six concerts by the Contemporary
Music Ensemble, the orchestral, band, and choral programs regularly
present contemporary repertoire, most recently works by John
Adams, Elliott Carter, Olivier Messiaen, Steve Reich, and Frank
Zappa. Additionally, the New Music Northwestern concert
series features performances by visiting soloists and ensembles
of national and international reputation.
Undergraduate Program
The Composition faculty
believes that a successful composer is not merely a master
of craft and technique, but rather someone with a broad
curiosity and knowledge in diverse fields across the arts,
sciences, and humanities. An intensive composition curriculum
is paired with the broad academic and cultural resources available
at an elite research university.
Degree Options
Students construct a flexible course of study that best
matches their musical and career goals. Most students pursue
the B.M., a professional degree, but a liberal arts-oriented
B.A. is also available. Many composition majors take
advantage of the double degree
program, that pairs a degree
in composition with a second degree in the arts and sciences,
journalism, or engineering; the ad
hoc, or self-designed degree;
or a double major within the Bienen School of Music, such as
the pairing of a major in composition with one in performance.
For more information on double-degree programs and ad hoc programs,
please visit our Degrees
Page.
Course Offerings
In addition to a comprehensive sequence of core music courses,
composition majors take classes in orchestration, counterpoint,
and analysis, as well as multi-disciplinary electives in music
technology, music cognition, and musicology. Courses
in the humanities and sciences are chosen from an extensive
list of options in six broad subject areas.
Composition majors regularly take cutting-edge, upper-level
courses alongside composition graduate students in subjects
such as Extended Techniques, Minimalism, Composing for Dance,
Experimental Music, and Free Improvisation. Additionally,
all students participate in the Composition Colloquium, a weekly
forum where students and faculty present and discuss their
current work. The Colloquium regularly hosts guest composers
of international renown, such as John Adams, Harrison Birtwistle,
Pierre Boulez, John Corigliano, David Lang, Helmut Lachenmann,
and Tristan Murail.
Performance Opportunities
The performance
of student compositions is a central focus of the program. Numerous
opportunities exist for collaborative work with graduate and
undergraduate performance majors, both in solo and ensemble
settings, including
- three Student Composer Concerts per year
- a composer in residence program pairing student composers
with student chamber ensembles in yearlong collaborations
- concerts in conjunction with the Music Technology Program
- performances and reading sessions by the NU Contemporary
Music Ensemble
- an annual competition comprising readings by the Chamber
and Symphony Orchestras with one work selected to be performed
by either ensemble on their concert series
After Northwestern
Many graduating seniors have been
awarded fellowships and assistantships at the nation’s leading graduate programs
in music. Alumni
currently hold faculty positions at a number of colleges and universities;
others work as conductors, performers, music critics, composers
of commercial music, or in administrative positions in
chamber ensembles and orchestras; and still others go on
to graduate school or employment in a variety of fields.
Doctoral Program
Students in this program are strongly supported in their efforts
to build not only technical proficiency but also a unique and
original musical voice. As a result, they are surrounded
and enriched by colleagues of a wide diversity of perspective.
All students are actively assisted in developing relationships
with professional soloists and ensembles outside of the University
setting, both locally and internationally.
The composition program provides significant support to students
for the purposes of travel and logistics for performances,
research, and other professional development activities. Funding
level is based on merit of the project, with 10-20 proposals
funded each year.
Admittance to the doctoral program generally occurs after
the completion of a master’s degree, but, in special
cases, students enter following the completion of an undergraduate
degree.
Note: Graduate students interested in pursuing the DM degree
may enter either after the completion of a masters degree or,
for especially gifted students, after earning an undergraduate
degree. All entering doctoral students receive the equivalent
of full tuition funding.
Performance Opportunities
The performance of student compositions is a central focus
of the DM program. Opportunities include
- three Student Composer Concerts per year
- performances and readings by visiting artists, who in recent
years have included eighth Blackbird, ICE, Robert Black,
Mario Caroli, Robert Dick, Graeme Jennings, Seth Josel, Marilyn
Nonken, Ian Pace, and Stefano Scodanibbio
- performances and reading sessions by the NU Contemporary
Music Ensemble
- an annual competition comprising readings by the Chamber
and Symphony Orchestras with one work selected to be performed
by either ensemble on their concert series
- 200+ solo and chamber ensemble recitals presented annually
by performance students
Course Offerings
- traditional counterpoint, orchestration, and analysis
- cutting-edge offerings on the repertoire and musical thought
of our time, such as Extended Techniques, Music
of the Last Decade, Minimalism, Composing for Dance, Experimental
Music, Musical Space, and Free Improvisation
- multi-disciplinary courses in music technology, music cognition,
and musicology that address contemporary music and aesthetics
from a variety of perspectives
- weekly Colloquium for the presentation and discussion of
student and faculty work, and that of visiting composers. Recent
guests include John Adams, Louis Andriessen, William Bolcom,
Harrison Birtwistle, Pierre Boulez, John Corigliano, Oliver
Knussen, David Lang, Helmut Lachenmann, Alvin Lucier, Tristan
Murail, Pauline Oliveros, Erik Oña, Michael Pisaro,
Bernard Rands, and Gerhard Stäbler
After Northwestern
DM program alumni have
gone on to establish notable careers as composers, performers,
educators, and scholars. Their
achievements include
- performances at major international festivals including
Gaudeamus, Huddersfield, ISCM World Music Days, Donaueschingen,
SEAMUS, and Wien Modern
- courses and residencies at Darmstadt, Royaumont, Acanthes,
June in Buffalo, DAAD Künstlerprogramm, Tanglewood,
and Aspen
- performances by such ensembles as Ensemble Modern, ensemble
recherche, Apartment House, Neue Vocalisten Stuttgart, Champ
d’Action, Het Trio, ASKO Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus,
Ictus Ensemble, Ensemble Sospeso, Ensemble 21, the Bozzini,
Diotima, and Kairos String Quartets, and numerous soloists
- teaching positions at colleges and universities throughout
the U.S.
Contact for further information:
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Composition Faculty
Lee Hyla
Harry and Ruth Wyatt Professor of Theory and Composition
MA, SUNY/Stony Brook
l-hyla@northwestern.edu - 847-491-5722
Recent Activity
Co-coordinator, music composition program. Has written for the Orpheus Chamber
Orchestra, the Kronos Quartet, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center,
and Speculum Musicae, and has received commissions from the Koussevitzky, Fromm,
Barlow, and Naumberg Foundations, the Mary Flagler Carey Charitable Trust,
Concert Artists Guild, Chamber Music America, and the Meet the Composer/Readers
Digest Consortium. Honors include the Stoeger Prize from the Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center, Guggenheim and National Endowment for the Arts fellowships,
the Goddard Lieberson Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters,
the St. Botolph Club Award, and the Rome Prize. Has served as resident composer
of the American Academy in Rome and wasa composition fellow at the Camargo
Foundation in Cxassis France. Published exclusively by Carl Fisher and recorded
by Nonesuch, New World, Avant, Tzadik and CRI. Previous appointment was
as chair of the composition department of New England Conservatory. For
more information, visit www.leehyla.com.
Hans Thomalla
Assistant Professor, Composition
h-thomalla@northwestern.edu
DMusA, Stanford University; Hochschule fur Musik, Frankfurt
Recent Activity
Native of Bonn, Germany. Recipient of numerous awards including
the 2004 Kranichsteiner Musikpreis and the 2005 Christoph Delz Prize. Has
been a fellow of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes and the German Academic
Exchange Service (DAAD). Music has been performed by major German ensembles,
including the SWR-Radiosinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, SR-Sinfonieorchester,
Ensemble Modern, and Ensemble Recherche. A CD of his works forthcoming
on the Wergo label. Has also been affiliated with the Stuttgart
Opera as a dramaturg and programmer for the new-music concert series “Dialoge.” For
more information, visit Hans Thomalla's
personal web site.
Jay Alan Yim
Associate Professor, Composition
jaymar@northwestern.edu - 847-467-2030
PhD, Harvard University
Recent Activity
Co-coordinator, composition program. Internationally recognized composer.
Kennedy Center/Friedheim award, three BMI and two ASCAP awards, Tanglewood
and Aspen fellowships, Guggenheim and NEA fellowships, and three Illinois Arts
Council fellowships. Composer/fellow (1995-96), Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Works commissioned and performed by Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Orchestre
National de Lyon, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Korean
Broadcast Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra,
Nederlands Radio Filharmonisch, Residentie Orkest Den Haag, London Sinfonietta,
Nieuw Ensemble, Ensemble SurPlus, New Music Consort, Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma,
Yefim Bronfman, Ian Pace, Frances-Marie Uitti. Festival performances at Tanglewood,
Almeida, ISCM World Music Days, Darmstadt, Wien Modern, Gaudeamus, Ars Musica,
Sendai, Huddersfield, ICMC. Works recorded by Arditti Quartet, Duo Contexto.
Listed in New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Co-founder of "localStyle" digital
media collaborative, with museum installations in USA and Europe. For more
information, visit his
personal web site.
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