Composition Masterclasses
Gain Insight From Some Of The World’s Leading Composers and Performers in Contemporary Music
Composition masterclasses with esteemed composers and performers can be a life-changing experience for any musician. The SoundScore community offers classes and workshops expressly crafted with composers in mind. Our composers will be tackling problems and issues as a composer, and our performing artsts will offer niche workshops that focus on composing for specific instruments and new music performance.
Enjoy a unique opportunity to meet, interact, and gain insights in a group setting.
To receive information about future events, please visit our Upcoming Events or suggest future classes or make inquiries by contacting us
Upcoming SoundScore Masterclasses
Alan Theisen
Composer & Visiting Professor of Music Xavier University of Louisiana
Getting Consortiums and Writing for and Working With Bands with Alan Theisen
How to Write Better for Bands
Alan Theisen provides his top 10 tips for composing and arranging for concert band and wind ensemble through live analysis of scores including standard repertoire, contemporary selections, and pieces from his own catalogue. Also topics like navigating rehearsals, getting consortiums, best techniques for maximizing time with these groups and actually finding them will be covered. Questions are encouraged and answered at any point during the presentation.
Masterclass Details
Host: Alan Theisen
Class Date Wednesday May 24, 2024
3:00-5:00pm EST
Registration Fee
$25 per person
Number of Participants
25
What The Workshop Included:
Theisen will walk you through ten or more key insights into scoring for the concert band
All participants are welcome to share, if time allows, portions of their own work for brief discussion. Any aesthetic and all levels welcome!
Questions may be asked at any time during the presentation
John Kaefer
Hollywood Film and TV composer and Screen Scoring faculty at New York University.
Music for Film and TV with John Kaefer
Meet with John Kaefer, Film and TV composer and conductor, for an in depth conversation about his process of putting music to media.
How to create great sounding demos
How to write melodies, harmonies, and choose orchestration with the drama of the scene paramount
The value in adding one or two recorded live tracks to digital realizations to make your demo stand out
Mixing and delivering your materials
How does a composer prepare for a career in Multimedia
Masterclass Details
Host: John Kaefer
Class Date Wednesday June 21, 2024
1:00-3:00pm EST
Registration Fee
$25 per person
Number of Participants
25
What The Workshop Included:
John will share about his own experiences from concert work and conservatory studies to working in film and tv
What was his path and what other pathways has he seen fellow composers take
Suggestions for getting started yourself
Crafting music from start to delivering on time and winning the pitch
Completed SoundScore Masterclasses
Here are some of the fantastic classes SoundScore has facilitated in the past.
Jeremy Gill
Composer and BMI Student Composer Awards Preliminary Judge
Composer Awards: Demystifying the Process
Helpful Hints On Choosing And Presenting Your Best Work
BMI Student Composer Awards preliminary judge Jeremy Gill offers an insiderʼs view on how judges assess your work, and what you can do to make your best work stand out. This workshop is aimed at student composers applying to early career competitions (ASCAP, BMI, etc.).
Masterclass Details
Host: Jeremy Gill
Class Date: January 7, 2020
Class Time: 4:00 PM EST
Registration Fee: Free
Number of Participants: Unlimited
What The Workshop Included:
Overview of the judging process
Tips on choosing and presenting your best work
Q+A session
Key Questions/Topics Addressed During Workshop:
How does the judging process unfold?
What are judges looking for in scores?
What are some common errors in score presentation?
What kinds of works stand out?
More About Jeremy Gill
Recent collaborators of award-winning composer, conductor, and pianist Jeremy Gill include conductors JoAnn Falletta, Stuart Malina, Steven Osgood, Gil Rose, and Jaap van Zweden; pianists Ching-Yun Hu, Orion Weiss, and Shai Wosner; the vocal sextet Variant 6, and the Grammy-winning Parker Quartet. He has written major works for flutist Mimi Stillman, oboist Erin Hannigan, clarinetist Chris Grymes, and pianist Peter Orth, and the Buffalo Philharmonic, Chautauqua Symphony, Dallas Symphony, and Harrisburg Symphony have each commissioned his compositions since 2015. Other commissions have come from The American Opera Project, Chamber Music America, Concert Artists Guild, the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, and the American Composers Forum.
Jeremy has received major awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ASCAP, BMI, and the League of American Orchestras. Described as “vividly colored” (The New York Times), “replete with imaginative textures” (The Dallas Morning News), and “exhilarating” (The Philadelphia Inquirer), Jeremyʼs music has earned him residencies and fellowships with the Bogliasco Foundation (2017), Chautauqua Opera (2016), Copland House (2015), the American Opera Project (2013–14), and the MacDowell Colony (2013), as well as major grants from New Music USA (2017, 2015) and Chamber Music America (2011). Discs dedicated to his chamber, vocal, and orchestral works have been released by Albany Records, BMOP/sound, and Innova Recordings.
Eric Nathan
Composer & Associate Professor of Music in Composition-Theory at the Brown University
Composition Masterclasses with Eric Nathan
Examining Communication, Development And Creating A Career In Composition
Eric Nathan gives advice and feedback on the music of three selected composers in interactive 30-minute composition lessons, followed by a Q&A session with all participants on the practice, study and career aspects of music composition.
Masterclass Details
Host: Eric Nathan
Class Dates
Session 2: Tuesday, December 6, 2022 | 1:00pm - 3:00pm EST
Registration Fees
$100 For Those Participants Whose Scores Are Being Reviewed
$30 For Other Participants
Number of Participants
33
What The Workshop Included:
Eric will give advice and feedback to the 3 composer’s works who signed up to have their works reviewed publicly. The first three composers to sign up for these unique spots will be given that opportunity. So, if that’s you, sign up quickly!
Selected composers will present and share a 5-10 minute selection of a piece. The selection may be for any combination of instruments/media within any musical practice, genre, style or aesthetic.
Eric will answer questions from all registered participants on all topics related to the study, practice and business of music composition.
A Q & A with all attendees will conclude the session.
Michael Compitello
Percussionist
Writing great sounding and idiomatic keyboard percussion parts
Interested in writing for mallet percussion instruments but not sure where to start? Want to help your percussion writing become both playable and powerful? This workshop will offer an introduction to the most typically used keyboard percussion instruments as well as idiomatic practices that will help your ideas be most effectively performed. In addition to introducing keyboard percussion instruments, Compitello will discuss working with performers on revisions and common sonic and idiomatic misconceptions. Because of the nature of this topic, extensive time will be left for workshopping participants’ works, which they will bring at the time of the class.
Masterclass Details
Host: Michael Compitello
Class Date
November 7, 2022 | 7:00 PM - 9:00pm EST
Registration Fee
$35 per person
Number of Participants
20
What The Workshop Included:
Introduction to commonly used keyboard percussion instruments: range, sonic characteristics, sonic and technical fundamentals
Mallet Selection
Orchestrating idiomatic and expressive passages: how to make your part sight-readable; changing piano parts to percussion parts
Effective and consistent extended techniques
What to avoid/pet peeves
Collaborating with performers on revisions