Music Composition - Sub-Plan Option

As an additional condition of the BM Composition program, grades of B- or higher are required in all required courses offered by the Composition and Theory Area. If the student does not obtain a B- or higher in any of the required courses offered by the Composition and Theory Area, she/he will be required to repeat the course until the requisite grade is attained.

At the conclusion of each semester of private composition study, the student submits a portfolio of their compositional work done during the semester to the Composition faculty for a jury, during which the semester grade is assigned by the faculty. Music contained in the portfolio must have been worked on during lesson meetings. Students also submit a listening journal, with entries for 28 pieces each semester. Student have the option of requesting comments from the composition faculty.

Composition majors in their junior year, who have passed their second year review, will pursue a special project (in lieu of a junior recital) that will consist of a six-to-eight minute work, cast in a single movement, for a small chamber ensemble (minimum trio) drawn from the standard fl-cl-vln-vc-perc-pno chamber ensemble. This project should be started in the fall, with a goal of completion for possible performance and/or reading close to the end of the spring semester.

The work of a senior composition major is directed toward their senior recital. Senior composition majors register for MUS 499B in the semester in which the recital takes place. This recital consists of original compositions, using a variety of instrumentation, with a combined duration of between 30 and 45 minutes; the candidate must participate in the recital either as performer or conductor, and one work on the recital should feature or be constructed using electronic elements. The program for the recital is always constructed in close consultation with a student’s studio teacher, and should reflect the highest quality work the student has completed during their study (all works are typically composed after the process of formal admission). Students should book their recital date with the production office as early as possible during the fall semester of their senior year (email recitals-music@cua.edu to book a date). Students must notify the entire composition faculty of the date as soon as it is booked.

Once the program for the recital is settled between the student and their studio teacher, the student must email their proposed program (title, duration, and instrumentation in the body of the email, along with PDF attachments of all scores in their final form) to the entire composition faculty no later than 45 days in advance of the recital date. Faculty reserve the right to request changes to the program, and therefore students are urged to submit their work as early as possible, rather than waiting for the 45-day deadline.

Major Area Credits - Take All

MUS 321Form and Analysis I

3

MUS 323Orchestration

3

MUS 404Composition Seminar

1

MUS 434Counterpoint

3

MUPI 440Private Composition Instruction as Primary Instrument

3

MUS 499CMSenior Solo Composition Recital

0

Supportive Courses in Music - Take All

MUPI 3XXA300-Level Music Private Instruction A Course

MUS 121Ear Training and Sight Singing I

2

MUS 122Ear Training and Sight Singing II

2

MUS 123Harmony I

2

MUS 124Harmony II

2

MUS 221Ear Training and Sight Singing III

2

MUS 222Ear Training and Sight Singing IV

2

MUS 223Harmony III

2

MUS 224Harmony IV

2

MUS 309APiano Level VI

0

MUS 325/MUS 325HHistory of Music I

3

MUS 326/MUS 326HHistory of Music II

3

MUS 327History of Music III

3

MUS 337Basic Conducting

2

MUS 457Intermediate Conducting

2

MUS 487Writing for Voice

3

 

 

MUPI 320APrivate Piano Instruction as Secondary Instrument

1

Or

MUS 183Class Piano I

1

MUS Electives

MUS Elective - Consult department for options

6 credits for non-piano principals: MUS only

6 credits for piano principals: MUS or MUPI permitted

General Studies - Take All

ENG 101/ENG 101H/ENG 101CWriting and Rhetoric

3

PHIL 201/HSPH 101/PHIL 201P/PHIL 211The Classical Mind: The Origin and Growth of Western Philosophy

3

PHIL 202/HSPH 102/PHIL 212The Modern Mind: Philosophy from Descartes to the Present

3

TRS 201/HSTR 101/TRS 201HFoundations of Theology I: Scripture and Jesus Christ

3

TRS 202A/TRS 202BThe Church and the Human Person

3