About the Specialization
MFA Composition and Experimental Sound Practices studies fosters a radical and visionary creativity that obeys no particular stylistic or methodological constraint. In this context, the curriculum aims to provide the technical skills, contextual foundation and creative opportunities for each student to develop and project her or his own distinctive artistic voice into the world of creative music. Beyond a foundation of private lessons and forums that regularly convene the vibrant community of graduates, students can choose from an extensive array of advanced courses in composition, experimental sound practices, theory, technology, history and literature, performance and pedagogy, as well as explore the more radical branches of contemporary audio art.
Coursework provides a strong foundation in the theory and application of digital media as well as the critical issues surrounding it; in addition, making work and presenting it in concert or installation or site-specific context is key. Its creative impulses and critical discourses take students in many directions, with the spirit of collaboration producing a rich environment for sonic experimentation. Students in Composition and Experimental Sound Practices have produced innovative sonic works via circuit-bending, experimental opera, instrumental modifications and deconstructions, chamber and large ensemble works, new forms of notation, random sound-effects, database surfing, field recordings paired with ionic filters, and terrain-to-sound mappings.
MFA candidates are required to pass a Graduation Portfolio Review to complete the degree.
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