Music Composition
The resources, faculty, facilities, and events at the UofL School of Music offer exceptional opportunities for a thorough education in the fields of music composition and theory, as well as unique opportunities to hear and study a broad range of musical styles. Degrees in theory and composition are available at the graduate and undergraduate levels. A core curriculum emphasizes twentieth-century as well as traditional tonal materials, with numerous classes in analysis, counterpoint, orchestration, and special seminar topics.
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Bachelor of Music in Music Composition
The Bachelor of Music in Composition
degree is for students who desire to acquire skill and competency in
composition at a sufficient level to convey musical thought in various
genres at an artistic level. Upon completion of this degree most
students in composition will pursue graduate studies. In addition to
those goals common to all professional baccalaureate degrees in music,
students in music composition develop a high degree of creativity and
facility in composing and arranging new musical works, as well as
mastery of acoustic and digital compositional techniques, notational
principles, computer notation systems, and scoring music for vocal and
instrumental musicians.
Requirements for Emphasis in Composition
Every University of Louisville School of Music student must complete the following degree requirements:
- 2-4 semesters of Piano (individual to major)
- 4 semesters of Theory
- 4 semesters of Music Literature
- Private Lessons
- Principal Ensemble Performance
- Recital Attendance (15 per semester for 6 semesters)
- General Education Requirements (hours vary)
The liberal arts degree in music affords the student the opportunity to pursue the study of music at the collegiate level and also to combine the study of music with an outside field. In some cases, we have developed some specific areas of emphasis but the Bachelor of Arts in Music degree offers the student a wide array of choices, limited only to his imagination. This degree is popular with students who want to eventually earn an advanced degree in medicine, law, or some other area.
A professional degree in music is a highly concentrated degree with approximately 85 of the 131 hours in music. There is a solid general studies core of subjects included in this degree as well. Most of the students who pursue this degree will go on to graduate school and to more advanced study in music.
