Core courses in the Composition major include private lessons, orchestration, counterpoint, introductory to advanced courses in electronic music, professional aspects of a composition career and changing special topics courses. The composition symposium is a forum for guest and departmental presentations.
In these courses and additional courses in other CCM departments, students in CCM’s Composition program study the various analytical and compositional procedures of music and gain knowledge of past musical styles as well as music of other cultures.
CCM's composition programs not only benefit composition majors, but also serve as a resource for all music students, enriching the already active musical atmosphere of the college. The prestigious Alexander Zemlinsky Prize for Composition also acts as a further resource for the conservatory, engaging international jury members and award recipients in the commissioning and performance of chamber and orchestral work at CCM.
The CCM Center for Computer Music contains studios/laboratories for computer music composition, research and performance equipped for exploring programming, interactive performance, virtual reality, internet performance and multimedia and multi-channel composition.
