Not just teaching composition, training composers
NDSU's Music Composition curriculum focuses on the entire composition workflow. Students write music, seek commissions, produce professional scores, market their sheet music, and produce concerts. Composition majors also have the opportunity to pursue additional topics such as publishing, computer science, and entrepreneurship as part of their degree plan.
Study & Create
Develop your compositional voice through individual lessons, creative projects, and an education that connects musical craft with technology, research, and other disciplines.
Publish & Launch
Learn to prepare professional scores, share your work, and navigate the practical side of a composer's career through publishing, entrepreneurship, and creative opportunities.
Perform & Belong
Collaborate with musicians, hear your work performed, and become part of a community of composers who support one another's artistic development.
Upcoming Student Work
From chamber ensembles to large-scale works, NDSU composers collaborate with performers to bring new music to life. Here's what's currently in development.
Caleb Roth: Solar Genesis. Wind Symphony
Chris Loeffler: I Will Be There. SATB Choir
Ashley Polkinghorn: Peril and Pride. Woodwind Quintet
Opportunities for Student Composers
Student Composer Opportunities for Resident Ensembles (SCORE)
SCORE connects NDSU composition students with university ensembles to create and premiere new works. Selected students receive a paid commission, collaborate directly with ensemble directors and performers, and receive mentorship from established professional composers. Through the process, students gain practical experience in commissioning, collaboration, score preparation, rehearsal, and performance, culminating in the premiere of their original music.
Fargo Composers Press: From Score to Publication
Fargo Composers Press helps NDSU composition students take their music beyond the classroom and into the hands of performers. Students learn the professional publishing process, from preparing performance-ready scores and parts to writing program notes, setting prices, and distributing their work. Through the press, students gain practical experience in music engraving, publishing, marketing, and entrepreneurship while building a catalog of original compositions available for performance.
Composer Recitals & Events
NDSU composition students have regular opportunities to share their music with live audiences through student composer recitals, collaborative performances, and individual composition degree recitals. These events bring composers and performers together, giving students experience in preparing, rehearsing, producing, and presenting concerts of original music. From their first compositions to culminating degree projects, students develop a growing portfolio of performed works while contributing to NDSU's vibrant community of new music.