Jonathan Newman, Associate Professor of Music
Ruebush Hall, Room 139, (540) 665-4630, jnewman2@su.edu

The Bachelor of Music in Composition curriculum is designed for the student who wishes to pursue a career as a professional composer or as a professor of composition or theory/composition. The student’s creative skills are guided and developed through intense study in, and the practical application of, 20th and 21st Century art music, as well as practical skills in career management and concert production. The curriculum does not include significant study of, or work in popular idioms or jazz. Prospective students must be aware of the rigorous competition in the field, and should realize that continued study at the graduate level constitutes the minimum standard of professional success. The undergraduate curriculum is constructed around the development of core foundation skills that most students will further develop at the graduate level.

Program Outcomes

Students completing the Bachelor of Music in Composition will be able to:

• ​design, develop and complete collaborative projects appropriate to their discipline and career goals;
• compose original concert music incorporating music theory concepts, historical styles and current technologies with a high level of compositional technique;
• coordinate, rehearse and produce their own music in live performance and readings;
• demonstrate artistic growth and artistic self-possession.