Composition news

“We value a broad aesthetic range of sound-based art that is inclusive of all genres and manners of music making, ranging from concert music to songwriting, electroacoustic to jazz, experimental and beyond.” Learn more about our exciting Pendulum New Music concert series, soon to be redubbed CU Boulder SoundWorks.

“While there’s no playbook for the unprecedented and the unknowable, by channeling collective despair into collective creativity, we become artistic entrepreneurs, contributing to society in impactful ways.” In this year-end reflection on triumphs over turmoils, Dean Davis offers his perspective on music as essential to human betterment.

This spring’s Outstanding Graduating Senior award goes to composition major Nelson Walker. Congratulations to Walker and all our outstanding 2022 grads!

In a delayed celebration of the College of Music’s 100th anniversary, the CU Symphony Orchestra will perform a specially commissioned work by renowned composer Christopher Theofanidis. “The one thing you can do is create something that represents you—a musical poem that you leave behind for others to enjoy and perform,” says the Grammy-nominated composer whose “On the Bridge of the Eternal” will debut in Macky Auditorium on April 26.

To support our students’ and our community’s musical development, the College of Music offers summer session courses and richly varied summer programming.

Recent alumnus Kaleb Chesnic has already made his mark on flute repertoire by transcribing all three of Edvard Grieg’s violin sonatas. He shared with us how his debut recording with collaborative pianist and alumna Nathália Kato came to be.

Recently, The Washington Post listed “22 composers and performers to watch in 2022.” Included were two CU Boulder College of Music students: Kedrick Armstrong, a first-year master’s student in orchestral conducting and composer Anthony Green, who attended our Doctor of Musical Arts program. Be inspired by the impressive trajectory of their careers and learn how both confront issues of diversity in classical conservatory curriculum.

Brooklyn, New York-based saxophonist, composer and improviser Aakash Mittal is collaborating with current master’s student MarieFaith Lane on a project blending Hindustani and Western classical music.

Isabel Goodwin—a third-year bassoon performance + composition student—shares her College of Music experience, including helpful tips on creating a successful portfolio, how faculty support and inspire her, and how to gain creativity from difficult circumstances.

As part of a weekend honoring diverse women composers, join us for a full orchestration of “Seven Miniatures for Piano” comprising seven standalone pieces—each of which reveals different facets of Florence Price’s creative personality. CU Boulder student and alumni composers completed the orchestrations.