{"id":6902,"date":"2022-06-29T10:51:52","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T14:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-program-page&p=6902"},"modified":"2025-09-19T13:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T17:38:38","slug":"mm","status":"publish","type":"bu-program-page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/academics\/degrees-programs\/composition-theory\/mm\/","title":{"rendered":"MM Composition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Master of Music (MM) in Composition at BU School of Music provides opportunities to study composition and allied topics within the robust environment of a professional music school in a top-tier research University. Collaborations with accomplished musicians and artists complement a strong curriculum in music theory, musicology, and performance. Boston University School of Music and the Department of Composition & Theory are embedded in the vital international music scene through the multifaceted Center for New Music.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

request more info<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curriculum requirements for the MM in Composition can be found on the Academic Bulletin.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Program of Study<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Students receive one-on-one instruction in composition. Required courses in music theory and music history as well as electives are offered, and the curriculum provides an excellent foundation for further studies. Students are encouraged to find their own voice in a collegial environment where all viewpoints are welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A performance of Lyle Davidson\u2019s interactive piece \u201cCentering\u201d by CFA\u2019s new music ensemble Time\u2019s Arrow in the marble entryway of Tsai Performance Center. Photo by Cydney Scott<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A small department, the Composition & Theory program encourages an open, collaborative, entrepreneurial sense both inside and outside the classroom. The outstanding quality of faculty and students in both the Department and the entire School of Music. Openness of colleagues to be collaborative and entrepreneurial both in and outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students join an international community of faculty and alumni who are music theorists, performers, conductors, and composers. This is an environment that encourages individual creative work and collaborative projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As part of a top-tier Music school in a major University, students have an expanse of opportunities including participating in Time\u2019s Arrow, a new music ensemble of unfixed instrumentation, as both composer and performer, as well as collaborating with the College\u2019s theatre and visual arts programs, such as in dramatic productions and installations. Boston’s vibrant music community offers countless possibilities to work with ensembles as well as in Lenox at Boston University Tanglewood Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How I Made This<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MM Composition major Jacob Whitchurch on composition, compassion… and geese<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A musician from an early age, MM Composition major Jacob Whitchurch<\/strong> (CFA\u201926) has been contending with the notion that a composer must have a compassionate understanding of the strengths and needs of the people playing his music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His professor, Joshua Fineberg, tasked him and his classmates to take field recordings of the world around them and turn them into orchestral compositions\u2014which inspired Whitchurch to take his project in an unexpected direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

read more in bu today<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Annual award opportunities include the Composition Competition for Performance with Orchestra, the two Wainwright prizes, and Departmental Honors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BU School of Music regularly uses three performance spaces: the CFA Concert Hall<\/a>, the Tsai Performance Center<\/a>, and the School of Music Marshall Room<\/a>. It also has state-of-the-art practice rooms<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More about Venues & Facilities<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Composers’ Forum<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

At the weekly Composers’ Forum students have the opportunity to share their own music and interact with visiting composers who are presenting work. For more information please contact department chair Martin Amlin at mamlin@bu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Center for New Music<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Located at the heart of a thriving music school, the BU Center for New Music enhances the presence of cutting-edge music within the curriculum while encouraging awareness of new music within the BU arts community. To widen the conversation among the greater University, the center hosts lectures, demonstrations, and performances that are open to the public, providing a forum for broader interdisciplinary involvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Center for new music<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic and Computer Music Studio<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The electronic and computer music studio contains state-of-the-art software and equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the News<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GRAMMY-NOMINATED COMPOSER MISSY MAZZOLI ON WORKING ON A MAJOR COMMISSION AND WIDENING THE PATH FOR WOMEN IN THE FIELD<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, Peter Gelb, the Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager of The Metropolitan Opera, the preeminent opera company in America, wrote in The New York Times<\/em> how \u201copera is facing its greatest existential challenge.\u201d The answer, he said, lies in artistic reinvention, especially new operas by living composers that feature \u201cinventive, propulsive scores and intriguing subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leading that reinvention is CFA alum, composer, and Grammy nominee Missy Mazzoli<\/strong> (CFA\u201902, BUTI\u201998), who is working on a major commission for the Met\u2014her opera \u201cLincoln in the Bardo,\u201d set to debut in 2026\u2014and on widening the path for women in the field. \u201cMissy is one of the foremost composers of her generation, who has a singular and captivating voice,\u201d Gelb told Bostonia.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important for company leaders to think about the role opera can play in our modern world,\u201d says Mazzoli, who made her debut on NPR\u2019s Tiny Desk Concert in early 2025. \u201cI think it\u2019s important to commission a large variety of composers from varied backgrounds in order to show the complex reality, beauty, and depth of human experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mazzoli is also the co-founder of the nonprofit Luna Composition Lab, offering mentorship, education, and resources for young female, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming composers ages 13 to 18.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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