Composition Studio

Composition Studio

The Composition program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts is dedicated to giving you the tools and opportunities you need to develop your musical language. Nestled in a community that values a vibrant arts culture on a campus where the focus is nothing but the arts, UNCSA is a haven for creative innovation.

2021-22 Projects

Guest Ensembles

yMusic

The new music ensemble equally at home with the music of Andrew Norman and Paul Simon comes in February for a concert and a recording session of student compositions.

Sphinx Virtuosi

The award-winning string ensemble records two student compositions as part of their visit in October, along with a concert featuring music by Xavier Foley, Samuel Coleridge Taylor, Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Andrea Casarrubios and Guido Lopéz-Gavilàn.

Verona String Quartet

Guest ensemble here in October to lead a seminar in which they record Lawrence Dillon’s "String Quartet No. 9: What We Thought We Heard" (2021) and play a concert featuring Gabriela Lena-Frank’s "Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout" (2001) and Jessie Montgomery’s "Strum" (2006; revised 2012).

Winston-Salem Symphony

The Winston-Salem Symphony chooses a winner of their annual competition for UNCSA student composers for a professional premiere.


Performance Faculty Projects

Watson Brass

Faculty brass ensemble chooses a UNCSA student composition to premiere on their April concert.

Violin/Piano duo

Faculty-artists Kevin Lawrence and Dmitri Shteinberg premiere a new work by a student composer on their January recital.

Electric Guitar recordings

Guitarist Luke Payne records student compositions in the spring.

Reynolda String Quartet

Faculty string quartet records student compositions in the spring.

Piano recordings

Pianist Dmitri Shteinberg records student compositions in the spring.


Student Ensembles

UNCSA Symphony Orchestra

Four student compositions premiered on the February concert.

Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute

Chrysalis Chamber Music Institute premieres three student quintets (brass, woodwind, reed) commissioned anonymously by a supporter of new chamber music by student composers.

nu Ensemble

Student new music ensemble premieres a composition by a UNCSA student on their February concert.

UNCSA Reed Sextet

Reed sextet premieres a student composition in the fall.

UNCSA Saxophone Ensemble

Student saxophone octet plays a program of student compositions in the spring.

 

Composition Faculty
Dedicated to creating artists, entrepreneurs and leaders.