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.