High School Composition
High School Composition
The high school composition program at University of North Carolina School of the Arts is dedicated to guiding young composers as they develop their individual voices. Nestled in a community that values a vibrant arts culture and a campus where the focus is nothing but the arts, UNCSA is a haven for creative innovation.
Program Features
- UNCSA Symphony Orchestra performs a concert of student compositions annually.
- Winston-Salem Symphony chooses one student work annually for professional premiere.
- Annual recording sessions with guest ensembles. Recent ensembles include eighth blackbird, Sandbox Percussion, Prism Saxophone Quartet, yMusic and Borromeo String Quartet.
- Performance faculty sponsor annual competitions for student composers for professional premieres.
- Frequent performances by UNCSA Wind Ensemble, nu ensemble, etc.
- Opportunity to collaborate with artists in all disciplines – Dance, Design and Production, Drama and Filmmaking.
- Individualized instruction stemming from an outstanding student-to-teacher ratio.
This is a great time to be a composer. More and more performing musicians are including new works on their programs, and the standard of playing has improved dramatically over the last few decades. New innovations in technology are extending our understanding and capabilities in composition. Composers are collaborating with dancers, actors, filmmakers and designers to create innovative artistic events. The range of viable styles of new music has never been broader, from the most intimate songs to the most complex multimedia productions.
Where do you fit in? At UNCSA, you are engaged in answering this question on a daily basis – honing your craft, expanding your horizons, delving into constant creative inquiry – under the guidance of established, experienced mentors. Our Composition Seminars are lively opportunities for you to gather, sometimes with special guests, to discuss some of the most important issues facing all of us. With professional training schools in dance, design, drama and filmmaking, in addition to music, UNCSA provides a special environment for collaboration and artistic exploration.
High School Diploma
As a high school music student in the composition program at UNCSA, you will be able to focus on your passion for writing music while also pursuing traditional academic courses. As a composition student, you will receive weekly private lessons from a faculty instructor, who will give you the tools you need to share your artistic message and take you as often as possible on the full trajectory from initial concept to performance.
The high school academic program is highly valued as an integral component in the education of our students. The music intensive curriculum is balanced by the academic classroom – 9th and 10th graders are required to take at least four academic courses, 11th graders at least three academic courses and 12th graders at least two. High school musicians graduate with a diploma, with the option to work toward an additional “Concentration in Music” designation. Because of the intensive nature of the program, only high school students who demonstrate exceptional potential and achievement will be accepted.
After Graduation
- The Juilliard School
- The New England Conservatory
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Peabody Institute
- University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Roosevelt University
- Cleveland Institute of Music
