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Ohio University Mark Phillips 교수의 에세이
‘Choosing a graduate school in music composition” 전문을 게재합니다. 아울러 대학원과정 작곡전공 프로그램이 우수한 학교와 faculty information
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Choosing a Graduate School in Music Composition
By Mark
Phillips (Ohio University)
With input and
feedback from David Smooke (Peabody Conservatory)
This essay offers
advice to students interested in attending graduate school in music
composition. It is mainly geared toward undergraduates looking for a master's
degree program in composition, but many ideas would also help students
considering their options for a doctoral program. Rather than simply providing
a list of schools, I hope to encourage students to think about their options
and ask good questions regarding their choices. If there appears to be a bias
in favor of smaller (non-elite) schools for the master's degree, it's mainly
because I think that, across the country, many smaller schools have
underappreciated potential -- especially for students who do the research
necessary to ensure a good fit between themselves and the school. Information (and
opinion) about large and/or elite music schools is abundant and readily
available. I don't think I can add much of value here. [For the record, I have
two graduate degrees from which provided me with a wealth of
opportunities and a great education ... so I am absolutely not personally
biased against big/elite schools.] If you are a prodigy who has the composition
portfolio, talent, rec. letters, awards, transcripts, etc. to get admitted to
elite music schools, you will have more options regarding your choice of
schools. But you will still have much to gain by thinking about the issues
addressed in this article and by doing some research to ensure the best
possible personal fit between your needs/interests and the strengths of your
chosen grad school. For students who are not prodigies, who may have only begun
composing a couple of years ago, whose current portfolio of scores may only
hint at their potential as a composer (and who may be years away from realizing
it), you will likely find it necessary to cast a wider net as you consider
these issues.
First things
first
The first question
anyone considering a master's degree in composition should ask is this: What am
I hoping to gain in exchange for all the time, effort, and money invested in a
master's degree? Earning an employment credential should not be high on your
list -- a master's degree is unlikely to
be your ticket to a job. In fact, there are very few jobs you can
get with a master's degree in composition that you could not get with a
Bachelor's degree and/or some relevant experience. It may qualify you for a
temporary or part-time adjunct teaching position at a small school in a
non-urban region of the country, but not much more. What a master's degree can
do for you is "buy" you the time, opportunity, and resources to
further develop your skills ... so that when opportunity knocks a few years
from now, there is a much better chance you will be ready to take advantage of
it. No matter what your goals, dreams, and future plans are, you will be much
better off if you treat your composition master's degree as an opportunity to
develop your skills and artistry, build your portfolio of compositions (and/or
your demo CD), and beef up your resume (performances, conferences/festivals,
rec. letters, honors/awards, teaching experience, etc.) -- all of which you
will need in order to achieve your professional aspirations. Your master's
degree experience will be a lot more valuable if you approach it this
way, rather than as a "diploma chase." In fact, getting yourself to
the point where you are truly prepared to move on to the next phase of your
professional/artistic life is much more important than actually earning the
diploma. In my opinion, earning that diploma is best viewed as more of a
personal goal than a professional one ... unless... you are planning to
go on for a doctorate and a career in academia, which brings us to the second
question you should be asking yourself.
Long-term goals
The second question
you need to think about and try to answer honestly is this: Do you view your
master's degree as a stepping-stone to a doctoral degree and/or a career
teaching in a college or university? If so, I'd recommend that you strive to
earn at least one of your graduate degrees (perhaps the doctoral degree) from a
school with a strong national reputation for excellence in music. [Note: The
whole complicated and controversial issue of national ranking is beyond the
scope of this essay. My advice is to not get too wrapped up in the data and
minutiae of national ranking systems. Some very good music schools may not have
a composition teacher well-suited to your needs and interests, while a school
that is lower on most people's rankings may have the "perfect" composition
teacher for you. Also complicating the whole issue, as far as the nationally
ranking of composition departments is concerned (as opposed to whole music
schools), is the fact that composition faculties tend to be fairly small. If,
nationally, just a small handful of prominent composers change jobs or retire,
it might alter the rankings significantly.]
If you've got the
credentials (portfolio, rec. letters, transcripts) to get into a top program at
the master's level (especially one with a doctoral degree), it has the
potential for making your education/career path a little smoother. But this is
not the only path to a doctorate or an academic career. There are plenty of
master's programs out there ... and some might even be better than some of those
elite programs for nurturing your talent and your specific
collection of interests at this stage in your development. If you are planning
to go on for a doctoral degree, you should definitely investigate schools you
are considering for a master's degree (i.e., ask questions) in term of their
success placing previous master's degree students (especially recent ones) in a
doctoral program. If you do not think you are heading towards a doctorate or an
academic career, this is clearly less of an issue ... so there are probably
even more viable master's degree programs worthy of consideration.
Narrowing the
Search: Big School vs. Small School
Big schools are good for students who want or need the
stimulation that comes from being surrounded by lots of high-achievers and
virtuosos -- for students who believe they will thrive in a competitive
atmosphere. If you are not sure what sort of teacher is best for you, a larger
school will generally offer more variety and more choices on a single campus.
If you seriously believe that you'll want to explore writing in lots of
different genres as a composer during your master's degree, a big school is
more likely to have the performing and technological resources to accommodate
you ... as well as a mentor who has done what you are interested in doing and
can offer first-hand advice. But keep in mind that to be successful at most
large schools, you may need to hustle a bit more to get performances, as you
may have lots of competition from other composers and from the generally hectic
schedule of most music majors at a big school. If you are interested in
exploring secondary disciplines (conducting, performance, etc.), you should be
aware that competition for opportunities in those endeavors will likely be
stiffer, since you will generally be competing for opportunities with many
students majoring in that discipline. Of course, your academic classes may be
notably larger, too. It goes almost without saying that having a big,
top-ranked school on your resume helps. It helps even more if you can manage to
stand out from the crowd while you are in residence by winning a prestigious
scholarship, fellowship, assistantship, departmental competition, or other
award.
Smaller schools might be a good option to consider if the
size and competitive atmosphere of a big school doesn't appeal to you ... or if
you just don't feel you are likely to be successful at one. There are plenty of
smaller institutions out there that are capable of providing very solid
training ... and some may have a program that is even better for your specific
needs. But (unless you are just plain lucky) you will only discover them if you
do your homework. Smaller schools, by their very nature, cannot provide all
things to all students. You need to find a school where the strengths of the
faculty and the program overlap with your interests. If you decide to consider
going to a smaller college or university, you should try to find one that has a
composer you admire, as well as enough performance (or technology) resources to
accommodate your interests and needs.
Smaller schools
that do not have a doctoral program typically have a smaller number of annual
openings, but they tend to have a significantly faster "turnover" of
graduate students, which means a faster recycling of admission opportunities.
Another fact of life for these types of schools is that they do not have a
cadre of doctoral students holding down graduate teaching assistantships for a
long term. To the extent that they exist, these positions are necessarily
filled by master's degree students with shorter residencies. So your odds of
getting a teaching assistantship as a first-year master's degree student are
generally going to be better at a school that does not have a doctoral program.
However, annual fluctuations in the application pool and graduation numbers at
a small school may have a more dramatic impact on assistantship offers than at
larger schools. In other words, I think the likelihood of your application
having a different outcome depending on the year you apply is higher at a small
school than a large one.
Finding your
"perfect fit"
By all means, find
out all you can about the composer(s) who would be your primary mentor(s) at
any school you are interested in. These days, with the Internet, there is a
wealth of information out there. Yet often, when I talk to a student composer
who has expressed interest in applying to "school x, y, or z" and I ask
them what they know about the music of the composer(s) who would be their
primary mentor(s), I get blank stares. Amazing! Even 30+ years ago, when such
research was much more difficult, I wouldn't have considered going somewhere
for graduate work without knowing a fair amount about the person I would be
studying with. So ... do some research. Look for someone who has composed music
you admire in a genre you are interested in (whether it be
chorus, band, orchestra, opera, electronic, etc.) and a "track record"
of successful performances. Especially if you are researching a composer at a
smaller school, look for evidence of local or school-based collaborations.
Perhaps you will be able to take advantage of some of those working connections
and more easily get your own music performed once you are in residence. Take
advantage of the fact that smaller schools are not completely snowed under with
applications. It may be quite easy to set up a meeting or phone interview, or
to exchange emails with the person who would be your primary mentor -- even
before filing an application. Of course, there are also plenty of big schools
where your inquiries will be welcome and where you'd have no trouble meeting
with someone on the composition faculty outside of or prior to the formal
application process.
If you want to
know more about the opportunities for realizing your musical goals at a given
school -- whether they involve chorus, band, orchestra, opera, film music --
just ask. If your questions are open-ended such as ... "If I compose
(insert your genre here) while I am in residence at your school, will I be able
to get it performed?" ... the response may be slightly more
optimistic than completely candid or truly realistic. Perhaps a better way to
find out what you want to know might be to ask a more quantifiable question
like ... "How often does the school orchestra or wind symphony read (or
perform) student works? When the last time the school orchestra (or band) was
performed a student composition? Has a student composer ever had an opera
produced? If so, how big was the production? Do student composers have the
opportunity to collaborate with a film director or choreographer in a typical
year?" Of course this sort of research is a must to ensure a good
fit with a smaller school. But I think it is valuable even for large schools.
Keep in mind the demographics of the school, too. For example, a school with a
large composition program but only one orchestra may afford fewer orchestra
performance opportunities than a school with more than one orchestra or
a one-orchestra school with a smaller composition program. Of course numbers
won't tell the whole story (another important variable is the conductor's
willingness to collaborate with the composition department). That's why you
should ask questions.
As you begin
narrowing your search, you should also try to find out what you can about
current students and alumni of the program. Are students achieving recognition
and/or winning awards? Are alumni successful? Seek out current students or
recent graduates and ask them about their experiences at the school. Are they
mostly happy with their school decision? Are any students composing
music that you admire? This sort of research would have been quite difficult in
my generation without an awful lot of traveling. But these days, you might be
able to do a pretty good job of it online from your apartment or dorm room. Of
course there is still nothing like an in-person visit to get a true feeling for
the department. But you may be able to use the Internet to narrow the search
and limit the travel to a manageable level.
Above all, I would
urge you to look for a composer/mentor whose work and/or career inspires you.
Sure, most of us in the teaching profession would say that we can effectively
teach anyone with the preparation and talent to get admitted into our program
... and in many cases it's true, at least up to a point. But it's also true
that the experience for both student and teacher is apt to be more rewarding
and productive when areas of interest, specialization, and aesthetics are
shared to a greater degree by teacher and pupil.
Geography/Location
If you are
planning on going on to a doctorate, geography (i.e., location) is not much of
an issue, professionally speaking, when considering a school for your master's
degree. There is no reason not to be guided or influenced by personal reasons,
since you could easily choose to move elsewhere when you start a doctoral
degree. If you are seriously thinking that a master's may be your last degree, now
is the time to seriously consider geography! Try to go to a school in an area
of the country where you think you might like to live and pursue a career after
graduation. This will make the transition from school to career a lot
easier. You can begin making professional connections while still in school,
you can look for a place to live that will suit both your finances and
lifestyle, and you won't have an expensive move to make just before starting to
pay back student loans. Also ... there is a "secret" that doesn't
seem to be all that widely understood among students. Jobs requiring only a
master's degree (or no degree) are typically hired locally (or at best
regionally). If you are far away, you may never learn of the opening, much less
have the opportunity to interview for it. As the cost of transportation
continues to soar, this situation will only become more pronounced. Also keep
in mind that these starting jobs are often going to be adjunct, part-time, or
freelance. It may require multiple teaching positions or a steady stream of
freelance/commercial jobs to make a comfortable living. Of course this will be
easier to do if the location you choose rich in the type of opportunities you
are seeking.
For students who
are already planning to go on for a doctoral degree, there is one possible
exception to my notion that geography doesn't much matter at the master's
level. The exception involves students who know that they really want to
get a doctoral degree from a specific elite school that happens to be located
in a major metropolitan area (NYC, Boston, Chicago, LA, Philadelphia,
and maybe a few others) that also has an assortment of schools with a solid
master's degree program in composition (and an active arts environment in which
you could become involved). If you fit this description, you might want
to consider moving to that city even if you don't get into that elite school
for your master's. You might have more success with one of the other schools in
the area. Living in that location for a couple of years while you are working
on your master's degree may allow you to begin creating a good impression even
before you apply for a doctoral degree. This is especially true if the school
you attend (and/or your mentor) is well-respected at your desired doctoral
school and/or you are able to participate effectively in a local music scene
shared by both schools. Of course, this is not so useful a strategy for
locations where there is only one strong school. Living in the city where you
really hope to attend grad school may also give you additional flexibility as
far as when you begin your studies (i.e., applying in multiple years, if
necessary). And just being around at the right time might enable you to
take advantage of a sudden or unexpected opening in the program. But this
strategy would probably only be worthwhile if you think you'd enjoy living in
the location whether or not you eventually get into the school.
Application
process
Note: I would encourage consultation with your
current mentor/composition teacher early and often at every step in the
planning and application process.
Start planning
early. If you are thinking
about going to graduate school right away after finishing an undergraduate
degree, you should probably start engaging in the process even before the
beginning of your senior year. Not that you should be spending all your time
consumed with the process, but I think it helps to get started early enough
that you will be assured of meeting application deadlines and having a
portfolio that represents your best efforts and your highest level of
accomplishments. It often takes more time than you think it will to polish and
prepare the scores that you want to include, especially if you are not in the
habit of distributing professional-looking scores and parts to your local
performers, conductors, or composition teacher.
("Professional-looking" music is bound, printed on front and back,
has no symbol collisions, has parts with manageable page turns, etc. For a
graduate school application, most schools would probably be fine with you
saving some money by binding all your scores in one binder, as long as you include
an easy way to locate the individual compositions.) You will also want to allow
time for recording strong performances of your work, and/or finishing that
magnum opus you are counting on to be the centerpiece of your portfolio. Line
up potential reference letter writers early, too.
Depending on your
financial status and how many schools are on your application list, coming up
with enough money for your applications may require some additional planning
[ca. $50-$100 (or more) per application ... before adding in the cost of
scores, CDs, and postage]. Some schools have a formal procedure for waiving
these application fees if you meet certain criteria (often the process involves
a letter from your current financial aid office). Another grad school application
expense to plan for is visiting schools on your application list. In many
instances a personal visit is required as part of the application process. But
even when it is not, it is still worthwhile to visit any school you are serious
about attending. For these schools, you'll have more flexibility, so arranging
a visit before the application season gets underway may help you decide whether
or not a school should even be on your list. Be aware, however, that visits
during the summer before your senior year may not give you a very accurate feel
for a program, depending on the nature of that school's summer program.
Devise your
final list of schools. You
should come up with a final list that includes a range of schools from the very
elite (if you think you will be competitive -- more about this issue later) to
carefully researched smaller and/or less celebrated schools that appear to mesh
well with your musical and/or geographic interests. In addition to your current
composition teacher, other music faculty at your school will probably be happy
to discuss your list with you. Of course, it goes without saying that you
should research the application process and deadlines for each school,
including those for financial aid, fellowships, assistantships, stipends, etc.
Note: The issue of finances (assistantships,
fellowships, stipends, loans, etc.) is a huge one that deserves its own article
written by someone with more experience and/or time to research the topic than
I have. By all means, make sure you communicate your needs. In some situations,
it *may* be possible to negotiate additional financial aid ... even after
acceptance letters are sent. Perhaps another student has unexpectedly left the
program, freeing up some previously allocated resources. Maybe an extra
part-time job has become available. In reality, most programs don't have much
unallocated money these days, but it never hurts to ask.
An alternative
plan. I think some
students might find it valuable to wait a while before applying to grad school.
One simple advantage -- you definitely will have completed your
"capstone" senior composition (the large-scale composition project
required by many undergraduate programs). This project should represent your
best, most ambitious work to date. Yet most likely, you will not have completed
it by the time in your senior year that grad school applications are due. If
(through family financial support or low-cost lifestyle) you can avoid having
to work so hard at a dead-end job that you don't have the energy for personal
development, then taking time off may be a useful strategy. But you must be
self-motivated and really make good use of the time away from formal classes,
where the learning process was always directed by what others thought you
needed to learn for your specific degree program. Useful activities are far too
numerous to attempt a comprehensive list ... but here are a few:
Study scores of composers/works you
admire (especially ones that were not covered in your formal classes).
Study a second instrument that you
think may help you as a composer.
Improve your functional keyboard
skills (if you are not already a pianist).
Study a foreign language that might
prepare you to travel internationally for education/job opportunities.
Work on mastering professional
music/audio software (lots of possibilities).
Begin networking in your local musical
scene (organizing performances, festivals, etc.).
Get your portfolio in the best shape
possible for the next application season This might include composing a
work that fills in a "gap" in your portfolio, (e.g., your first
string quartet, your first work for solo piano, or orchestra, or band,
etc.) or simply polishing up your existing scores.
Research more graduate school options.
Visit schools you are interested in.
Check online for when your favorite schools might be hosting an
interesting event (festival, guest composer, new music ensemble concert,
etc.). Meet with the faculty, of course, but also try to meet current
students. Along with recent graduates, current students are an
underutilized resource in your search for a graduate school.
You could also use
the time to move to a location suitable for launching the next chapter of your
life. If you are considering a state university, establishing residency in that
state is a great way to reduce the cost of your degree.
There is one last
issue that definitely needs to be addressed in this discussion, since it should
definitely inform the process of choosing your list of schools. It is the
"elephant in the room" ... and one of the main reasons for such
strong interest in this topic among students. It is primary motivation for this
essay. The grad school application process -- especially at well-established,
elite schools -- has become increasingly more competitive in recent years. It
would be interesting to do a survey to collect empirical data, but my sense is
that more students are applying. However the real issue is that the students
who are accepted tend to be more accomplished than in years past. This is not
quite the same thing as saying they are more talented. My guess is that if you
could somehow measure and chart over time the aggregate talent level of all
grad school applicants, there might be an upward trend, but I don't
think it would be a dramatic one. What is dramatic is the increase in
the level of prior accomplishment in past couple of decades, as measured by the
number/quality of compositions, awards, and performances. Here again, I have no
empirical data (nor do I suspect that anyone has formally been charting it),
but I have encountered enough anecdotal evidence to feel confident that this is
a reality. For example, I am quite certain that my own successful application
to Indiana University for a master's degree, submitted decades ago, would not
be acceptable at that school today.
There are lots of
reasons for this rise in entrance standards: more and stronger undergraduate
programs in composition in this country, more global competition, many more
opportunities for recognition (i.e., composition contests, conferences and
festivals, endowed scholarships, undergraduate awards, etc. -- you are
actively pursuing these opportunities, aren't you?), the explosive growth of
music technology and information technology. Also driving this situation is the
general upward drift of minimum education requirements for success -- a
bachelor's degree is the new H.S. diploma, a master's degree is the new
bachelor's, a doctoral degree is the new master's. Since there isn't a degree
beyond the doctorate, the "new doctoral degree" is probably more like
a doctoral degree from an elite school and/or an impressive assortment of
professional activities and accolades. So ... more people are going to school
longer today. The current state of the economy may have something to do with
this phenomenon, too.
Final Thoughts
Music history is
full of composer prodigies who amazed the world with their prowess at a very
young age, as well as composers who rose to prominence more slowly, well after
they were "college-aged." Musicians celebrate the achievements of both
Mozart and Haydn. But the competition for limited openings at top music grad
schools favors applicants who are closer to the prodigy end of the spectrum
over young composers who may still be years away from hitting their peak. If
you see your career trajectory as being closer to that of Haydn than Mozart,
you will almost certainly need to cast a wider net in order to land a grad
school. The next few years will be critical, for you will need to "catch
up" with your prodigy cohorts in order to compete successfully in the job
market. Fortunately for non-prodigies, composition is not like performance,
where if you are not competing well with your peers when you are in your 20s,
you probably won't be overtaking them in your 30's. But in music composition,
it may be possible to "catch up" -- not only because developing
compositional technique does not depend on neural networks best formed in early
childhood, but because ideas are as important as technique. In music
composition, as in all the writing arts (poetry, fiction, playwriting, etc.),
the "gold standard" is having something worthwhile to say and
possessing enough technique to say it effectively. There is a powerful synergy
that results whenever these two factors merge in a composer's work. If it's not
already evident in a student composer's portfolio, it's very difficult to
predict when (or even if) it will happen. Many schools will just not take the
risk of admitting these students anymore, because they don't need to in order
to maintain enrollment goals. If you want to improve your chances of
acceptance, work on both of these factors as you compose lots of music, get
performances of your music, enter lots of competitions (you really never know
when you might win), attend (or organize your own!) music festivals/conferences.
In conclusion, I'd
like to say just a just few words about Haydn, whom I mentioned earlier as my
representative composer from the other end of the prodigy spectrum from Mozart.
As most of you probably know, Haydn's reputation is primarily based on the music
he composed when he was well along in his career. But even in his early 20's he
had already composed his first string quartets along with his first opera ...
and even had it professionally produced! True, these works are not in the canon
of standard repertoire, as is the case with works written by Mozart at the same
age. But my point is that Haydn was indeed quite active as a composer
throughout his "college-age" years. Indeed, he was already beginning
to develop a local reputation as a composer when a good steady job at Esterházy
opened up (when Haydn was about 30 years old), so he got the gig ... made the
most of it ... and the rest is history. The key to his monumental reputation in
the music world is that, from his late-teens onward, he composed continually,
kept on learning and developing ... and just got better and better.
With that bit of
inspiration, it's time for you ... (and me!) to get back to composing. Best
wishes ... and good luck in your search for a grad school.
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