Composition - Stage Music Emphasis

Overview

Through private lessons, group workshops, coursework, and performance of a culminating thesis project, students of the Composition - Stage Music Emphasis program at Catholic University of America develop the special skills required for writing in theatrical or collaborative contexts, and apply them through practical work. 

This program was developed both in response to a perceived lack of formal training for composers who are interested in writing in non-concert genres, and to the availability of a large community of musical theatre, opera, dance, film, and other artists working both at Catholic University and in Washington, D.C.

Students in the program have collaborated with student playwrights and directors in the Department of Drama to compose incidental music and sound design for theatrical productions, have worked with choreographers and dancers, and have been involved in musical preparation for musical theatre and operatic productions in the Department of Music Performance as well. Graduates of the program have gone on to professional positions as university faculty positions and in professional theater.

Optional externship program

Available for second-year students, this externships program allows student composers the chance to work with an external professional artistic company or with an individual professional artist, sometimes composing music for a production. This externship program (the first externship session took place at Joy of Motion Dancer Center during summer session 2007) provides valuable experience to students as well as secure important introductions to the vibrant Washington, D.C., arts scene. Because the forging of connections and networks is so crucial to sustaining a professional artistic career, the contacts which this externship provide may prove vitally important to establishing a composer's career.