- Our faculty members are practicing composers, producers, and performers
- Our remarkably low student/teacher ratio ensures ongoing personal interaction with faculty
- Explore unique, interdisciplinary courses and honors classes
Bring your original music to life with Converse’s Music Composition major. Develop your unique compositional voice through various active projects and learn to compose anything from a piano etude to an orchestral film score. Study alongside our diverse community of distinguished faculty, industry professionals, and world-class visiting musicians. A life and career filled with musical creativity are within reach at Converse University.
Degree Offered
- Bachelor of Music in Composition
Related Degree
About Music Composition
If you are truly passionate about creating music, a Composition degree will provide you with the foundation in music creation and analysis you need to launch your career. In addition to performing, you will study music historically and analytically, alongside other disciplines, and develop your original work under the mentorship of talented professionals who are also caring, dedicated teachers.
Create Your Own Music–And Your Own Ensemble
At Converse, students can create their own ensembles centered on their interests. Want to write a piece for flute, oboe, and xylophone and get it performed? Go for it–the sky’s the limit! You’ll earn ensemble credit while developing relationships with fellow student musicians who will be part of your musical network for life.
The Annual Pajama Concert
One of Converse’s beloved traditions is the annual Pajama Concert featuring Converse composers and friends. Student and faculty composers, performers and friends wear their favorite jammies for an evening of original music written and performed by Converse’s own. Many styles of music are represented from classical to electronica to singer/songwriter.
A Bachelor of Music (BM) in Composition emphasizes the creation of music. As a composition major, you will take private lessons in composition for all four years of your program, in which you will focus on developing aural and analytical skills, composition techniques, expanding your unique creative instincts, and discovering your own compositional voice. You will also develop self-knowledge, a historical understanding, and a better appreciation of your own creative voice. As a composition student, you will develop composition skills and gain an in-depth understanding of history, theory and literature.
In your senior year, you will present a recital of original works, and have the opportunity to present an Honors Thesis.
Sample Courses
- Composition Lessons
- Diverse Cultures and Their Music
- Principles of Harmony
- Counterpoint
- Electronic Music
- 20th-Century Idioms
- Piano Class
- Music History
- Fundamentals of Conducting
View the BM in Composition requirements.
What are common careers in Composition?
- Freelance Composer
- FIlm and Video Composer
- Performer
- Conductor
- Music Teacher
Department News
Welcome Guest Director of Opera Elizabeth Margolius ’90
Converse alumna and five-time Joseph Jefferson Award nominee, stage and movement director Elizabeth Margolius’ selected directorial credits include London Road for Shattered Globe Theatre, Tidy and Rose for Renaissance Theaterworks, Crimes of the Heart for American Stage, Le …
Family-Friendly MoseleyNext Series Continues at Converse
Converse University’s MoseleyNext micro-series will launch its second season of short, family-friendly concerts on Friday, October 20, 2023, with The Akropolis Reed Quintet, the first reed quintet to grace the …
Converse’s 2023-2024 Faculty Symposia Lineup
Converse University faculty support the institution’s mission to advance a culture of belonging and collaboration that ignites creativity, innovation, and transformation. Converse University’s Office of Research and Engagement promotes collegewide …
Programs of Study
Converse offers over 100 majors, minors, certificates, and graduate programs across 2 campuses and online.