Music BFA - Composition & Technology

Current Faculty
Required Courses
BFA Curriulum

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Music Composition and Technology fosters development in the composition of instrumental, vocal, and electronic music. Students experience in-depth study in music theory, score reading, orchestration, counterpoint, form and analysis, twentieth-century history, world music, contemporary materials and compositional techniques, and technological applications in composition and sound design. Skills acquired in coursework are integrated through weekly individual lessons focusing on compositional projects.

BFA student composers produce a concert of their works each semester through the Music From Almost Yesterday (MFAY) student organization, emphasizing instrumental and vocal compositions. The Electroacoustic Salon concerts, which conclude each semester, present works by students enrolled in music technology courses, and often include collaborations with students in other areas of the Peck School of the Arts. Additionally, the Contemporary Music Ensemble presents an annual concert of student works. We are very fortunate to have many opportunities for student compositions to be presented by the Department of Music Wind Ensemble, Symphony Band, Symphony Orchestra, Concert Chorale and University Choir.

The Music Composition & Technology program is offered in tandem with the Electro Acoustic Music Center and operates as a complement of studies through the Theory and Composition Area. The program specializes in the pedagogy and actualization of new music through acoustic and electronic means. The Electro-Acoustic Music Center (EAMC) serves as a resource for research, education, and creative work in music technology in the Peck School of the Arts. Courses are offered for music major and non-music major students and range from studies in acoustics, audio mixing and recording, analog and digital electronic sound generation and manipulation, computer synthesis, direct digital random access audio engineering, MIDI applications for notation, sequencing, improvisation, and audio control, electronic and acoustic ensemble performance and composition. EAMC also provides computer laboratory classrooms where undergraduate and graduate music students may venture into computer based teaching methods that are fundamental to the training of contemporary music students. Utmost importance are the continued efforts to develop and involve the other areas of PSOA, such as theatre, dance, art and film.

Unruly Music is a concert series featuring guest artist, faculty, and student performances of contemporary music. Each semester it presents three concerts, creating opportunities for students to engage with guest artists in masterclasses and workshops, as well as to perform contemporary music via ensembles such MiLO (the Milwaukee Laptop Orchestra) and the UWM Contemporary Music Ensemble.

Unruly Music also features an annual guest artist residency program. Advanced students are invited to create new works for a noted contemporary music ensemble; sketches for these compositions are read and workshopped during the ensemble's fall visit to UWM, and then the completed works are premiered as part of the spring festival. The program is an extraordinary opportunity for composition students to collaborate with contemporary music specialists in the creation of a new work. Previous ensembles participating in this residency project include NOISE (San Diego), Thelema Trio (Ghent), sfSoundGroup (San Francisco), C2 (Baltimore), Yarn/Wire (New York), and Dal Niente (Chicago). Unruly Music is a co-production of the Peck School of the Arts and the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

Current Faculty

Dr. Jon Welstead, Music Department Chair, composition/technology
Prof. Jim Burmeister, theory and composition/technology
Prof. Chris Burns, composition/technology
Prof. Lou Cucunato, composition/technology
Prof. Bill Heinrichs, theory and composition/technology
Prof. David Hulbert, composition/technology
Prof. Jonathan Monhardt, composition/technology
Prof. Amanda Schoofs, composition/technology
Prof. Kevin Schlei, composition/technology

Required Courses

Required Application Portfolio.
Required Piano Proficiency.
Music Performance Courses, 7 cr.
Piano, 6 cr.
Music Theory, 23 cr.
Music Technology, 12 cr.
Composition, 12 cr.
Music History, 14 cr.
Conducting, 2 cr.
Composition Colloquium, 8 sem.
Senior Thesis or Senior Recital, 2 cr.
Music or General Electives, 5 cr.
Convocation, 6 sem.
See Convocation, 0 cr.

BFA Curriculum