Conference or Festival Events. Student Composition Concerts

Student Composition Concerts. Student composition concerts are the centerpiece of young composer festivals. The formats will differ according to the needs and resources of the sponsoring organization. The NYSSMA conference includes three concerts: the Student Composer Honors Concert, the Student Electronic Music Showcase, and the Student Songwriters Honors Concert. The 90-minute Student Composer Honors Concert features music of diverse genre, style, and instrumentation. The concerts have included solo and chamber works together with pieces for orchestra, band, chorus, and jazz band.

The pieces are performed by students, teachers, school ensembles, and quite often by students and faculty from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Programming for diverse ensembles is a challenge due to difficulty in recruiting performers and complex set-up requirements, but such programming has two advantages. It produces a more varied concert, and it attracts the interest of band, orchestra, choral, and jazz teachers. Prior to the concert, there is a rehearsal session in which many of the composers meet their performers for the first time. Teacher-mentors help the students communicate effectively with the performers in the rehearsal.

NAfME responded to this challenge by reducing the number of compositions selected for performance at its conference and by limiting the instrumentation to a specific group of instruments each year. NAfME, it should be noted, hires professional performers for the concert. In recent years, the concert has included a public discussion among the NAfME president, the composition council chair, and the student composers that is integrated into the concert. An attractive feature of the NAfME event is that it has been scheduled so that there are no competing conference events in the same time slot. In a separate competition, NAfME selects a student-composed band, orchestra, or choral work to be performed by an all-national honor ensemble. In addition, NAfME sponsors annual electronic composition and songwriting competitions. Written evaluations are provided to all applicants in each of these NAfME programs.

The launching of a songwriting category by NAfME (in 2020) and NYSSMA (in 2021) illustrates the organizations’ eagerness to evolve and improve. It demonstrates an attempt to reach an ever-wider range of student creators. Dynamic programs should welcome change, not resist it.

Composition Coaching Workshops.NYSSMA conducts composition coaching workshops for student composers and songwriters at the conference. In these one-hour small-group workshops, the students, usually four in number, introduce their pieces and the group listens to recordings of the works. Composition teachers, usually two per workshop, guide a discussion of each piece in what is essentially a composition master class. The audience consists of the composers’ families and a small group of conference attendees. The informal format also gives students and parents the opportunity to ask for guidance about academic and career opportunities from the clinicians. Many students and parents have commented that the workshops are the highlight of the conference.

Post-Concert Reflective Sessions for Students and Conference Attendees.After the concert, it is a good idea to have some refreshments for the young composers, followed by a session for reflective conversation. One effective format is to arrange the young composers and composition teachers in a semicircle in front of the audience of families and conference attendees. The teachers facilitate a discussion in which they try to get all of the students to participate, and audience members are also invited to ask questions and share ideas.

Topics are quite varied and may include the following:
- Reactions to the concert
- Responses to each other’s pieces
- Students discussing what kind of teaching has helped them
- Compositional process
- Current projects
- Current favorite listening repertoire
- Writer’s block and strategies to succeed

Participation of Prominent Composer-in-Residence.If the budget permits, festivals can include the participation of a prominent composer- in-residence. NYSSMA includes this role in the conference budget parallel to the roles of all-state ensemble conductors. The composer-in-residence participates in one of the composition coaching workshops and the post-concert reflection session, and the student composition concert includes a work by the visiting composer. At the NYSSMA conference, one or two of the all-state ensembles perform works by the guest composer. The composer visits rehearsals of the all-state ensembles and helps to coach the group and conductor, providing a rich educational experience for hundreds of students. The responses of the conductors and students is usually quite intense, with many students gathering around at breaks asking for autographs. After Christopher Theofanidis helped to coach the New York All-State String Orchestra, conductor David Hagy wrote in an email:

NYSSMA not only provides students of its all-state ensembles the opportunity to perform music of living composers by programming it and acquiring the music, but it also hires the composers to come to the rehearsal process and speak to the students and directors about the reasons behind the piece, the intentions of the notations, and answer any questions about the piece. What could inspire the students more than to be involved in the performance of a piece by a world-famous composer WITH HIM/ HER THERE! Our experience with Chris Theofanidis was outstanding as he told us he was seeking something very positive after finishing several pieces that were darker emotionally. What a difference in the sound this made! What an experience this was! (D. Hagy, personal communication, March 13, 2014)

Diversity is a significant factor to consider when selecting a composer-in-residence. Ideally students will, over time, have the chance to experience composers of diverse gender, race, and ethnicity in this luminary role. Giving diverse students models of successful composers who resemble themselves can have lasting power as a positive motivating force.

Educational Sessions for Teachers.An advantage of having a state composition chair and committee is that it assembles an expert group to plan educational sessions for conferences. Sessions should include ideas for integrating composition into all music education specialty areas and should be relevant for all grade levels from PreK through collegiate. Further, these sessions should present an array of approaches to teaching composition to allow teachers to tailor methods and activities to meet the needs of their unique teaching and learning environments.

Responses to Higher-Level Festivals.Students, parents, teachers, and composers-i n-residence have expressed enthusiastic appreciation of composition festivals and showcases. Michael Brown, a successful composer-pianist who attended several conferences as a student, emailed in 2008:

NYSSMA’s Winter Conference played a significant and important role in my development as a composer and musician. As composers we’re naturally isolated, and to hear all of the wonderfully talented composers from the state opened me up to new and creative possibilities. The reactions and opinions of the distinguished composers-in-residence have stayed with me and influenced my compositional growth. It was also wonderful to be introduced to their music and have the opportunity to delve into their creative thought processes. I consider myself a lucky guy to have been included in this exploratory and inspiring atmosphere. (M. Brown, personal communication, August 29, 2008)

In 2018, former composer-in-residence Libby Larsen summarized her impression of NYSSMA’s young composer program:

The program experience you’ve crafted to identify, nurture, and mentor young composers is such a fine way to encourage them and give them a sense of a community with their peers. When I had the pleasure of working with NYSSMA composers, I was left with the feeling that these young artists are secure in their talent and in their joy for creating music. (L. Larsen, personal communication, April 3, 2018)

Conclusion. A comprehensive composition program for festivals and conferences offers students, families, and teachers an exciting educational experience. Such programs showcase and reward student achievement in composition and illustrate benchmarks of excellence. Bringing the young composers together with peers and professional composers in workshops and panel discussions creates a forum in which they can share insights and gain valuable knowledge. Inviting a composer-in-residence and programming his or her music for an honors ensemble extends the educational reach of the program to include hundreds of young performers. By providing supportive written evaluations of all submitted compositions, the program makes a broad, positive educational contribution to a large number of students and teachers and mitigates the competitive aspect implicit in any selective program.

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Deutsch, D. (2016). Authentic assessment in music composition: Feedback that facilitates creativity. Music Educators Journal, 102(3), 53-59.

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