The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance offers a range of coursework, opportunities, and facilities for the study of music composition. Applied lessons in composition are available to undergraduate and graduate music majors as well as additional course offerings in arranging, orchestration, electronic music, and music analysis.
Study With
Composition Laboratory
The Music Composition Laboratory (inside the University Center for the Arts) boasts state-of-the-art hardware and software for both composition and audio production. This lab is specifically dedicated for use by composition students only who have 24-hour secure access to the space. It also provides students with access to high-quality laser printers and binding machines for the creation of professional quality scores. The following software programs are currently available:
Notation Software:
- Finale
- Sibelius
Digital Audio:
- Ableton Live Suite
- Max/MSP
- Pro Tools HD
- Logic Pro X
- MOTU Digital Performer
- Reason
- East-West Symphonic Libraries
- Tapspace Percussion Library
Student Achievement
Student composers at CSU have been accepted to numerous prestigious graduate music programs throughout the nation and abroad. Some of the more notable programs are listed below:
- Brandeis University
- Royal Northern College of Music (UK)
- University of Texas – Austin
- University of Kansas
- University of Missouri – Kansas City
- University of Missouri – Columbia
- University of Massachusetts – Amherst
- University of Southern California
- Arizona State University
- Florida State University
- University of Colorado – Boulder
- University of North Texas
- University of Northern Colorado
Additionally, student composers have participated in prominent new music festivals and composition workshops including the following:
- Cortona New Music Sessions (Italy)
- Valencia International Performance Academy & Festival (Spain)
- University of Cincinnati Film Scoring Workshop
- University of Missouri Summer Composers Workshop
- College Music Society Regional Conferences
Composition Events
Composition News
MSOE Composition Competition
Announcing the 2024 Middle School Outreach Ensemble Composition Competition! Winners will have their piece performed during the 2024 MSOE Concert. We would like to invite all music students to participate in the 2024 MSOE Composition Competition. The competition is open to ALL middle school and high school students who are enrolled in their school music […]
Fully both: CSU alum Henry Ives blends art and science
By Liam Conlon Henry Ives graduated from Colorado State University in 2022 with degrees in computer science and music, and when asked for his title, he paused. “It’s a deeper question than you think,” he said. “I’m not a composer that writes software as a day job, and I’m not a software engineer that composes […]