Undergraduate
Visit the University of Melbourne course site to find out more on undergraduate courses
Composition
Composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music is a graduate specialist program with an undergraduate pathway. This forward-looking course builds on our distinguished history of musical innovation.
Study Composition at the Melbourne Conservatorium
Composition at the Conservatorium is grounded within the Western notated art music tradition, while also engaging in dialogue with other contemporary musical practices. We'll equip you with skills in instrumental and vocal writing, orchestration, electro-acoustic music, professional score presentation, rehearsal skills and concert management, helping you to develop an original voice. Notable alumni include Peter Sculthorpe, Barry Conyngham, Liza Lim, Matthew Hindson, Annie Hsieh and Dominik Karski.
Composition study options
As an undergraduate Bachelor of Music student you can apply to major in Composition from your second year of study, taking a guided program of specialised study. Graduate student study options in Composition include Graduate Diploma (by coursework) and research degrees (Master of Music and Doctor of Music).
Undergraduate students from other areas of the University can learn about composition through related subjects such as Composition Studies, Orchestration and Music Language Stream (one, two and three) through Breadth study.
Composition courses
Our People
As active composers in the profession, Conservatorium Composition staff cover a wide range of technical and philosophical backgrounds, while remaining committed to a shared vision of compositional instruction.
HEAD OF COMPOSITION
Professor Stuart Greenbaum
BMus(Hons) MMus PhD Melb
stuartgreenbaum.com
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Associate Professor Elliott Gyger
BMus Syd PhD Harvard
Elliott Gyger at the Australian Music Centre
SENIOR LECTURER
Dr Katy Abbott
BEd GradDip(Comp) MMus PhD Melb
LECTURER
Dr Miriama Young
BA VUW BMus (Hons) NZSM MFA PhD Princeton
LECTURER
Dr Melody Eötvös
Learn about our student and alumni successes, and meet our current research candidates.
Recent student successes
Our current students and graduates have a record of sustained success in obtaining opportunities in the wider music industry. Many of our composers are selected to write orchestral works for both the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Cybec 21st Century Australian Composers Program and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO) Composer School. Our composers also consistently feature in national development programs including those offered by The Song Company (MODART), The Australian String Quartet (National Composers’ Forum) and Soundstream (Emerging Composers Forum). We actively cultivate a creative environment that starts with Conservatorium's own musicians and ensembles and radiates out to the local community, to national programs and opportunities for performance through international workshops, residencies and concerts.
Scholarship, award and prize winners
- Albert H Maggs Composition Award (annual award and Australia’s second largest national prize for composition) Past winners
- Dorian Le Gallienne Prize for Composition (biennial). Past winners
- Adolph Spivakovsky Scholarship for the Composition of Music Past winners
- Esther Rofe Composition Award - Past winners include Lauren Morgan, Hannah Zreikat, Martine Wengrow, Clare Johnston, Carolyn Schofield and Samatha Wolf.
Find out about the range of funding, scholarships, awards and other opportunities available to Conservatorium composition students.
The Composition program has strong links with the wider musical community, notably the Australian National Academy Music (ANAM), the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Recital Centre. Recent opportunities include:
- Annual BMus Honours composer workshop with the University of Melbourne Orchestra
- Annual reading and recording sessions for postgraduate students with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
- Opportunities to collaborate with Melbourne Conservatorium of Music ensembles (such as Big Band, Percussion Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Symphonic Winds, including via the Honours year subject)
- Recurrent opportunities with ensembles in the wider community (such as Zelman Symphony and Choral at Monsalvat)
- In-house workshops with professional artists and ensembles such as Marshall McGuire, Syzygy Ensemble, Halcyon Ensemble as well as Conservatorium performance staff
The Conservatorium offers funding for all postgraduate students. For composers, this funding may be used for interstate or international travel to attend performances of their music or to record works for folio purposes.
Each year, two graduating students are chosen to receive a commission to compose a work for the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Local Heroes Series.
Scholarships and awards
Scholarships and awards are also available, including:
- Albert H Maggs Composition Award
- Dorian Le Gallienne Prize for Composition
- Adolph Spivakovsky Scholarship for Composition of Music
- Esther Rofe Composition Award
- Catherine Mary Sullivan Bequest
- Dr Allan Zavod Composition Award
View scholarships for more information
New Music Studio
The New Music Studio presents an opportunity for students, staff and alumni to collaborate, compose, curate and perform new works together, to engage with major international artists, and to connect with the public via performance.
Composition Seminar
Each week, both postgraduates and undergraduates in the composition major meet for seminars from visiting composers, group lessons and post-graduate student presentations. Past guests have included Mark Applebaum, Anne Boyd, Martin Bresnick, Eve De Castro-Robinson, Brett Dean, Andrew Ford, Don Freund, Detlev Glanert, Philip Glass, Barbara Hannigan, Gordon Kerry, Stephen Lias, Liza Lim, John McCabe, Richard Mills, Kate Neal, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, Andrew Schultz, Harry Sparnaay, Peteris Vasks and Carl Vine.
Partnerships
Composition at the Conservatorium also has a number of industry partnerships:
- Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
- Melbourne Recital Centre
- Zelman Symphony
- MESS
- Choral @ Montsalvat
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News
Finding voice – Katy Abbott on composing Hidden Thoughts II: Return to Sender
20 July 2020
Celebrated Melbourne Conservatorium composer Katy Abbott discusses her latest work, incorporating letters sent by members of the Australian public to detained asylum seekers o...
Meet Danna Yun, Composition alum at the University of Melbourne
25 June 2020
Multi-instrumentalist Danna Yun talks composition, collaboration, video-game music and life goals....
Dr Katy Abbott wins for Hidden Thoughts at the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes
28 October 2019
Dr Katy Abbott, Senior Lecturer in Music (Composition) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, has been announced as one of the winners of the 2019 Paul Lowin Prizes in a ce...