Com­pos­i­tion for Ensembles

• Year of study: 2 semesters, fall and spring.
• Preliminary schedule: Wednesdays 09:00 – 11:30.
• Final assessment: Portfolio assessment.
• Prerequisites: Submission of work samples: sheet music and/or recordings.
• Language of instruction: Norwegian or English.

Course description

The course deals with composition as a creative activity explored from a genre-free position. Students will compose for four ensemble types: lately, these have been brass (quintet), saxophone (quartet), strings (quartet) and one or more projects for the instruments of the class orchestra.

The course is open for students in all musical genres. Participation is granted on the basis of the submitted material (scores and/or audio).

The material must be submitted by e-mail to valg@nmh.no by the deadline April 10th.

Course instructors: Helge Sunde (brass), Eivind Buene (strings), Morten Halle (saxophone) and Erlend Skomsvoll (class orchestra).

Learning objectives

Upon completion of the course, students are expected to

• have acquired tools for the compositional adaptation of their own musical material, and relevant arrangement and instrumentation techniques.
• have acquired knowledge of composing for various ensembles.
• have gained knowledge of the composer's situation in society, how he/she can meet the job market.

Overview

• Aesthetics and form studies which are relevant to all musical genres, and in part also to other art forms.
• Arranging/instrumentation.
• The relationship between various kinds of improvisation and composition.
• Work with one's own artistic projects.
• Copyright and employment opportunities.

Structure

The course is taught for 90 minutes a week for 24 weeks. In addition, there will be tuition in smaller groups and 10 hours of guidance per student. The guidance takes place partly in groups, and parts individually.

Course requirements

Participation is mandatory when performing one's own work and the works of fellow students.

Final assessment

All course requirements must be approved prior to obtaining a final assessment.

Assessment is based on learning objectives. The final assessment is given as a pass/fail mark, which is determined by two internal examiners based on the exam portfolio.

Exam portfolio

Students will submit an exam portfolio including scores and recordings of pieces for the 4 ensemble types they have composed for. If the student chooses not to make recordings of ensembles organised by the Academy, then they are responsible for providing a recording themselves.

Deadline: Three copies of the exam portfolio must be submitted to the Exams office by 20 May.

New assessment

In the case of re-assessment, the same procedures apply.

Ved fullført emne er det forventet at studenten

• har tilegnet seg verktøy for kompositorisk bearbeidelse av eget musikalsk materiale, samt relevante arrangerings og instrumenteringsteknikker
• har fått kunnskap om å komponere for ulike ensembler
• har tilegnet seg kunnskaper om hvordan komponistens situasjon er i samfunnet, hvordan han/hun kan møte arbeidslivet

• Estetikk og formlære som er relevant for alle musikalske stilarter og delvis også for andre kunstarter.
• Arrangering/Instrumentering.
• Forholdet mellom ulike typer improvisasjon og komposisjon.
• Arbeid med egne kunstneriske prosjekter.
• Orientering om opphavsrett og arbeidsmuligheter.

Det undervises i 90 minutter hver uke i 24 uker. I tillegg vil det bli gitt undervisning i mindre grupper, og det vil bli gitt 10 timer veiledning per student. Veiledningen foregår dels i grupper, dels individuelt.

Det er obligatorisk deltakelse i undervisningen ved fremføring av egne og medstudenters stykker.

Alle arbeidskrav i emnet må være godkjent for at studenten skal få avsluttende vurdering.

Studenten vurderes i forhold til emnets læringsmål. Avsluttende vurdering uttrykkes med bestått/ ikke bestått og fastsettes av to interne sensorer på grunnlag av en eksamensmappe.

Eksamensmappe

Studenten skal levere en eksamensmappe som inneholder notemateriale og innspillinger med de fire ulike ensembletypene studenten har komponert for. Dersom studenten ikke benytter innspilling med ensembler organisert av Musikkhøgskolen, må studenten selv sørge for innspilling.

Eksamensmappen leveres i tre eksemplarer innen 20. mai til eksamenskontoret.

Ny vurdering

For ny vurdering gjelder samme ordning som for ordinær vurdering.