The following information is for current students. Official information may also be found on the department’s website, and through the office of the Department of Music.
Mailing List
Current BMus, MMus, and DMus are automatically signed up for the uofa-composition@googlegroups.com mailing list, which is used for announcements about program matters, internal and external new music concerts, as well as jobs, competitions, and other information. To request to be added to this list, please visit https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/uofa-composition.
Portfolio Requirements (2024-25)
Undergraduate Composition Tutorial Portfolios (Google Form)
At the University of Alberta, there are several phases of portfolio review. For undergraduates, this includes (1.) entering the program, (2.) qualifying for second-year tutorials (composition lessons), and (3.) qualifying for senior composition tutorials. For graduate students, a portfolio is required for each applicant.
All portfolios must include:
- Cover sheet (1 page, PDF) with your name, a short bio, and a list of the pieces by name, with details such as “for flute and electronics” or “for my band plummoxed.” If desired, additional pages may be included with program notes for the works.
- At least four compositions (PDF), and no more than five in total. These should be works in which you are the primary composer/producer, and should reflect what you feel are your strongest works. For students qualifying for lessons, works from previous courses/lessons should be included.
- For scored compositions, please include scores in PDF format. If the pieces do not have traditional scores, you may include an explainer/synopsis.
- All works should include an audio or video recording if possible. These should be submitted as links to streaming audio or video (e.g. Soundcloud, Vimeo). Please ensure each link is on the cover sheet listing, as well as embedded in the respective score (if applicable).
Area Courses
Beartracks can be dizzying and somewhat misleading, but it is also the official place to check the status of any courses that are currently on offer for any given academic year. This is our attempt to summarize the courses offered this term by the composition area. If you are looking for seminars or ensembles, etc please also see the music department course listing.
Notes: Ensemble courses can be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit. Grads use 6xx number.
Undergraduate Courses
- MUSIC 170: Introduction to Composition and Sonic Arts [ Hannesson ]
- WINTER, T R 2:00 – 3:20 PM
- MUSIC 270: Composition and Sonic Arts [ Hindman ]
- FALL&WINTER, 30 minute individual tutorials
- MUSIC 470/471/570/571: Composition and Sonic Arts Tutorials [ Staff Rotating ]
- FALL/WINTER, 1 hr individual tutorials
- MUSIC 245: Introduction to Music Technologies [ Arnáez – Hannesson ]
- SPRING, T R 2:00 – 5:10 PM
- Section 1 (A1): FALL, M W F 11:00 – 11:50 AM
- Section 2 (X01): FALL, W 6:00 – 9:00 AM
- MUSIC 445: Electroacoustic Music [ Hannesson ]
- Section 1 (A1): FALL, M W F 11:00 – 11:50 AM
- MUSIC 263: Instrumentation & Arranging [ Talpash ]
- FALL, T R 2:00 – 3:20 PM
- MUSIC 545: Rotating topic [ Smallwood ]
- FALL, T R 3:30 – 4:50 PM
- MUSIC 480: Survey of Contemporary Music and Sonic Arts [ Talpash ]
- WINTER, T R 9:30 – 10:50 AM
Graduate Courses
- MUSIC 660/661/760: Composition and Sonic Arts Tutorials [ Staff Rotating ]
- FALL/WINTER, 1 hr individual tutorials
- MUSIC 661: Doctoral Comp & Thesis Prep [ Staff Rotating ]
- FALL/WINTER, 1 hr individual tutorials
- MUSIC 580: Survey of Contemporary Music and Sonic Arts [ Talpash ]
- WINTER, T R 9:30 – 10:50 AM
Ensembles
- MUSIC 193/493/693: XiME: eXperimental iMprovisation Ensemble [ Segger ]
- FALL & WINTER, 19:00-22:00 M, Studio 27
Examinations and other Program information
Official requirements for courses can be found on the University Calendar. Program specific info here is as follows: BMus (Arts Chart 2), MMus, DMus.
For departmental-specific requirements, including examinations, and etc, please refer to the student handbook and other student information which is available on the Student Resources page of the Department of Music Website.