The
Composition-Theory Division is recognized internationally for its innovations,
diversity, excellent instruction, and performance resources in contemporary art
music. As one of the country’s largest composition departments, it offers to
students unusual opportunities for pursuing research and maintains high
standards for the composition and performance of new music. The diverse
backgrounds of the active composers in the Division contribute to a lively
atmosphere of coordinated experimentation and sometimes controversial approaches
to music problems and research. The result is a non-provincial perspective in
observing, understanding, and influencing the various states of the art on the
current international scene. All three areas of study—the composition of music,
the creation of theories of music, and the theory of creative music
composition—are represented by teachers who themselves are actively involved in
all aspects of these disciplines.
Electro-acoustic music activities at
the School of Music have earned the University of Illinois an international
reputation as a leader in the field of contemporary music. Known for significant
creative and technical developments in electronic and computer music
composition, the University of Illinois Experimental Music Studios (EMS),
founded in 1958, were the first of their kind in the western hemisphere. Today
EMS has ten specially designed studios for sound generation, processing, and
recording. The EMS Computer Music Project (CMP), founded in 1984, offers a
UNIX-based time-sharing system for the teaching of computer music and acoustics,
promoting research in computer sound synthesis/analysis, computer-assisted
composition, and music notation/printing. In addition to the Experimental Music
Studios’ facilities, the School of Music Computer-Assisted Music Instruction Lab
(CAMIL) supports study of music composition, theory, history, education, and
performance, with multiple networked workstations, each having a Macintosh or PC
computer and a MIDI keyboard.
In an effort to provide fertile ground for
creativity and learning, the Division sponsors numerous new music concerts
featuring works by students, faculty, and guests from the United States and
abroad. A weekly Composers’ Forum encourages students to exchange ideas with
other students, performers, and guest composers. The Division also participates
in the Midwestern Composers’ Symposium, an annual event which allows students to
disseminate and evaluate their work.
The New Music Ensemble is a student
ensemble dedicated to the performance of contemporary music. It is both a
learning tool and a way of introducing the participants to an experimental
environment. Its repertoire includes works by well-known composers as well as
representatives of an extremely diverse array of contemporary trends. Student
compositions are played regularly, and members of the ensemble ensure the
performance of University of Illinois works at the Midwestern Composers’
Symposium, which brings together student and faculty composers from major
Midwestern music schools.
The Composition-Theory Division sponsors the
Salvatore Martirano Memorial Composition Award which is an international
competition for young composers. The Award consists of a cash prize and a
performance of the winning composition. The competition is held in memory of
Salvatore Martirano, who was a professor of composition at the University of
Illinois from 1963 to 1995. |
