Students in composition and theory combine individual composition instruction with seminars in composition, analysis, orchestration, music technology and related topics. Recent composition courses have included: Music and Bodies, Music and the Environment, Electronic Instrument Design, Interdisciplinary Performance, and Music Since 1945. Our weekly Composition Forum is a time for composition faculty and students to share their creative or scholarly work, discuss relevant professional development topics and hear from guest composers.
Residencies with renowned ensembles, in conjunction with the department's new music series Music on the Edge, provide annual opportunities for the reading and recording of graduate student works. Recent guest ensembles have included the TAK Ensemble, counter)induction, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, Mivos Quartet, Transient Canvas, Ekmeles, HUB New Music, Ensemble Linea, and Arditti Quartet. The Steel Collective is a student-run group that presents two concerts each year of graduate composer works, performed by the composers and by guest performers. The University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra also frequently performs student works. Department of Music facilities include a well-equipped electroacoustic music studio and recording studio, as well as access to the Pitt OpenLab. Professional quality live recordings are made during performances in Bellefield Hall Auditorium and Frick Fine Arts Auditorium.
Many students combine their compositional focus with coursework and research in our other graduate music programs in Jazz Studies, Musicology, and Ethnomusicology. Interdisciplinary work is also common, with composers earning graduate certificates in areas such as Film and Media Studies, Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies, Latin American Studies, Asian Studies, and Cultural Studies. The curriculum leaves space for students to complete coursework outside of the music department and to pursue diverse career paths. Recent graduates are teaching at Carnegie Mellon University, Bard College Berlin, University of Michigan, Beloit College, West Virginia University, Centro Universitario de Arts, Arquitectura y Diseño (Guadalajara), Ewha Women’s University (Seoul), and many others. They also direct music festivals and ensembles, work as production managers and in the music technology industry.
Students have the opportunity to study individually with each of the composition faculty members in rotation. Our faculty composers are working at the highest level of the field. They bring expertise in related areas, including music technology, multimedia, and contemporary music performance.
Composition and Theory Faculty
Eric Moe, composer and pianist, has received numerous grants and awards for his work, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and the Lakond Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His compositions have been commissioned and performed by some of the finest ensembles and performers of our time. All-Moe CDs are available on Naxos, Albany, bmop/sound, Koch International Classics, and Centaur. Fanfare magazine described his work as “wonderfully inventive, often joyful, occasionally melancholy, highly rhythmic, frequently irreverent, absolutely eclectic, and always high-octane music”. As a pianist and keyboardist, Moe’s playing can be heard on Koch, CRI, New World, Mode, Albany, and other labels.
Charles Peck’s music, spanning a range of acoustic and electronic mediums, has been performed by the Minnesota Orchestra, the Albany and Columbus Symphonies, the Kaleidoscope Chamber Orchestra, the JACK Quartet, Sandbox Percussion, and Contemporaneous. Recently awarded fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Peck has also received commissions from the Barlow Endowment, the McKnight Foundation, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Alarm Will Sound, the New York Youth Symphony, the Bergamot Quartet, and Ji Hye Jung. His music has been featured at Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Symphony Center, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival, and the Beijing Modern Music Festival.
Amy Williams' recent awards include fellowships from the Guggenheim and Fulbright Foundations, commissions from the Fromm and Koussevitsky Foundations, and two awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Her works have been performed in Europe, Australia and the Americas by renowned soloists and ensembles, including the JACK Quartet, Arditti Quartet, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, International Contemporary Ensemble, Wet Ink Ensemble, and pianist Ursula Oppens. Her compositions appear on the Albany, Navona, Blue Griffin, New Focus, and Centaur labels. She regularly performs at notable international contemporary music venues with the Bugallo-Williams Piano Duo, with which she has also recorded numerous CDs for the Wergo, Neos and Albany labels. She is Artistic Director of the New Music On The Point Festival in Vermont.