Composers Online Institute

About

Composers Online Institute (COI) is a one-week online experience that occurred July 13-20, 2020 for songwriters & composers of ALL AGES who created new music with outstanding professional virtuosi OR received expert coaching and instruction in pursuit of their own composing projects.

COI was a 100% online experience.

Compositions and songs were recorded and mixed online and placed on the COI YouTube channel.
Daily individual composition lessons were recorded as Zoom sessions and shared to a private YouTube link with composers.
Music theory sessions were 20-30 minute participatory Zoom sessions recorded and posted on the COI YouTube channel.
Tutorials & Salons with guest experts were also Zoom sessions & recorded and posted on the COI YouTube channel.

COI YouTube

Creative Coaches

Seth Custer
General Director, Composer
email

Eric Radloff
Faculty Songwriter
email

Sarah Miller
Faculty Composer, Piano
email

Mary Kate Hines
Faculty Theory
email

Yue Lor
Faculty, Help Desk
email

Randall Davidson
Faculty Composer, Cello
email

Creative Projects

Daily composition and songwriting instruction with talented and experienced faculty.
- Private composition lessons. Daily lessons (Monday thru Friday) in support of composers' & songwriters' projects.
- Recordings of music composed during COI with
- Video clips of your experiences for your reference.
Choosing the kind of project composers wanted to create were based on interests and experience. Here are some of the resources that were available:
- Roster of our outstanding performers
- Two project paths:
  - Solo acoustic pieces for COI performers -- or
  - Multi-track DAW projects
- Professional composition teacher-coaches

Small Group Learning

Topics-based & group-interactive music theory. Composers & songwriters were encouraged to participate in a minimum of five sessions from the following menu of interactive theory topics:
- MIDI Magic - Making Drums {Eric Radloff]
- Choosing Colors [Randall Davidson]
- Clarity in Notation: communicating with your performers [Seth Custer]
- Composing for young Concert Bands [Mary Kate Hines]
- Starting & Building on Themes + Permutations of Themes [Sarah Miller]
- Verse VS Chorus - Melody [Eric Radloff]
- Verse VS Chorus - Harmony [Eric Radloff]
- Chord Progression Staircase + Choosing Chords [Sarah Miller]
- Inspiration from Embellishments [Randall Davidson]
- Intro to Minimalism: exploring rhythmic patterns {Seth Custer]
- How to write a canon - Parts 1 + Using Chromatic Chords [Sarah Miller]
- Cage's Music Box: Prepared Piano [Mary Kate Hines]
- Melody, Rhythm, Range: Seven Elements of Comedy [Randall Davidson]
- How to write a canon - Parts 2 + Realizing Chords [Sarah Miller]
- Messiaen's Toolkit: Modes, Rhythms & Harmonies [Randall Davidson]
- MIDI Magic - Editing [Eric Radloff]
- Set Theory: exiting the key signature [Seth Custer]

Performers

Show & Tell

Daily check-ins provided a good start to set daily work; introduced our featured performers & instruments.
Online videos of public Learning sessions, Tutorials and Salons.were recorded and shared on the COI YouTube channel. Individual composition lessons were recorded and shared privately with each composer.
Tutorials & Salons were conversations with guest experts including our featured performers. Details at FAQ.
Lounges were held using Zoom at the end of the day from 8-9pm CDT. A Lounge was just what one might imagine it to be: fun, unstructured, impromptu social time online doing what composers do...
- analyze scores' melodic-harmonic-stylistic practices (!)
- listen to each other's inspiring favorite music
- watch video clips with film or video game music
- goof off
- get to know one another
- We might even share buttered cyber popcorn

Registration

To participate, composers needed...
- internet access via their cellphone or [preferably] a computer,
- email address, and
- approximately 4-5 hours a day Monday through Friday in instruction, private creative time and community activities. If a composer has a prohibitive schedule we can find accommodation.
Tuition is $600. Composers & songwriters of all ages and levels of experience were invited to participate. Deadline for Registration was July 12, 2020; late Scholarships were possible; for information contact Pat Steege through email.

Who What When Where

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What is Composers Online Institute?
COI is a new online program of Junior Composers Summer Programs (JCSP) in the time of COVID-19. Junior Composers is celebrating its 20th summer this year.
We are excited to be re-imagining the authentic JCSP experience for musicians, amateur and professional:
become colleagues; all genres are welcomed and encouraged;
professional performers read new work; daily instruction in music theory and composition & songwriting; a talented faculty of professional composers; and plenty of interactions with exemplary featured artists.

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Who are the other composers & songwriters?
This is the first year of Composers Online Institute and composers of every age will be eligible to participate. For 20 years, we have limited registration to composers age 14-20; we expect many alumni to return but are also hopeful that more composers & songwriters will join us for this more affordable experience.
To ensure camper privacy and safety, personal contact information will be restricted to COI staff and faculty.

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General Questions:
composersonlineinstitute@gmail.com

When will COI begin?
The first live session will begin Monday at 10am CDT, July 13. A full daily schedule will be posted on this website soon. Registrants will receive regular updates by email.

Where
Online.
Your experience, instruction and community will begin from home.
You will soon discover connections to other creative people with similar backgrounds.