Best Composers Online Institute and best creative learning.

Early registrations for 2023 now available. SAVE with an early registration by making a completely refundable $100 deposit/program by May 14, 2022. 
​pay 2022 prices for our 2023 programs. Payment in full due by June 1, 2023.

2023 Composers Institutes

When your music ​comes together!
2023
​Junior Composers Institute
July 9-16, 2023 
HYBRID 
​in-person &.ONLINE
Age 14-20
hybrid program online or in-residence at UW-River Falls, WI; creative projects played/recorded by the end of the week; daily theory & lessons
Scholarships available.
​LIMIT 24 

2022 price: until
May 14, 2023 $1,280
in-person;
$750 online

2023 price: after May 14, 2023
$1,450
in-person; 
$850 online
2023
​Composers Studio
July 16-22, 2023
HYBRID ​IN-PERSON & online
ALL AGES
hybrid program online or in-residence at UW-River Falls, WI; creative projects synchronizing visuals with music played/recorded by the end of the week, theory, lessons.
​Scholarships available.
LIMIT 24 

2022 price: until May 14, 2023
$1,250
in-person; 
$750 online

2023 price: after May 14, 2023
$1,450
in-person;
$850 online
2023
Crazy Ideas Institute
August 2023
IN-PERSON
8:30am - 4pm
AGES 9-14
for girls+ (non-binary, gender fluid, trans)
at a location to be announced;  learn about music creation, sound and basics of notation in a supportive, female-led space. No previous music or composition experience necessary. Each composer will create music that will be performed and recorded with professional musicians. 
​Scholarships available.
LIMIT 8 

2023 price: 
$400
Are you...?
• just starting
• not able to stop making music
​• looking to do better
• a songwriter • a composer
• not sure what to call the thing you're doing with music

Do you...?
• like to noodle with music • improvise
• make beats • experiment
• hear music in your head
​• love the feeling when you've put together a new piece
• find it hard to find others who make music
WHAT HAPPENS AT EVERY INSTITUTE?
Each creator finishes and records a new project during every institute: either using a DAW (digital audio workstation) or with acoustic sounds or a hybrid of the two. There are daily opportunities to...
• Explore & practice a variety of music literacies
• Analyze how music is put together & explore new music
• Generate, revise and polish a new piece of music
• Record & engineer your projects with professional composers and songwriters
• Work with guests taking deep dives into their lives as professional creative artists
• Collaborate and partner with other creators in end-of-the-day online lounges 
Eric
​Radloff
Krysta Rayford
Casey Palbicki
Jordyn Davis
Randall Davidson
Sarah
​Miller
Mary Kate Hines

Acknowledgement of support

We want to thank, especially, the ASCAP Foundation & the BMI Foundation for scholarships to support talented musicians participating in all Junior Composers Summer Programs including the Composers Online Institute. Their support is focussed on composers who might otherwise face barriers to participation based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, physical/medical/mental ability, religious identity, familial status, economic status, musical training or genre. 
We are equally grateful for the support of the music clubs of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin that form the North Central Region of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Finally, we owe our sustained vitality to the many families, alumni, volunteers and music teachers whose generosity inspire and support young music-makers in their pursuit of musical expression.