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Award Winning Composition

category: Music Department, 

 


Western Oregon University has an amazing music department for music composition. The composition studies include jazz, Brazilian music, film scoring, traditional long forms - symphonic, jazz big band, etc., and chamber music. A student can learn the style of their choice while applying their skills to ensembles as a staff composer. Also, the music department is small enough that an undergraduate student has access to the Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Big Band, and Choirs - a luxury often afforded only to graduate students at larger universities. Composition studies may also be extended into the exciting world of interactive electronic multimedia. The names of the degrees offered by this music composition school include the phrase "Contemporary Music" which is vital to the present day composer.


A music composition school is only as good as its faculty. At this college, composition is taken seriously not only by the teachers of composition lessons, but also by faculty who teach other aspects of music.


Dr. Kevin Walczyk has had his orchestral music performed by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and the Kiev Philharmonic, and many chamber ensembles also. He earned is Master of Music and his Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX.


Dr. Joseph Harchanko has written film scores and specializes in the world of interactive electronic multimedia. His experience with the Max/MSP/Jitter environment is extensive. His collaborative work with choreographer Sharon Oberst utilizes the dancers as the musical instruments. He earned is Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas at Austin under Dr. Robert Pinkston, among others.

Dr. Keller Coker has worked with such diverse groups and The Temptations, Bette Midler, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Ensemble de'Medici, and The Surfaris. He is co-founder of RCM Records and is active internationally as a composer/performer/bandleader.


Dr. Tom Bergeron has written in many styles, most recently that of the Brazilian Chôro, Zimbabwean styles for marimba ensembles, as well as jazz music in all its forms. He also teaches on-the-spot composition lessons: the art of improvisation. Dr. Bergeron is an acclaimed improvisor in jazz, avant-garde, and classical situations. He received his Master of Music Degree from the University of Michigan and his Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Oregon. His dissertation, Saxophone Multiphonics: A Scalar Model is an actively sought manual on the subject of extended techniques for saxophone.


Many student composers are also active in the singer songwriter program.


Western Oregon University also augments their composition school with adjunct professors. Music composition is a major part of the overall program at Western Oregon University.


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