COMPOSITION
Formal admission into the Music Composition degree usually takes place after the sophomore year.
Explore Our Programs
Bachelor of Music, Concentration in Composition, B.Mu.
Master of Music, Concentration in Composition, M.Mu.
Compose Your Future
There are over 25 students involved in the Composition Program in any given semester. In addition to private lessons, all composition students attend a bi-weekly Composition Seminar where they receive additional instruction in the field of Music Composition, investigate composers and repertoire of our time and enjoy guest lectures from today’s top composers and performers.
Explore the Art of Music Composition
Students in the Composition Concentration receive private instruction with our award-winning and distinguished Composition Faculty: Dr. Nickitas Demos and Mr. Brent Milam.
Recent guests include composers Eric Whitacre and George Lewis, Pulitzer Prize winners Caroline Shaw and John Luther Adams and the Grammy Award-winning ensemble, Roomful of Teeth.
Students have opportunities to work in film scoring via various collaborations on campus, including a recent web series in collaboration with the School of Film, Media and Theatre.
Students enjoy membership in a very active chapter of the Society of Composers, Inc. Among other activities, this student organization curates three performances per year exclusively of student compositions.
Many of the significant contemporary ensembles in Atlanta have direct ties back to the Georgia State School of Music. Examples include Chamber Cartel, Terminus Ensemble, Bent Frequency and neoPhonia New Music Ensemble.
Graduates from the Master of Music program have received high-level commissions from such ensembles as the Philadelphia Orchestra and the American Composers Orchestra.
Alumni have had their music performed at national and international festivals and hold teaching positions within the field, including Georgetown, Georgia State and Kennesaw State.
Contemporary Music at Georgia State
In addition to its faculty and student body, the influence of the contemporary music program at GSU on the Atlanta scene cannot be overstated. Atlanta is home to many professional music ensembles specializing in contemporary classical music. Many of the major new music ensembles have direct ties back to the GSU School of Music.
A few examples include Chamber Cartel, an energetic ensemble on the rise nationally comprised of alumni of the GSU School of Music; Terminus Ensemble, a new music group formed by GSU alumni and faculty; Bent Frequency, another of Atlanta’s vibrant and most prestigious new music ensembles formed by GSU faculty; and, of course, GSU’s very own neoPhonia New Music Ensemble comprised of faculty and student performers. Both neoPhonia and Bent Frequency are ensembles-in-residence at the GSU School of Music.
Meet the Faculty
Contact Us
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday
8:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.
Office / Delivery Address
75 Poplar St
5th floor
Atlanta, GA 30303
Interim Director
Public Relations Coordinator
Undergraduate Admissions
Graduate Admissions
USPS Mailing Address
P.O. Box 3993
Atlanta, GA 30302-3993