Academy

In the music world, having a community of friends, colleagues, and mentors is important. For young composers this can be difficult to find, especially with the changes caused by the global pandemic.

The Go Compose North America Academy hopes to cultivate community by enrolling its first cohort of young composers as a class that meets five times during the school year for weekend workshops.

Individual Composition Lessons
Participants have the opportunity to sign up for individual composition lessons. Lessons take place twice per month from October to May at times mutually convenient to the instructor and student.

Featured Works From Our Talented Academy Students

Erin: Behind the Monkey's Eyes

Written during our Music for Film workshop in June 2023.

Chris: Daybreak

Written during our Composing for Friends/Colleagues workshop in October 2022

Devon: Death on the Nile

Written during our Jazz Trio workshop in July 2022

October 2022

Composing for Friends / Colleagues

This weekend we encouraged collaborative compositions, with participants creating works to be performed by their peers, fostering a community-centered approach to music-making.

December 2022

Vibraphone

Delving into the sonic and rhythmic opportunities of the vibraphone, British percussionist Tom Hall inspired participants to exploit its melodic and percussive qualities in their compositions.

January 2023

Counterpoint for Solo Piano

Focused on the basic techniques of counterpoint, and challenging participants to create unique two-part piano pieces for composer/pianist Daniel Pesca.

March 2023

Harp

Danielle Kunst showed how there’s more to the harp than exploring the ethereal sounds we all know and love. She specializes in teaching composers to write music that capitalizes on the instrument’s unique capabilities and sound.

June 2023

Music for Film

Aimed at crafting soundtracks for film, this workshop taught the essentials of scoring, from thematic development to syncing music with visual cues. We were lucky enough to be able to use an animation by Matthias Strasser allowing our Academy crew to compose some of their most imaginative work!

October 2021

Percussive Cello

Participants worked with Stephanie Jaimes (percussive cello) exploring the percussive possibilities of the cello, learning to blend traditional playing techniques with new techniques like chopping to create a novel sound palette.

December 2021

Winter Holiday Carols/Songs

This workshop focused on the composition of festive music, encouraging participants to create their own seasonal songs for voices and bells.

January 2022

Bass Clarinet

The weekend emphasized the unique capabilities of the bass clarinet, played by Katie Ravenwood who guided composers through the creation of works that showcased its rich, deep timbres.

March 2022

Jazz Trio

This session introduced the dynamics of composing for a jazz trio - the Espinoza Trio - blending improvisation with structured composition to foster a deep understanding of jazz elements.

July 2022

Composing to a Choreographed Dance

We merged the worlds of dance and music, challenging participants to compose works to go with a pre-recorded pre-choreographed dance created and performed by Tara McCrystal especially for Go Compose North America Academy, focusing on the interplay between movement and sound.