Head of Composition: Philip Cashian DMus, BMus, Hon ARAM

Guardian Interactive presents Paul Morley Showing Off
Paul talks about h's year in the Composition Department at the Academy

How to be a Composer (youtube)
The BBC4 programmes featuring Paul Morley at the Royal Academy of Music

The Courses
Composition at the Academy has an international reputation centred on intensive project-based undergraduate (four-year BMus) and postgraduate (two-year MMus and PhD) programmes.

All work is rehearsed and recorded in regular workshops with instrumental and vocal students. Many opportunities arise for student compositions to be played by ensembles from chamber groups to orchestras, and commissions are offered to write for a large number of events both within and outside the Academy for professional performers.

Annual composer festivals incorporating student works are presented in collaboration with the Southbank Centre. Recent festivals have featured Berio, Kagel, Kurtág, Maxwell Davies, Messiaen and Nono.

Undergraduate BMus
The Academy's four-year undergraduate composition curriculum is designed to reflect the broad vistas and challenges faced by today's music creator. It uniquely integrates the traditionally distinct areas of 'media' and 'concert' composition.

A seminar series underpins all studies, featuring guest composers such as Hans Abrahamsen, Jonathan Harvey, Gerald Barry, Simon Holt and Howard Skempton.The curriculum includes individual tutorials, workshops, weekly composition and analysis seminars, orchestration classes, Media Music Ensemble, electronic techniques, Writing to Picture and education workshops.

Postgraduate MMus and PhD
The MMus and PhD in composition are two of the Academy's most demanding programmes.

Your Audition
You must send your portfolio to the Registry by 1st October 2009. Please see the Composition Auditions page for detailed BMus and MMus portfolio requirements.

2008–2009 Highlights
> Workshops or performances of all music composed over the year, a total of more than 80 works
> Collaborative project with London Sinfonietta, resulting in performances of student works in the Purcell Room
> Performances of student works at the Spitalfields Festival and Aldeburgh Festival as well as at the Messiaen festival presented together with Southbank Centre
> Undergraduate orchestral showcase concert
> Concerts and discussions featuring the music of Johannes Maria Staud, Colin Matthews and Tansy Davies
> Undergraduate recording sessions with a Studio Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Manson Ensemble
> Animation projects with Bristol School of Animation
> Regular workshops with Sir Peter Maxwell Davies
> Collaborative project in Denmark with the Esbjerg Ensemble
> Open-score composition project with CoMA (Contemporary Music-Making for Amateurs)
> Project based on NMC Songbook with Sarah Leonard and Robin Michael
> Piano quartets project with William Howard, Schubert Ensemble

'There were no vacant thoughts from the Royal Academy of Music student composers… All received gutsy performances from the Academy students; this was a concert full of hope'
The Times, June 2006

Illustrious Past Students
Craig Armstrong; Sir Richard Rodney Bennett; Sir Harrison Birtwistle; Ruth Byrchmore; Cornelius Cardew; Brian Ferneyhough; Nicholas Maw; Michael Nyman; Paul Patterson; Sir John Tavener;
Augusta Read Thomas; and many recent graduates, including Luke Bedford, Nimrod Borenstein, James Brett, Joe Duddell, Adam Gorb, Alwynne Pritchard, James Radford, Luis Tinoco and Philip Venables.