MAP YOUNG COMPOSER’S FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

The Musicians at Play Young Composers Project (YCP) is a global community of professional and young creative music-makers. Based in Los Angeles, California, the provides a supportive network where young people can get coaching and inspiration on how to write music, meet and work closely with world-class musicians and composers and to have their music performed virtually and live!

Who is YCP for?

YCP is for anyone aged 15 years -21 years old who loves making their own music. Whether you create songs, write instrumental music, improvise, or use technology, we want to hear from you!

What music can I create at MAP?

We want you to find your own musical voice by giving you freedom to be creative while offering support and advice along the way. We encourage you to push musical boundaries and try new things!

All genres including Classical, Jazz, Singer-Songwriter, Film, and Pop music for chamber group instrumentation may be submitted and workshopped. The smallest compositions must be for one instrument and piano, and also be no longer than 3 – 4 minutes.

PROGRAM 2021-2022

• Fellowships will be made available to up to six high school and college-age composers in Southern California.
• Four two-hour composition classes on Zoom, conducted once a week for four weeks, will be provided for the students. World-class guest composers will act as the coaches for the project
• Each student will be assigned an instrument for which they will compose a solo work.
• Professional musicians will join the Zoom classes to give students feedback and coaching on writing for their instrument.
• Professional musicians will record themselves playing the students’ compositions.
• Program culminates in a virtual premiere performance of the students’ compositions being performed by Los Angeles’s most on-call musicians.

WHEN

• Composition classes will take place during a 4 week period TBD from September 2021 through April 2022

PROGRAM DIRECTOR’S

Conrad Pope

Married to Nan Schwartz, Conrad Pope, has contributed to more than a hundred movies that range the cinematic spectrum. Pope’s passionate commitment to telling a film’s story with persuasive and compelling music has made him one of the most “in demand” scoring professionals, contributing to music in the movies “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of The Crystal Skull,” “Star Trek: Nemesis”, as well as the “Star Wars” series, “Harry Potter” series, “The Matrix” films, and many more.

Nan Schwartz

Married to Conrad Pope, Grammy-winner and seven-time Emmy nominee, Nan Schwartz, is considered a pioneer of women composers. She composed, arranged, and orchestrated music for countless memorable scores, including “In the Heat of the Night,” “Argo,” “Life of Pi,” “Julie and Julia,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” among many others.

Michael Giacchino

Michael Giacchino is an American composer of music for films, television and video games. Giacchino composed the scores to the television series Lost, Alias and Fringe, the video game series Medal of Honor and Call of Duty and many films such as The Incredibles (2004), Star Trek (2009), Up (2009), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014), Jurassic World (2015), Inside Out (2015), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) and Coco (2017). For his work on Up he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Score.

Don Williams

Donald J. Williams’ vast and varied career as a percussionist, composer, orchestrator and conductor spans popular and classical music while advancing musical education in both America and Europe. His creative work has appeared on thousands of film and television soundtracks and popular music and original cast albums over the past four decades. In fact, he’s been involved in the majority of the world’s biggest movies. He has also performed with more than 45 different Broadway productions while also serving as a special instructor for prestigious universities.

Anthony Parnther

American conductor, Anthony Parnther, is the Music Director and Conductor of the San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra in San Bernardino, California, and the Southeast Symphony in Los Angeles. Anthony also serves as the Artistic Director of Musicians at Play, in Burbank, California and as Resident Conductor of the newly established Orchestra US.

Carlos Martin Jara

Carlos Martin Jara is a Spanish awarded music composer. He studies music in Madrid since a very early age. He moves to L.A in 2013 selected to participate in the ASCAP workshop of filmscoring. Since that very moment, he focused his career in film music and since that has worked on projects like the Oscar nominated Klaus. He also co-founds in 2014 the first orchestra in Spain specialized on doing recording sessions and works as an artist director and conductor. One of his latest events includes the premiere of the spanish film “The Silent War” (Netflix) in which he performed the original soundtrack (composed by him) synchronized with the image live with an 70 piece orchestra. He is now working on a feature film, a videogame and a tv show.

Larry Goldings

Larry Goldings is a Grammy-nominated pianist and composer. His organ trio with Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart has been recognized in the New York Times as “the best organ trio of the last decade.” Goldings’ musical inspirations draw from a lifetime of absorbing jazz, pop, funk, R&B, electronic and classical music. As a performer and recording artist, he is known for long-term collaborations that straddle the realms of jazz and pop with such artists as Jim Hall, Maceo Parker, John Scofield, Steve Gadd, Jack DeJohnette, Pat Metheny, Michael Brecker, Sia Furler, John Mayer, and others.

Tom Pease

Tom Pease has a Master’s Degree from USC in Music Composition. He taught secondary choral music as well as orchestra, music history, guitar, and drama, mostly at Taft High School. While at Taft he was the Lead Teacher, chair of School Site Council, Technology Coordinator, chair for WASC Accreditation, and author of the school’s Single Plans for Student Achievement. He is now a composer and photographer.

Note on COVID-19

The Musicians at Play Foundation closely monitors local updates and operates within the recommended guidance from our public health experts during this unprecedented and continually evolving situation.

If in-person learning is not possible, masterclasses, group classes and community sessions will take place virtually and online. All Composer Fellow Program events are subject to change or cancellation.

Eligibility

Open to students in Greater Los Angeles who will be in grades 10 – 12 beginning Fall 2021 and College students.

Applicants should:

• have a desire to pursue compositional training with dedication; prior composition experience or lessons are not required.
• have some familiarity with symbols commonly utilized in classical music.
• be currently active as a musician (including but not limited to private lessons; composition lessons; participation in an ensemble such as orchestra, concert band, jazz band, choir, or musical theater; participation in music production and technology; or other individual study).
• have access to email.

*9th Graders are welcome to apply to be considered for masterclasses and future CFP admissions.

Application Requirements

• Biographical information
• Educational background
• Letter(s) of Recommendation (1 required, up to 2 additional will be accepted)
• Short Essay Responses
• Musical Samples: At least two (2) of the following Options:
  • An original music composition (Audio or video, midi accepted)
  • An additional music composition (Audio or video, midi accepted)
  • A performance on your instrument (Audio or video)
  • Solo Improvisation, or a short original composition, performed by you on your Instrument (video only)
• Optional: Accompanying materials for the original music submitted above (scores, sketches, drawings, etc.)

Applications due August 6, 2021. Please direct questions and comments to composer@Musiciansatplay.org