In 2021, Luna Composition Lab expanded its offerings to include Adventures in Sound—a series of group online composition courses open to female, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming young musicians ages 13-18 who are eager to learn more about music. The courses are designed for beginners to intermediate musicians and creative thinkers and the goal is to come away with an expanded sense of the possibilities for what composing can be. Both Adventures in Sound courses are currently taught by accomplished composer Whitney George.
Current courses include:
- Composers’ Toolkit focuses on notation and basic music theory for those looking to expand their compositional palette. From “how to write melody” to “how to construct basic harmony,” students will each have a course workbook with progressive exercises that build up to composing a piece of music. This semester will include small individual assignments to be done outside of class time that are tailored to building specific skills.
- Exploring Inspiration centers around applied compositional practices including writing for instruments, film, installations, electronics, and beyond. This semester is listening-driven, focusing on topics such as improvisation within structured composition, scores for open instrumentation, music with found objects, music for film, and more. Composers covered include Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Julius Eastman, Pauline Oliveros, Meredith Monk, Wadada Leo Smith, Nicole Mitchell, Ash Fure, Kaija Saariaho, Janet Cardiff, Tania Leon, Tamar-Kali, and more.
Each semester concludes with a reading session where student works are performed and recorded by professional musicians from our Ensemble in Residence. Armed with a professional recording, students will then be better equipped to apply to the Luna Lab Fellowship in subsequent years.
Adventures in Sound courses can be taken more than once.