UCF student composers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and this is evident in the exciting and diverse music they create. Whether writing for the concert hall or for media including film, television and video games, our students pride themselves on their dedication to craft, openness to new ideas and meaningful interaction with listeners.

Graduates of the composition program at UCF are prepared to be successful artists in a variety of media and are competitive candidates for further graduate and doctoral study.

About the program

The composition program at UCF is designed to be intensive, thorough and uniquely collaborative. Students participate in a weekly masterclass in addition to receiving private instruction. Recent masterclass guest artists include nationally renowned composers and performers like Angélica Negron, Nicholas Omiccioli, Jenny Lin, Yarn/Wire and Unheard-of Ensemble. Students can also become members of the Pegasus Composers Society, a student-run organization for music creators that provides even more opportunity for cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Multiple composer concerts each semester provide students with a consistent outlet for having their work performed, while ongoing partnerships with ensembles and organizations both inside and outside of the university facilitate the constant exchange of new ideas and opportunities for creative partnerships. Composition students are given the opportunity to have their work programmed at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in Downtown Orlando during the annual UCF Celebrates the Arts festival.

Find out more about the Bachelor of Music in Composition.

Find out more about the Masters of Arts in Music with concentrations including composition.

About the facilities

In addition to UCF’s all-Steinway practice facilities, student composers have access to industry standard equipment hosted in a cutting-edge workspace reserved exclusively for them. The Center for Multimedia Composition (opened in 2019) is being outfitted for projection and 5.1 surround sound, and has individual workstations equipped with the following features:

• iMac Pro Computers
  • 2.5GHz 14core Intel Xeon W processor
  • Turbo Boost up to 4.3GHz
  • 64GB 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory
  • Radeon Pro Vega 64 with 16GB of HBM2 memory
  • 1TB SSD
• Roland A-500 Pro MIDI Keyboard
• JBL 3-Series Pro Studio Monitors
• Focusrite Scarlett 18i8 Audio Interface
• Industry Standard Software
  • Finale v26
  • Sibelius Ultimate
  • Logic Pro X
  • ProTools Ultimate
  • Final Cut Pro
  • Avid Media Composer
  • Adobe Premiere Pro
  • Max 8
  • EastWest Hollwood Orchestra Diamond Edition