NEWS
Department of Music adds composition concentration to major
Louisiana Tech University’s Department of Music in the School of the Performing Arts has added a composition concentration to its list of concentrations to the Bachelor of Arts in Music degree.
The concentration was approved by the university in the spring of 2014 and formally accredited by the National Associations of Schools of Music in June of this year.
The composition concentration was designed for students interested in composition as a career. Students will take a diverse set of courses that provide a well-rounded and thorough study of compositional techniques of the 20th and 21st centuries. They will also compose works for various instrumental, vocal and electronic mediums. It is expected that students who complete this concentration will continue their studies at the graduate level.
Dr. Joe Alexander, professor of music, said three students had unofficially completed the degree through directed studies classes.
Senior Joshua Mattison is the first official student to study music with a concentration in composition at Louisiana Tech. “Music was always a positive channel,” Mattison said. “I wanted to be able to write music that other people could perform as a similar outlet.”
Mattison said he plans to attend graduate school after graduation and work on a master’s degree in composition.
Alexander said Mattison has already composed several pieces that have received high recognition.
“In the winter quarter of 2014, [Mattison’s] composition, ‘Tango,’ placed second at the 2014 Louisiana Tech Undergraduate/Graduate Student Research Symposium in the Undergraduate Oral Presentations category,” Alexander said. “Because of this, he represented Louisiana Tech at the University of Louisiana System’s 2014 Academic Summit. Later that spring, his unaccompanied tuba composition, ‘Don’t Be Seen,’ was selected for the Fifteen Minutes of Fame: Kenyon Wilson competition and was premiered at the 2014 International Tuba/Euphonium Conference.”
Written by Judith Roberts – jroberts@latech.edu