Composition Institute
One-Week Summer Program
The MPulse Composition Institute is an all-encompassing program for high school composers. Participants will engage in many sessions during this one-week program focusing on the creative process, contemporary concert music, instrumentation and orchestration, and much more. Classes will be led by University of Michigan Composition Faculty, SMTD applied faculty, and professional musicians.
Dates: June 15 – June 21, 2025
Tuition (including room & board): $1,950
Application Status: OPEN
Non-Refundable Application Fee: $75
Priority Application Deadline: February 1, 2025*
Priority Admissions Notification: March 1, 2025
Fill out this form through Acceptd Support if an application fee waiver code is needed due to financial need.
*Applications will remain open until all spots are filled in the program. Please check the application status above to see if we are still accepting applications on a rolling basis. Rolling basis applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis following the priority application.
Faculty
Dr. Roshanne Etezady – Faculty Director
Assistant Professor of Composition, UM Faculty Director
The music of Roshanne Etezady (she/her) music has been described in Fanfare magazine as “fresh, effusive, and immediately likable,” and she has been hailed by the Detroit Free Press as “a promising and confident composer.” Her music combines lyricism with rhythmic intensity and engages performers and audiences alike.
Etezady’s works have been commissioned by the Detroit Symphony, Albany Symphony, eighth blackbird, Music at the Anthology, and the PRISM Saxophone Quartet. She has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and at the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Performers and ensembles including New Music Detroit, the American Composers’ Orchestra, Rêlache, Ensemble De Ereprijs, and the Dogs of Desire have performed Etezady’s music throughout the world. Her music has earned recognition from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Korean Society of 21st Century Music, the Jacob K. Javits Foundation, Meet the Composer, and ASCAP. Her music appears on the Naxos, innova, Cedille, Blue Griffin, Equilibrium, Summit, and Albany labels.
An enthusiastic educator, Etezady has taught at Northwestern University, University of Arizona, the Crane School of Music, and Interlochen Arts Camp.
Griffin Candey – Faculty
Assistant Professor of Composition, Tennessee Tech University
Griffin Candey (b. 1988) is a Michigan-born composer whose works have been praised for their “charming and elaborate complexity” and their “lyricism and emotional depth.”
Running the gamut from solo works to art songs to operas to concerti, Candey’s music leans heavily into concepts of memory and place, especially as they intersect with the natural world. Recent collaborations include songs for Mirror Visions Ensemble, a TTBB work for Cantus Vocal Ensemble, solo instrumental works (Kid Gloves for saxophonist Dr. Timothy McAlister, Bury the Hatchet for violinist Dr. Matt Albert,) chamber pieces for NOW Ensemble and Black Moon Trio, and two concerti (Plein Air for viola, and Double Aviary for tenor saxophone.) Upcoming projects include several song collaborations (with Chelsea Helm, Lara Brooks, Ricardo Sepulveda, and Colin Levin,) a larger work for Cantus, a dance piece in collaboration with choreographer Jillian Hopper and New Music Detroit, a few album projects, a chamber opera (Phenomenal Cage) premiering with Boulder Opera Company, and more. Candey’s music has been performed at Tanglewood, Source Song Festival, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the TUTTI Festival, and more.
A fierce advocate for new vocal works, Candey served for several years as composer-in-residence with Cleveland Opera Theatre, who premiered his adaptation of Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba in June 2022. His first opera, Sweets by Kate, has been produced throughout the U.S. since its premiere in 2016, including at Boston University’s Fringe Fest, Fort Worth Opera’s Frontiers, Marble City Opera, the Ohio State University, and at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. Griffin also works closely with a wide selection of living writers, collaborating with poets like Ada Limón, Kaveh Akbar, Jane Hirshfield, Aiden Feltkamp, Richie Hofmann, Laura Attridge, Hieu Minh Nguyen, and Anastasia Pennington-Flax.
Candey earned his DMA at the University of Michigan, studying with Dr. Kristin Kuster, Dr. Evan Chambers, and Dr. Roshanne Etezady. He currently serves on the faculty of Tennessee Tech University as their Assistant Professor of Music Theory and Composition.
Program Sample Schedule
The MPulse Composition program is brand new to MPulse in 2025! View a 2024 sample program schedule. While schedules vary year-to-year, this will provide insight into the programming provided.
Eligibility & Audition Requirements
Eligibility
The MPulse Composition Institute is open to students entering grades 9 (nine) through 12 (twelve) in the Fall of 2025.
Audition Materials
Applicants should submit two to four compositions that demonstrate their technical abilities and musical interests. Please submit mp3 recordings (live performances or digital realizations) and PDF scores of your compositions.
Upload a résumé in PDF format that includes the following:
- Any instruments in which you are proficient
- Number of years of instrumental study
- A list of compositions written and performed
- If applicable, a description of any previous formal training in composition (previous instruction in composition is not required)
MPulse Scholarships
Application Fee Waivers
Those who qualify may reach out to the Acceptd Support team to request a waiver code to waive the $75 application fee. Please view this page on how to apply for a waiver and the documentation you will need to provide. Fill out this fee waiver form to request a code.
Merit Awards
A limited number of scholarships are available for extremely talented students based on Faculty discretion. Consideration for these scholarships is automatic for applications received by the priority application deadline.
Need-Based Awards
A limited number of need-based scholarships are available to families with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of $120,000 or under in the previous calendar year, or with special circumstances due to the pandemic. To be considered you must upload your financial aid materials by the application deadline as part of your application. This includes:
- Monthly Expenses
- Previous Year’s Tax Return
- Statement of Need
Watson Scholarship (For Michigan Residents Only)
In the spirit of the life of a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School (1942) and Michigan physician, the Watson A. Young Scholarship promotes academic excellence and college aspiration among students with financial need. These need-based scholarships support middle and high school students’ participation in summer opportunities at U-M that seek to develop students’ interests and abilities in academic disciplines and expose students to the experiences and possibilities provided by higher education.
- Information about the Watson Scholarship can be found at: ceo.umich.edu/youthhub
- The Watson Scholarship Application opens in February.
Questions?
The MPulse Office is closed for the holidays from Dec 24 – January 2. If you have any issues with your application, please visit the Acceptd Help Desk or contact [email protected].
MPulse Summer Performing Arts Institutes
Office of Engagement & Outreach-Youth & Adult Programs
University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
Stearns Building │ 2005 Baits Drive │ Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Phone: (734) 936-2660
Email: [email protected]