Music Orchestration and Composition 2

Pre-requisite: MEL. 372 Contemporary Music Orchestration & Composition 1
Pre-requisite for: MEL. 474 Advanced Contemporary Music Composition and Analysis 1;
MEL. 472 Advanced Contemporary Music Arranging and Analysis 1

This course further provides students with the necessary skills to write and orchestrate for a variety of large and small ensembles in diverse styles of music. Concepts of arranging for small jazz ensemble introduced in MEL. 372 are continued and extended. Orchestral instrument families (i.e., strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion) are examined in depth, and their role in the large orchestra discussed. Through studying orchestration, including listening analytically to recorded examples written by skilled arrangers and composers, and applying the knowledge thus gained in written assignments which are often performed in class, the student gains the ability to orchestrate music for a variety of instrumental settings in different musical styles. The course culminates in a final assignment comprising a full arrangement for 9-piece band with optional vocal feature, which incorporates a variety of the writing techniques covered in MEL. 372 and MEL. 373.