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California Institute of the Arts

MFA: Performer-Composer

The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts

A woman in a flower crown sings intensely into a microphone, bathed in pink light.

The art of performance

CalArts’ distinctive Performer-Composer program reflects the increasing demand for flexible musicians who are able to integrate composition with performance practice. The MFA track is designed for advanced students who are already accomplished composers and expert players, and who have identified a creative direction that demands the deeper integration of composition and performance in their work. Designed to inspire you as a musician to evolve a practice in which you both create and perform your own work at the highest levels, the program draws upon practical and theoretical skills from music of the past and encourages you to speculate about music of the future. As you make new art, you’ll find the process of its creation is inseparable from its expression in the world. 

A band with a cello and a sitar perform on a stage in red light.

Create your own legacy

MFA: Performer-Composer

The MFA is structured to flex to the needs of each individual, as you immerse yourself in the continuum of creative music-making. In keeping with the value CalArts places on interdisciplinary art, Performer-Composer studies also strongly supports students who wish to explore—and link their work with—disciplines beyond music.

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Where the wild things play

A lone performer plays a saxophone, standing in the middle of an empty stage in a futuristic bandshell with a lawn in front and trees and sky in the background.

The composer Morton Feldman used the term “Wild Beast” as a metaphor for the ineffable generative force in art—making it the ideal name for CalArts’ iconic variable-use, indoor-outdoor music pavilion.

Working with your faculty mentor, other members of our acclaimed faculty, and a robust roster of visiting artists, you’ll participate in private lessons in both composition and performance. Throughout your residency, you’ll give recitals and other performances centered on original music, and develop a professional portfolio to highlight your creative accomplishments. In addition to solo performances, you may choose to organize or join one of CalArts’ many ensembles, sometimes with faculty participation, that are dedicated to exploring emerging musical languages. 

There are many directions you may choose to focus your work, including study concentrations in mastering original systems of improvisation, special methods for notation, nontraditional performance techniques, innovative approaches to interpretation of musical literature, incorporating new music and interactive media technologies, applied intercultural experimentation in music, interdisciplinary performance design, and more.

The MFA curriculum offers resources to help you develop the means to express your ideas in musical, spoken, written, recorded, and various media forms; contextualize your own work and that of others in the light of current directions, historical antecedents, and a wide range of aesthetic perspectives; and develop strategic plans and career pathways for sustaining your individual direction in creative music-making into the future.

MFA programs in The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts are designed to equip graduate students with the skill sets you’ll need to stake out a place for your unique vision and reach the highest levels of professional practice. The curriculum is designed to be stimulating and challenging, and to foster a collaborative learning environment, in which music and sound artists—students and faculty alike—work together to refine and perfect their already distinctive voices, while simultaneously exploring new and inspiring creative territories.

MFA performer-composers must meet all degree requirements and pass a mid-residency recital, a graduation jury and recital, and a graduation composition portfolio review in order to graduate and earn the degree.
 

Interested in this program?

View our step-by-step application guide to learn more.  

Start your application

Admission requirements

To be considered for the MFA Performer-Composer program, you must complete an application and all program-specific requirements, including a portfolio representative of your work, an artist statement, a brief video introduction, letters of recommendation, and an audition. Before applying, please familiarize yourself with the detailed application requirements and resources available to assist you in this important process. 

View application requirements

Degree requirements

Each CalArts music student designs their course of study in collaboration with a faculty mentor, The program is designed to establish a stimulating, challenging, collaborative learning environment, in which music and sound artists can refine and perfect their already distinctive voices to reach the highest levels of professional practice, while simultaneously exploring new and inspiring creative territories.

View MFA Performer-Composer academic requirements

Interdisciplinary opportunities

In addition to CalArts’ naturally collaborative atmosphere, the Institute provides several programs of study that can be pursued concurrently with a student’s chosen metier, such as a concentration in Arts Education or Integrated Media.

Learn more about MFA concentrations

Courses you might take

What courses would you take as an MFA Performer-Composer student? Browse the courses offered in the School of Music, including opportunities to study jazz, world music, experimental pop, film scoring, improvisation, electronic music, composition, vocal performance, African and Balinese ensembles, and much more.

Explore our course catalog

Meet the faculty

At CalArts, faculty and students are collaborators, teaching, learning, and working together as members of our community of artists. 

Ensembles

Student Performance

From world music and contemporary jazz to experimental sound art and interdisciplinary collaborations, a dynamic range of ensembles provides students with unparalleled opportunities to explore diverse genres, push creative boundaries, and perform innovative works with renowned artists and peers.

Three musicians play saxophone drums, and guitar on a small stage with colorful lights

Eilish Wilson (MFA 23) graduate recital

Performer Composer Laboratory

Gallery

Some of our alumni

More School of Music alumni

Rachel Epperly: Learning to See

Following 10 months of study in South Korea as a Fulbright grantee, Rachel Epperly (MFA 23), presented a graduate recital that featured music and poetry she wrote and composed for her voice, alongside movement, electronic voice-processing, piano, and accordion. “The influence of pansori [a Korean vocal technique] on Rachel’s singing style is remarkable, and she has adapted it into her highly individualistic way of vocalizing,” noted faculty member Anne LeBaron.

A figure is draped in gauzy fabric on a moody, blue-lit stage. Her eyes are closed and her face is shrouded by a thin veil.

School of Music Events

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Want to learn more?

We got you. Our Admissions team is all about providing the information you need to decide if CalArts is right for you. We’re excited to connect with you for a tour of our legendary campus, a virtual info session, or at one of our admissions events across the country or around the world. Take the next step—we’re here to help.