Bowling Green State University

Date: Dec 12 2015
Major: Music - Composition/Theory (This Major's Salary over time)
Reading that on scathing review on this site of BGSU's graduate composition program made me apprehensive to attend as a composition major in high school, but after 2.5 years here, I'm amused to have found the opposite of that cynical reviewer's words to be true. Perhaps the atmosphere was different at the time when that alumnus attended but either the reviewer is seriously biased or things have really changed.

If the faculty dogmatically enforced an avant-garde aesthetic, I would not have been able to present an incredibly cheesy film score to peers and faculty in my studio class and receive the positive response that I did.

If the faculty dogmatically enforced a conservative aesthetic, I wouldn't be able to write the aggressive, gesture-driven music I'm writing now either.

They encourage expansion. They don't force change.

Beyond that, this is an amazing school for those interested in electroacoustic music. It's also an amazing school with great resources for composition in general.

All this past calendar year:

I had a fantastic dinner with Jennifer Higdon, the featured guest composer for the New Music Festival

I had string quartet read by members of the Toledo Symphony

I attended a masterclass with Sam Adler, who sat down with students who just had their pieces read by the whole of the Toledo Symphony and recorded

I had an orchestra piece read by the BG Philharmonia and recorded

It's a great program and a very supportive institution with plentiful annual opportunities. I highly recommend it.