Composition Program

The composition curriculum trains composers in the field of art music, while also opening the door to additional areas of creative practice. In the first year, students take an introductory course in composition. In years two through four, each composition student studies individually with one of the faculty members in the department.

Students are given numerous opportunities to perform and record their works in concerts organized by the department. Their compositions are performed throughout the year by Academy students from the Faculty of the Performing Arts, who receive academic credit for their participation. Selected student works are also performed by professional ensembles and orchestras, such as the Meitar Ensemble, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, and others. Some of these activities take place at the Jerusalem Music Centre in Mishkenot Sha’ananim.

Composition students have access to an advanced electroacoustic studio, as well as a classroom equipped with computer workstations. Many of the department’s bachelor’s degree graduates continue their composition studies at the master’s level. Graduates of the program are accepted to advanced studies at leading institutions abroad and become successfully integrated into musical life in Israel and around the world.

Graduates of the department are also involved in music education in Israel, serving as teachers and as coordinators of music programs. They are highly active as original creators, arrangers, music producers, and leading researchers in Israeli culture. Students and alumni of the department regularly receive scholarships and win competitions in Israel and abroad, including the Sharett Foundation scholarships, the Aviv Competitions, the Liberson Prizes, ACUM Prizes, and others.

Orchestral Conducting and Choral Conducting Program

The department trains choral conductors and orchestral conductors. In the first year, students take introductory courses in orchestral conducting and choral conducting. In years two through four, each conducting student studies individually with one of the faculty members in the department.

Individual lessons are held with the accompaniment of two pianos and workshops. The curriculum includes score reading, analysis, music theory, as well as courses in three foreign languages for choral conductors. Orchestral conducting students study a secondary instrument in addition to piano, such as violin or cello, while choral conducting students take voice training.

Beginning in the 2010–11 academic year, conducting students have gained practical experience working with a chamber orchestra available to them once a week. Students in choral conducting gain practical experience working with a mixed choir, which is available to them during their individual lessons.

Students also gain practical experience working with ensembles active at the Academy, and conduct reading rehearsals of the Academy’s New Symphony Orchestra, devoted to orchestration projects by students across the department. Graduates of the conducting program are successfully integrated into orchestral and choral life in Israel.

Students and alumni of the department regularly receive scholarships and win competitions in Israel and abroad, including the Sharett Foundation scholarships and the Aviv Competitions, and are accepted to advanced studies at leading institutions worldwide. Most resident conductors of Israeli orchestras, and nearly all active choral conductors in Israel today, are graduates of the department.

Additional Activities

At the end of the first semester, an annual Project Week is held, during which regular classes are suspended in favor of workshops, lectures, and concerts with Academy faculty members and guest artists.

The department holds competitions in conducting, composition, and music for dance. Most of the works submitted to the competitions are performed in the preliminary stages, and the winning works are performed by professional ensembles at the conclusion of the competitions.

Each year, the department hosts several musicians from abroad for lectures and workshops in composition and conducting. As part of the department’s curriculum, weekly meetings are also held for all students within the Theorists’ Forum, devoted to a wide range of lectures and encounters with musicians from Israel and abroad.

The department also holds a Conductors’ Forum, conducting master classes, and collaborative projects with leading orchestras in Israel, which perform works by composition students under the baton of their fellow students in the department.