The SF State Composition Studio envisions a world of art without boundaries or borders. We recognize that music—whether intended for a game, the screen or the concert hall—has the same basis in invention and creativity.
A successful composer must not only develop skills in theory and musicianship but must cultivate a fertile creative soil through a broad liberal arts education. Our rigorous music curriculum paired with the university’s general education program and rich cross-disciplinary, collaborative opportunities makes the composition program at SF State a uniquely powerful educational resource.
Prepare for your future with a curriculum that is geared toward the state of the art and explore new and exciting career opportunities available to the 21st century musician. You will get an opportunity to build your portfolio and demo reels with expert mentors, world-class performers and the latest in recording technology. The School also offer chances to collaborate across campus with student filmmakers, game designers, performers, engineers, poets, dancers and animators.
Concert Music and Experimentation
Our faculty are among the leading voices in contemporary concert and experimental electronic music and are regularly commissioned and performed by top new music ensembles. The School of Music hosts some of these leading ensembles for residencies every year. Past artists include JACK Quartet, Splinter Reeds, Loadbang, Mivos Quartet and many others. This program provides Composition students with the unique opportunity of writing for and collaborating with these world class musicians.
The School of Music also has a partnership with the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players (SFCMP). Each year our students have a chance to write for members of this top-notch local ensemble and one student is selected, on a competitive basis, for a year-long paid production associate position with SFCMP.
Students pursuing a B.A. or a B.Mus degree can focus on the following areas of study:
- Concert Music and Experimentation (this page)
- Game Scoring
- Film Scoring
Take a look inside the Composition Studio.
The Studio
Our composition, game and film scoring students have access to state of the art equipment and a contemporary studio space. The newly renovated Electronic Music Studio (aka Egret Studio) features Focal Twin6 monitors, Dynaudio 8.1 surround, the latest from Abelton, Logic, Max and Unity, a Moog Sub 37, a collection of Euro-rack modules and a vintage Serge synth as well as an 80 inch HD TV. All of this is housed in an acoustically treated space complete with red couch and shag carpet!
Your Mentors
Benjamin Sabey
Benjamin Sabey’s experimental electronic, chamber and orchestral music has been described by Gramophone as revealing, “a brilliant technique and a keen ear for sound, timbre and arc.” Recent awards include two Barlow Commissions for the Mivos Quartet and the Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart as well as the Royaumont Prize of Domaine Forget in Paris. He has recently been a featured composer at the Ultraschall festival in Berlin and the SoundOn and NWEAMO festivals in San Diego. Sabey holds a Ph.D. from the UC San Diego where he studied primarily with Roger Reynolds. Email: sabey@sfsu.edu
Michael Gilbertson
The music of composer Michael Gilbertson have been described as “elegant” and “particularly beautiful” by The New York Times; “vivid, tightly woven” and “delectably subtle” by the Baltimore Sun; “genuinely moving” by the Washington Post and “a compelling fusion of new and ancient” by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gilbertson was one of three finalists for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music, losing to rapper Kendrick Lamar. Dr. Gilbertson holds degrees from the Juilliard School and Yale University. Gilbertson’s works have been performed by orchestras including the Minnesota Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Washington National Opera, Albany Symphony, San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, wind ensembles including The United States Marine Band, and Grammy-nominated choirs including Musica Sacra, the Crossing and Conspirare. Dr. Gilbertson is the founder and artistic director of ChamberFest Dubuque — an annual festival that raises money for music education. Dr. Gilbertson’s published music includes works with Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, and Theodore Presser. In March 2016, Gilbertson was MusicalAmerica Magazine’s featured Artist of the Month. Email: mgilbertson@sfsu.edu
Jonathan Kornfeld
Jono Kornfeld, M.A. in Music Composition, has studied composition with Ronald Caltabiano, Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez and Richard Festinger at San Francisco State University, and with Michael Czajkowski at the 2001 Aspen Music Festival. He studied jazz and classical piano with Adam Domash. He is the author of “Music Theory and Notation for Intelligent Beginners,” and performs in the jazz/funk group Hop Sauce. Email: jonok@sfsu.edu
Jerome Rossen
Jerome Rossen is a composer, songwriter, producer and professional musician. This website focuses on his songwriting projects. As a songwriter, Jerome is an active guest artist, collaborating with elementary school kids and has led high school songwriting workshops. He has also written sacred pieces in Hebrew and English for the Friday night Shabbat service.
If you’d like to learn more about Jerome’s work for TV, cartoons, advertising and video games please visit www.freshmademusic.com.