(L-R) Milo Brody, Charles McDermott, Noa Sherman, Iris Barrera, and Tyler Gjerde (Photo – Pasadena Chorale)
The Pasadena Chorale announced that applications for new students to enroll in its student-mentor composition program will be accepted until November 6, 2023.
By News Desk
Pasadena area high school students from 9th through 12th grade can enroll in its Listening to the Future program that will begin in November 2023 and run through June 2024. The free composition program will culminate with the Pasadena Chorale performing the student composers’ new work at the Chorale’s Listening to the Future concert on June 15, 2024. The online application is available on the Pasadena Chorale’s website. A teacher recommendation is required and applications are due by Nov. 6, 2023.
“Listening to the Future is an arts education program that is very special to me. Created and supported by Pasadena Chorale, Listening to the Future began in 2016 to give young composers a chance to hear their music performed in concert. There wasn’t a program like it in Pasadena,” said Pasadena Chorale Founding Artistic & Executive Director Jeffrey Bernstein.
The high school students will be selected based on their music experience, level of readiness, and teacher recommendation. Students will meet with professional composer Jen Wang two evenings per month. Ms. Wang will provide instruction in writing for choir, feedback on student work, and help with revisions. Students will compose two pieces for the Chorale: an arrangement of an existing melody, and an original work.
In March 2024, the student composers will attend a Chorale rehearsal and hear their music for the first time. The students’ compositions will be premiered at the Chorale’s June 15 concert. Students will receive video and audio recordings of their finished work that they can include in their portfolios and college applications.
In the eight years since the free educational program began, Listening to the Future has seen 6 composer mentors guide 24 student composers in the creation of 62 original compositions. Alumni of the program have gone on to study at colleges including Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Chapman University, and the University of Michigan.
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