Orchestration

Building on basic instrumentation, this course is about learning to think in terms of the full orchestra as an instrument in itself — how timbre, texture, and dynamics combine across sections to produce a specific sonic intention, traced through the evolution from late Romantic scoring into modern, spectral, and electronics-augmented practice. You'll submit weekly orchestration exercises, a midterm presentation, and a substantial final project for large ensemble or double orchestra, working with engraving software and a sample library to hear what you've written. It's the bridge between knowing what each instrument can do and being able to write idiomatic, performable scores, which is essential groundwork for composition, conducting, and arranging work later on.