Teaching Composition: A Symposium on Music Composition Pedagogy

Call for Proposals open until December 1, 2026.

The University of Utah will host Teaching Composition: A Symposium on Music Composition Pedagogy in Salt Lake City, June 3–5, 2027. The call for proposals is open now. The program committee welcomes proposals on any aspect of music composition pedagogy, from the K–12 classroom to undergraduate and graduate teaching and work with amateur adult composers. Formats include paper presentations (20 minutes plus 10 for questions), lesson or class demonstrations, workshops, panels, round tables, Lightning Talks (10 minutes), and posters, in person or online. College and pre-college instructors, independent teachers, and students are all eligible, and a presenter’s primary area may be any field of music. Proposals from individuals of historically-excluded identities are highly encouraged.

Deadline for proposals: December 1, 2026.

Notification of acceptance: December 20, 2026.

• Full call
• Submit a proposal

Questions: jessica.rudman@utah.edu

There is no registration fee to submit a proposal or attend this symposium.

The National Standards for Music emphasize composing and improvising, yet music educators are rarely trained to teach composition and may have limited experience with it themselves. This symposium brings together K–12 teachers, college faculty, and independent teachers to share research, lesson and class demonstrations, and workshops on teaching composition, with a dedicated invitation to pre-college teachers to present their classroom practice.