A Musical Journey: Students’ Reflections on the Compositional Process

Abstract

The New Sounds of Learning: Composing music for young musicians is a multi-site, multi-year research project partnered with the Canadian Music Centre and the Ottawa Catholic School Board. It seeks to obtain an in-depth understanding of the parameters of writing repertoire for young musicians. Consequently, it examines the conceptualizing, writing, and refining of new string and wind repertoire in collaboration with composers, teachers, and students. Students recorded their compositional experiences in a journal. Data from these journals were examined through a pragmatic lens, revealing the following themes: Conceptualization Stage (Interest, Nervousness, Comfort); Writing Stage (First Draft, Feedback); and Refining Stage (Rehearsals, Growth). The findings will be of potential interest to composers, school music teachers, and post-secondary music educators.