Composers Conference
Chamber Music Center and Singers Workshop
at Wellesley College

About the Composers Conference

The Conference

In tandem with the Chamber Music Center, the Composers Conference is an annual workshop for composers of serious music.  Each summer, ten composers, selected from approximately one hundred applicants, are awarded composing fellowships to the Conference.  A corps of professional musicians of the highest caliber rehearses, performs, and records their works.  In addition, the Fellows work with two distinguished guest composers.  For summer 2010 (our 66th season), we welcome Melinda Wagner and Michael Gandolfi as guest composers.  Past guest composers have included Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter, George Crumb, Jacob Druckman, John Harbison, Lee Hyla, Earl Kim, Donald Martino, David Rakowski,  Shulamit Ran, Gunther Schuller, Joan Tower, George Walker, Ollie Wilson, Charles Wuorinen, and Chen Yi. 

Chamber Music Center

Each week, approximately 85 participants in the chamber music program are coached in small, pre-arranged ensembles by the Conference’s distinguished faculty.  Participants are matched according to ability and requests, and are assigned to at least two chamber ensembles in a week.  An ensemble meets for two hours each day during three consecutive days.  A typical day consists of a two-hour coaching session with a faculty musician in the morning.  When circumstances allow, a third ensemble may be assigned during the afternoon.  During free time, Center members are encouraged to form their own ensembles with old and new musical friends.  Musicians live and eat together in Wellesley College dorms and socialize with the composition fellows attending the Composers Conference.  Three nights a week there are concerts of traditional works and works of the composer fellows, performed by the faculty.  Large-group activities include readings of large wind ensemble pieces, as well as orchestral and choral works.  Enrollment is limited in each instrument category to ensure ensemble balance.

Singers Workshop

The Singers Workshop, an arm of the Chamber Music Center, invites a limited number of experienced applicants to explore the chamber music literature that is within the abilities of most amateur vocalists.  Repertoire includes selections from the seventeenth- through twentieth-centuries. 

Commissioned Piece for Amateur Players

Each year, a committee of amateur chamber musicians chooses to commission a piece by a Fellow from the Conference, to be performed by amateur chamber players in the subsequent year.  For the 2010 Conference, 2009 Fellow composer, Nicholas Omiccioli, has been commissioned to compose a piano quintet.  During the application process, amateur musicians are given the opportunity to indicate interest in studying and performing the commissioned piece.  In addition, a special twentieth-century program offers the opportunity to study one of eleven previously-commissioned works during a regular coached session.

Large Ensembles

Each day during a typical week, participants are encouraged to read large-scale works for winds or chamber orchestra.  These large works are conducted by faculty members, and sessions are held from 11:30am to 12:30pm on Tuesdays through Saturdays.  In addition, occasional master classes are offered by faculty members on various aspects of chamber performance, technique, preparation, and repertoire. 

History

Since it was founded in 1945, the Conference has served nearly eight hundred composers and many more amateur chamber musicians.  It is the oldest and most respected program of its kind.  Each summer, ten two-week fellowships are awarded to composers who are establishing their careers.  They participate in intensive composition seminars, public colloquia, rehearsals, and performances of their recent works.  The concerts are presented by the Conference staff of outstanding performing artists who also coach the participants of the Chamber Music Center in small chamber groups.  Annually, since 1986, the members of the Chamber Music Center have commissioned a fellow composer to write a work for amateur musicians.  For scenes from the 2008 Conference, courtesy of photographer Keren Oberfield, click here.

Support

The Composers Conference and Chamber Music Center, Inc., a nonprofit organization, is partially funded and supported by the BMI Foundation/Carl Haverlin Fund, the Aaron Copland Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, the Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University, the Harvard Musical Association, the Robert Miller Fund for Music, and contributions of individuals.

 

Board of Trustees

  • James Baker

  • Martin Brody

  • Eric Chasalow

  • Mario Davidovsky

  • Nancy Gleason

  • David Gordis

  • Patricia Harleston

  • Katherine Lemire

  • Jack Lifsitz

  • Peter McKinney

  • Dennis Miller

  • Victoria Miller

  • Eric Moe

  • Martin Nass

  • Sandy Rosenberg

  • Louise Schulman

  • Ellen Sklar

 

Board of Advisors

  • Milton Babbitt

  • Elliott Carter

  • George Crumb

  • Jacques Louis Monod

  • Richard Wernick

  • Charles Wuorinen

 
About Us Facilities Faculty and Staff Call for Scores Application Schedule Commissions Lectures Contact