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BA Composition

Studying Music at Ba...
Studying at Basel Acad...
Bachelor of...
Comp...

Composition

Institut Klassik | Study Composition in the cultural city of Basel in the border triangle of Switzerland, Germany and France! As a platform for composition, contemporary performance, open creation, audio design and new music theory, sonic space basel offers an inspiring, collaborative environment with a wide range of networking opportunities and space for artistic creation.

Key data

Degree
Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Musik, Studienrichtung Komposition
Studying type
Full time
ECTS points
180
Study start
Beginning of September
Duration
6 semesters
Teaching language
German, B1 level in German required
Place
Campus Musik-Akademie Basel
Stay abroad
Possible, not curricular
Application fee
200 CHF
Semester fee
750 CHF (CH) | 1000 CHF (EU/EFTA) | 1250 CHF (Not-EU/Not-EFTA) More Fees

You may apply between 15th December and 1st March.

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  • Composing with a view to numerous performance options and the best conditions for composer-performer collaborations
  • Developing and reflecting on your own language on the basis of a sound artistic education
  • Closely coordinated subjects and many elective/specialisation options

Why study this?

Learning outcomes

The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major lays the educational foundations for a career as a professional composer.

The aim of the study programme is to nurture and produce versatile and multifaceted musical personalities. To this end, students will gain extensive experience in all areas of composition, learn to master different compositional techniques, and acquire the ability to critically assess their own artistic processes and output.

In addition to solid general music education knowledge and skills, students will be able to demonstrate the ability to analyse, as well as write and speak competently about the practice of music in general. They will also acquire a range of other skills that will qualify them for a career as a professional composer. A FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music constitutes pathway to postgraduate study, e.g. a Master’s degree programme.

Career prospects

The Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major is not a professional qualification. Those wishing to pursue a career as a professional composer must follow up their undergraduate studies with a Master’s degree programme in Composition or another programme that leads to the necessary professional qualification.

Target audience

The FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major is an undergraduate degree programme aimed at students who wish to pursue a career as a professional composer.

Oleksandra Katsalap: Surface für Performer:in, Sound und Video (2024)

The video shows the performance of the piece as part of the Schlusskonzert sonic space Basel in DonBosco Basel. The piece is by Oleksandra Katsalap, a graduate of this course and winner of the Eduard Brunner Composition Award 2024.

Structure and Content

Students of the FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music with a Composition major acquire experience in all important aspects of composition. The study programme encompasses analyses of contemporary music and the reflective teaching of compositional techniques, as well as practical work in a variety of projects, such as workshops and concert performances of the students’ own works.

Modules and Reglements

The BA and MA degree programs at the Basel Academy of Music are based on modules.

The legally binding structure provides an initial guide to the content and weighting of the subjects on the degree program.
The detailed content and modalities of the individual subjects can be found in the module descriptions.
The study regulations come into force together with the study and examination regulations of the Basel Academy of Music FHNW and form the legal framework.

Structure

Structure

Structure BA Klassik Composition in German

Module descriptions

Module descriptions

Below please find the link with all the information on the module descriptions of several FHNW universities.

  • Switch the language settings to English.
  • Filter by semester, Hochschule für Musik Basel FHNW, the desired degree programme or other criteria to display the relevant module information.
  • Use the PDF button to call up a document from each overview and save it for yourself.
  • Course registrations are made via the intranet.
Study Regulations

Study Regulations BA Music in German

Programme Head and Lecturer

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Requirements, Admission, Entrance Exam

Admission criteria

In order to enter the FHNW Bachelor of Arts in Music programme with a Composition major, applicants must hold a school-leaving qualification (Baccalaureate, Professional Baccalaureate or equivalent) as well as they have to have passed the entrance exam and were offered a free place at the Academy (limited places). Applicants who have submitted all the necessary registration documents in time will be invited to the written exam by mail and the video meeting.
For further information on the admission criteria, please see the Study regulation of the Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Music (in German).

Language skills

We expect students to have very good German language skills at the beginning of the studies. Students who are not German native speakers must present at least a B1 German language certificate according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) at the beginning of the studies. This certificate must be complete, i.e. all modules (reading, listening, writing, speaking) have been tested separately and passed at least at level B1 overall. Only certificates certified with the ALTE-Q-Mark seal of approval (e.g. the B1 certificate of the Goethe-Institut or the telc certificate) are accepted.

Entrance exam

Dates

Registration
You may apply between the 15th December and the 1st March.
Along with the registration, it is mandatory to submit the following documents:

  • A curriculum Vitae, a passport photo, a motivational letter/a short biography
  • the school leaving qualification or proof of an equivalent general education qualification

For the entrace exam:

  • At least three compositions (may be submitted optionally as MP3 and/or video* in addition to the PDF)
  • A written analysis (pattern and extent of choice)
  • Optional: further exercises in stylistic composition, concepts, digital music programmes, projects, essays, documentation, music-theoretical/scientific research papers, etc.
  • A recording of a short, chosen work played on the piano or another instrument

*Upload your video onto YouTube and add the link in the registration tool or send it by mail to registration.hsm@fhnw.ch by 1st March.

On-Site
The entrance exam will take place at the end of April. The exact dates may be seen here.

Announcement of the results
The results will be communicated by mail in May.

Procedure

The entrance exam is split into several parts.

Procedure
Written exam by mail (duration approx. four hours)

  • Short compositional exercise. The exercise is based on various materials or concepts (you may also choose from electronical materials). In case of electronic concepts, you must submit a sound file including a written documentation.
  • Written analysis of a short movement from the 20th/21st century (preparation time one hour).

Online oral exam by videoconference/Zoom

  • Quick oral presentation (ca. 5-6 minutes) of an example of the submitted composing works.
  • You will listen to an example from the 20th/21st century and report explicitly on the techniques, pitches, rhythms, timbres, etc.
  • Ear training test about the candidates´ essential perception of the pitch, rhythms and timbres of the examples necessary for composition. The test may also be linked to the hearing example and the submitted works.
  • Brief music theory test
  • Conversation with the Jury by videoconference/zoom
Example Exam Composition

Klausur Komposition 2022 in German

Organisational Matters

sonic space basel

sonic space basel is a Platform of Basel Academy of Music for Audio Design (BA and MA), Composition (BA and MA and MA SP), MA SP Creative Interpretation in New Music, BA Music Theory Major, MA MP Music Theory, MA SP New Music Theory, MA SP Open Creation and Research. We consider ourselves a laboratory, a communication tool and an information hub for contemporary music.

Projects / Ensembles

At Hochschule für Musik Basel, students have the opportunity to participate in various project and ensemble programmes.
To the overview of the recurring offers.

Quicklinks
  • Welcome: A brief overview
  • Studying in Switzerland
  • Tuition fees & Financing
  • Scholarship
  • Module descriptions
Files and Regulations
  • Dates Entrance Exam on Site
  • List of works for Entrance Exam
  • Study Regulations
  • Semester dates

Contact and Info-Event

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Registration

Teaching staff

Our internationally renowned teaching staff

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Postgraduate programmes

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Basel Academy of Music

Basel Academy of Music

An international institute of higher education and research

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Degree Programmes

majors BA Institut Klassik
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Student Administration Academy of Music, Klassik
Telephone

+41 61 264 57 32 (undefined)

E-mail

klassik.hsm@fhnw.ch

Address

Leonhardsstrasse 6 4009 Basel

Room

6-001

Availability

Monday - Thursday 10.00 - 12.00 h 14.00 - 16.00 h Friday 10.00 - 12.00 h

Uli Fussenegger

Prof. Uli Fussenegger

Head and Coordination Contemporary Music

Telephone

+41 61 264 56 19

E-mail

uli.fussenegger@fhnw.ch

Address

Hochschule für Musik Basel Leonhardsstrasse 6 4009 Basel

Roman Digion

Prof. Roman Digion

Head of BA in Music | Institut Klassik

Telephone

+41 61 264 57 57

E-mail

roman.digion@fhnw.ch

Address

Leonhardsstrasse 6, 4009 Basel

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