Create and Experiment

The Performer-Composer MM enables you to engage in radical experimentation, pursue genre-defying forms of artistic collaboration, and develop original modes of expression that reflect the past, present, and future of musical artistry. The curriculum draws inspiration from diverse ideas and musical styles, including contemporary classical music, jazz, rock, electronic music, avant-garde music, minimalism, and improvised music. During your studies, you perform in self-organized ensembles under the guidance of a faculty mentor and have the freedom to choose private instructors from a list of hundreds of New York–based musicians.

Explore the curriculum

Experiential Learning

The program is designed for musicians who have already developed fundamental skills in performance, composition, improvisation, and music technology and seek to take their artistry to the next level. Every semester includes a “Stone Lab,” a course which draws on the relationship between the college and The Stone. In addition, you have direct access to leading contemporary music ensembles, including JACK Quartet, the Mannes quartet-in-residence, and innovative learning opportunities with The New School’s Philip Glass Institute, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Creative Music Studio.

Cross-College Collaboration

At the College of Performing Arts, you study alongside fellow students and faculty from the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music and Mannes School of Music and enjoy close connections to the School of Drama. This learning environment generates exciting opportunities for collaboration and cross-genre creative pollination. The program is also structured around developing the artist proficiencies defined by the college (such as artistic excellence, collaborative practice, entrepreneurship, and technology), ensuring that you gain skills that prepare you to succeed in the cultural economy of today and tomorrow.