The Jacobs Composition Academy Summer Intensive is a transformative 5-week online composition program from June 23 - July 26, 2025, providing aspiring composers of all ages and levels with an education on the level of the nation's top conservatories from the comfort of their homes. Offering private composition lessons, masterclasses with Jacobs composition professors, distinguished guest lectures, and a recording of student works by IU performance majors, this program is perfect for students preparing a composition portfolio for college auditions or an adult musician who wants to explore the craft of composing. This unique online program gives composers of all ages the opportunity to learn from award-winning mentors, lecturers, and performers from anywhere in the world, develop their musical craft, and meet/interact with some influential figures in the business.
Distinguished Guests
JCA has gathered a roster of some of the world's most respected and celebrated composers and contemporary music specialists, to share their stories, experiences, and insights in composition and approaches to the contemporary music world. From Grammy and Guggenheim Foundation award winners to leading artists of the rising generation, these 70-minute lectures promise an unparalleled opportunity for learning on the highest level. In addition, students will have the privilege of engaging in conversation with these individuals through Q&A sessions.
2024 guests were Joan Tower, Amy Beth Kirsten, Cheng Jin Koh, Jiji Kim, and Tengku Irfan - please see their bios below. 2025 guest artists will be announced soon!
Asher B. Edelman Professor of Composition, Bard College-Conservatory of Music
Joan Tower is widely regarded as one of the most important American composers living today. During a career spanning more than sixty years, she has made lasting contributions to musical life in the United States as composer, performer, conductor, and educator. Her works have been commissioned by major ensembles, soloists, and orchestras, including the Emerson, Tokyo, and Muir quartets; soloists Alisa Weilerstein, Evelyn Glennie, Carol Wincenc, David Shifrin, Paul Neubauer, and John Browning; and the orchestras of Chicago, New York, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Nashville, Albany NY, and Washington DC among others. Her recent commissioned premieres include the cello concerto A New Day, the orchestral 1920/2019, and the chamber Into the Night.
In 2020 Chamber Music America honored her with its Richard J. Bogomolny National Service Award; Musical America chose her to be its 2020 Composer of the Year; in 2019 the League of American Orchestras awarded her its highest honor, the Gold Baton. Tower is the first composer chosen for a Ford Made in America consortium commission of sixty-five orchestras. Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony recorded Made in America in 2006 (along with Tambor and Concerto for Orchestra). In 2008 the album collected three Grammy awards: Best Contemporary Classical Composition, Best Classical Album, and Best Orchestral Performance. Nashville’s latest all-Tower recording includes Stroke, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
In 1990 she became the first woman to win the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Silver Ladders, a piece she wrote for the St. Louis Symphony where she was Composer-in-Residence from 1985-88. Other residencies with orchestras include a 10-year residency with the Orchestra of St. Luke's (1997-2007) and the Pittsburgh Symphony (2010-11). She was the Albany Symphony’s Mentor Composer partner in the 2013-14 season. Tower was co-founder and pianist for the Naumburg Award-winning Da Capo Chamber Players from 1970-85. She has received honorary doctorates from Smith College, the New England Conservatory, and Illinois State University. She is Asher B. Edelman Professor in the Arts at Bard College, where she has taught since 1972.
Professor of Composition, The Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music
Amy Beth Kirsten, “…one of America’s most innovative and visionary composers,” (BBC Music Magazine, March 2019) has cast herself in roles as varied as composer, librettist, vocalist, filmmaker, and director and is currently composing new works for Sandbox Percussion, the Bergamot Quartet, and Alarm Will Sound. She has been recognized with awards and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, the John S. Guggenheim Foundation, the Koussevitzky Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation. An obsession with ‘composed theatre’ – an alchemy of storytelling fusing music with all the theatrical stage has to offer – has led Ms. Kirsten to create works that delight in a variety of subjects from Shakespeare’s Ophelia, to Don Quixote of La Mancha, to Joan of Arc, and, most recently, to the ever-chained Jacob Marley from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Ms. Kirsten is drawn to stories in which the human will collides with its real or imagined surrounding world.
Her new opera, meditating on the relationship between Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais, premieres in May of 2025 at the Curtis Institute where she is on the composition faculty. In 2022, she was also appointed to the composition faculty at the Juilliard School where she maintains a private studio and teaches a two-semester course called “Theatre Etudes.” A published poet, she is currently working on a couple of short stories, as well as a book of essays, doodles, shadow art, and musical sketches entitled Something Beautiful in the Dark: Impractical Advice for Makers and Dreamers – coming in 2025!
You can learn more about her stage works, concert music, writing, visual art, and more at her website: www.amybethkirsten.com
Professional composer/yangqin performer, co-director of the TengKoh Academy
Writing music characterized by “lyrical centers,” that “channeled spirituality” and “vehemence” (The Straits Times), Singaporean composer and Yangqin/violin performer Cheng Jin Koh strives to transcend boundaries through the reinvention of musical meanings.
Her accolades include the BMI Foundation Young Composer (William Schuman) Prize, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, a Society of New Music Brian Israel Prize, the Palmer Dixon Award and Gena Raps Chamber Music Prize (both from the Juilliard School), and the Margaret Blackburn and Boston New Music Initiative (BNMI) Prizes. She was recently the commissioned composer for the 2022 Singapore International Violin Competition and was also commissioned by the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art for their centennial celebrations. Groups she has worked with include the Verona Quartet, Bergamot Quartet, New Thread Quartet, Mirror Visions Ensemble, Central Conservatory of Music and China Conservatory of Music in China, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Chinese Orchestra, Singapore National Chinese Youth Orchestra, and Ding Yi Music Company.
As a Yangqin musician, she was one of the youngest grand prize winners of the Singapore Chinese Music Competition and performed as a soloist with the Singapore Chinese Orchestra at eighteen. A member of the Chinese Music Ensemble of New York, she also regularly premieres her own music, which mostly involve multicultural and interdisciplinary explorations. Having completed her undergraduate and graduate studies at the Juilliard School, she is currently a PhD MacCracken fellow and a teaching assistant at New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Contemporary performer and Professor of Guitar, Jacobs School of Music
Praised by The Washington Post for her “mesmerizing” and “stirring” performances, JIJI is an adventurous guitarist known for her virtuosity and command of diverse repertoire. Equally at home with both acoustic and electric guitar, her concert programs range from traditional and contemporary classical to free improvisation.
Renowned for her impeccable musicianship, compelling stage presence, and dedication to commissioning and performing new musical works, JIJI has firmly established herself as a leading guitarist of the 21st century. In 2021, The Washington Post identified her as "one of the 21 composers/performers who sound like tomorrow," while The Kansas City Star lauded her as "a graceful and nuanced player." JIJI has graced prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, 92nd Street Y, Caramoor, Green Music Center, and the National Art Gallery.
Her performances have been featured on notable platforms, including PBS, NPR’s From the Top, WHYY-TV, FOX 4-TV, Vice Channel's Munchies, Channel 6's The Not So Late Show (Kansas), and Hong Kong's RTHK’s The Works. Notably, in 2016, she became the first guitarist in three decades to clinch first prize in the Concert Artists Guild Competition.
JIJI has premiered solo and chamber works by an eclectic array of composers, including Michael Gilbertson, Hilary Purrington, Shelley Washington, Kate Moore, Chris Rountree, Gulli Bjornsson, Molly Joyce, and Paul Lansky. Set to release UNBOUND in 2023, the culmination of a multiyear commissioning and recording project, JIJI has also collaborated with esteemed ensembles and musicians, including the New York Philharmonic, Cuarteto Latinoamericano, Verona Quartet, Wildup, Duo Linu, and violinist Danbi Um. During the 2023–24 season, JIJI will make her debut at Verizon Hall with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, premiering a new guitar concerto by Grammy-winning composer Steven Mackey.
An esteemed educator, JIJI serves as an Associate Professor of Guitar at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, conducting master classes and workshops at prestigious institutions worldwide, including the Peabody Institute, Yale University, and Dublin’s National Concert Hall. During her spare time, JIJI enjoys cooking and creating weird sounds on Ableton. She is represented by Kirshbaum Associates, Inc. and sponsored by D'Addario Strings and GuitarLift by Felix Justen.
Professional conductor/pianist/composer, co-director of the TengKoh Academy
Malaysian-born Tengku Irfan has appeared around the world as a conductor, pianist, and composer. Recently, he made his debut as a guest conductor with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in September 2023. He was also the Assistant Conductor of the NYO-USA in July 2023, working alongside eminent conductor Sir Andrew Davis. Back in 2021, he was the runner-up and audience prize winner of the Los Angeles Conducting Competition. He also worked as assistant and cover conductor for David Robertson, Speranza Scappucci, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Jörg Widmann, and Simone Young.
As a pianist, he has performed with orchestras worldwide with conductors Claus Peter Flor, Neeme Järvi, Kristjan Järvi, Robert Spano, Osmo Vänskä, George Stelluto and Jeffrey Milarsky, among others. As a composer, his compositions have been premiered by highly-acclaimed orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, and have won three ASCAP Morton Gould Awards.
Previously, Irfan was a double major in piano and composition at the Juilliard School, where he studied piano with Yoheved Kaplinsky and composition with Ira Taxin and Robert Beaser. Currently, he is in his last year studying orchestral conducting with David Robertson at the Juilliard School. He is a proud recipient of the Juilliard School Kovner Fellowship Award.
Masterclass faculty
Each member of the masterclass faculty is a professor in the Composition Department at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music.
Professor of Composition, Jacobs School of Music
Don Freund has been described as “a composer thoughtful in approach and imaginative in style” (The Washington Post), whose music is “exciting, amusing, disturbing, beautiful, and always fascinating” (Music and Musicians, London). He is an internationally recognized composer with works ranging from solo, chamber, and orchestral music to pieces involving live performances with electronic instruments, music for dance, and large theater works. Many of his works are available on commercial CD.
The recipient of numerous awards and commissions, including two grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship, Freund has served as guest composer at a vast array of universities and music festivals, and presented master classes throughout Europe, Australia, Asia, Africa, and South America. He is also active as a pianist, conductor, and lecturer. As a festival coordinator, he has programmed over 1,000 new American works. He has been conductor or pianist in the performance of some 200 new pieces, usually in collaboration with the composer.
Freund’s piano concert repertoire extends from new music to complete performances of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier and his own pianistic realizations of Machaut. He has performed his Earthdance Concerto with numerous university wind ensembles.
As a longtime composition faculty member of the Jacobs School of Music, Freund’s students from a 50-year teaching career continue to win an impressive array of awards and recognitions. Up-to-date news on works and performances as well as videos, audio files, and pdf scores of over 100 of his compositions can be found at DonFreund.com.
Professor of Composition, Jacobs School of Music
Hailed by The New York Times as “striking and resourceful . . . handsomely brooding,” the music of Han Lash (they/them) has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles Walt Disney Concert Hall, Lincoln Center, and Tanglewood Music Center, as well as the Times Center in Manhattan, Chicago Art Institute, and Aspen Music Festival and School, among other prestigious venues.
Lash has received numerous honors, including the ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award, Charles Ives Scholarship (2011) and Fellowship (2016) from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Fromm Foundation Commission, Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, Yaddo Artist Colony fellowship, Naumburg Prize in Composition, Barnard Rogers Prize in Composition, Bernard and Rose Sernoffsky Prize in Composition, and multiple academic awards. Lash’s orchestral work "Furthermore" was selected by the American Composers Orchestra for the 2010 Underwood New Music Readings. Lash’s chamber opera, Blood Rose, was presented by New York City Opera’s VOX in the spring of 2011.
In 2016, they were honored with a Composer Portrait Concert at Columbia University’s Miller Theatre, which included commissioned works for pianist Lisa Moore and the ensemble loadbang. In the 2017-18 season, Lash’s Piano Concerto No. 1, “In Pursuit of Flying,” was premiered by Jeremy Denk and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; the Atlantic Classical Orchestra debuted “Facets of Motion” for orchestra; and “Music for Nine, Ringing” was performed at the Music Academy of the West School and Festival. Paul Appleby and Natalia Katyukova premiered “Songs of Imagined Love,” a song cycle commissioned by Carnegie Hall, in 2018, and in 2019, Lash’s chamber opera Desire premiered at Miller Theatre to great acclaim. Lash’s Double Concerto for piano and harp was premiered by the Naples Philharmonic, and “Forestallings,” a musical response to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, was premiered by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Lash’s double harp concerto, “The Peril of Dreams,” was premiered by the Seattle Symphony in November 2021, with the composer as one of the featured soloists.
Their music is published exclusively by Schott Music Corporation (New York).
Professor of Composition, Jacobs School of Music
David Dzubay’s music has been performed in the U.S., Europe, Canada, Mexico, and Asia by the symphony orchestras of Aspen, Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Guangxi, Guiyang, Honolulu, Kansas City, Louisville, Memphis, Minnesota, Oregon, Oakland, St. Louis, and Vancouver; the American Composers Orchestra, national symphonies of Ireland and Mexico, New World Symphony, National Repertory Orchestra, and New York Youth Symphony; and ensembles including the Grossman Ensemble, Le Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, Onix, Manhattan and St. Louis Brass quintets, Voices of Change, the Alexander, Orion, and Pacifica string quartets, the League/ISCM, Earplay, and the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.
His music has been championed by conductors including James DePreist, George Hanson, Keith Lockhart, David Loebel, Michael Morgan, Eiji Oue, Richard Pittman, Iván del Prado, Mark Russell Smith, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Michael Stern, Carl Topilow, David Wiley, Kirk Trevor, Thomas Wilkins, and David Zinman.
Honors include two Fromm Music Foundation commissions; Guggenheim, MacDowell, Yaddo, Copland House, and Djerassi fellowships; the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival Composition Competition, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra Composition Competition, Utah Arts Festival Commission, William Revelli and Walter Beeler memorial prizes, and Wayne Peterson Prize; and grants from the Aaron Copland Fund for Music for two portrait CDs.
Dzubay was previously on the faculty of the University of North Texas in Denton. Since 2011, he has taught composition for three weeks each summer at the Brevard Music Center. From 1995 to 1998, he served as composer-consultant to the Minnesota Orchestra and during 2005-06, he was Meet the Composer/American Symphony Orchestra League Music Alive Composer-in-Residence with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra.
Dzubay has conducted at the Tanglewood, Aspen, and June in Buffalo festivals as well as the National Symphony of Columbia, Grossman Ensemble, League of Composers Orchestra, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Music from China, and Voices of Change.
Academy faculty
Corey Chang, described as “a major composer…of his generation” by The Millbrook Independent, is a composer and pianist from Connecticut. Winner of an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award among other honors, Chang holds degrees in Composition and Mathematics from Bard College and an MM Composition from the Juilliard School.
Born in Russia, Alexey Logunov is a composer and pianist whose music explores textural density and timbral complexity. His compositions have been consistently performed by internationally recognized ensembles at numerous festivals such as reMusik.org, Sound Ways and From Avantgarde to Present Days. He is a winner of the 2023 Georgina Joshi Composition Commission Award at Jacobs School of Music.
Emma Cardon-Wake (MM, Cleveland Institute of Music) is a composer, harpsichordist, and cellist from Logan, Utah. She has been recognized as an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composer Award winner and has received commissions from the acclaimed Fry Street Quartet, the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, and many other ensembles and instrumentalists.
Dr. Yi-De Chen has a passion for teaching and a drive to connect with students with diverse backgrounds. Chen's career as a composer encompasses works for stage, concerts, film, animation, and ballet. This rich portfolio has showcased his exceptional creativity and equipped him with teaching methodologies that resonate with his students.
Jamey Guzman (M.M. Composition and M.M. Music Scoring for Visual Media, in progress, Indiana University) is a composer and storyteller who tells necessary underrepresented stories with experimental and innovative techniques. Jamey has received major commissions from The Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana; Really Spicy Opera, Opera Arlington, Strange Trace Opera, ENAEnsemble, Paradox Opera, and SONIT.
Jacob Wilkinson is an American composer who holds a master’s degree from the Peabody Institute, where he was awarded the P. Bruce Blair award in composition. Equally passionate about practical and theoretical approaches to music, he enjoys integrating a variety of styles and methods into his teaching. He is currently pursuing a double DM/PhD degree in composition and theory at Indiana University.
For program information, please contact Corey Chang at changco@iu.edu. For registration questions, please contact musicsp@iu.edu.
Program offerings
Designed for pre-college and adult participants ages 15 and older, this track is our “main course” that serves up an experience on par with some of the world’s best conservatories.
This offering includes: ● Nine 60-minute lectures on composition: two per week for weeks 1,2,3, and 5 and one lecture on week 4 ● FREE ACCESS to all distinguished guest lectures in the Distinguished Guests package ● Nine 30-minute private lessons: two per week for weeks 1-4 and one on week 5* ● Individualized masterclass session with a renowned Indiana University composition professor (see under “Masterclass Faculty”) ● Reading, recording, and performance by one of two JCA ensembles-in residenc
Tuition: $750
Designed for pre-college and adult participants ages 15 and older who already study composition. Those enrolled in Track 1B will participate in all the same masterclasses, reading session, and concert performance as those in Track 1A. Track 1B students will not take private lessons with JCA faculty; rather, they will continue to work with their own private lesson instructor to ensure progress on their composition for the trio performance concert. This offering includes:
Two 60-minute lectures on composition per week for weeks 1, 2, 3, 5 and one lecture on week 4 (9 total) ● FREE ACCESS to all distinguished guest lectures in the Distinguished Guests package ● Individualized masterclass session with a renowned Indiana University composition professor (see under “Masterclass Faculty”) ● Reading, recording, and performance by one of two JCA ensembles-in-residence
Tuition: $550
Designed for composition students of all ages, this offering includes:
Ten 30-minute private lessons: two lessons per week for five weeks
Invitation to watch (not participate in) track 1 masterclasses and rehearsals
Note: combined track 2/3 package contains access to both private lessons and distinguished guest lectures at a discounted price
Tuition: $350
Designed for composers who wish to see live lectures and Q&A sessions by five world-class figures in the contemporary music field from the comforts of their own homes!
This offering includes: ● The purchase of all distinguished guests lectures (70 minutes each, see under “Distinguished Guests”) ● Invitation to watch (not participate in) track 1 masterclasses and rehearsals ● Note: combined track 2/3 package contains access to both private lessons and distinguished guest lectures at a discounted price
Tuition: $210
Designed for composers who want both private lessons and to see lectures from our distinguished guests.
This offering includes: ● Ten 30-minute private lessons: two lessons per week for five weeks ● The purchase of all distinguished guests lectures (70 minutes each, see under “Distinguished Guests”) at a 50% discount ● Invitation to watch (not participate in) track 1 masterclasses and rehearsals
Tuition: $455
*Please note, Tracks 1-3
These programs are entirely virtual via Zoom
Tuition reflects a 5-week semester
Lessons will be scheduled according to the availability of the student and instructor
All tracks are subject to a $100 non-refundable enrollment deposit due at registration (credited towards tuition)
2025 Resident Ensemble Information
JCA’s resident ensembles contain some of the best student performers at Indiana University. For the summer intensive, we have two ensembles (announcement of instrumentations coming soon), one of which each student will write a 3-6-minute piece for. Pieces will be due by Monday July 14, and final edits (after the readings) will be due by Sunday, July 20.
Schedule
Summer 2025 Semester
Date
Event
May 23
Registration closes
June 15
Payment due
June 23
Classes start
July 26
Classes conclude
All times listed below refer to Eastern Time ● Track 1 lectures will take place every Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-6:30 PM - Exceptions are on week 4 (only one lecture on Thursday). ● Distinguished Guest lectures will be every Wednesday from 7 - 8:10 PM ● Masterclasses will occur on 7/5, 7/10, 7/15, 7/17, and 7/19, exact time to be determined. Two to four students will participate in each masterclass. - Any 2025 JCA Summer Intensive student may join to watch masterclasses, regardless of track, though talking/commenting is not permitted from those not directly involved.
Video recordings will be provided for anyone who is not able to make it to a lecture, either by a faculty or guest. These videos will be password-protected and may not be shared publicly on any platform or with friends, colleagues, or anyone who has not purchased a package from the 2025 JCA Summer Intensive
How to apply
Eligibility: Track 1 is for both adults and students age 15 and above. Tracks 2 and 3 are for any age, though for children under 9 years old, one parental figure must be present at all times for private lessons and/or distinguished guest lectures.
Application process: To apply, complete the online registration form. No auditions are required for enrollment. Late applications will not be accepted.
Lesson scheduling: Participants will be contacted by the administrative assistant on teacher assignments. Once that is done, future scheduling can be communicated between the student and the assigned instructor.
Payment: Accepting payment via credit card or check. Please see FAQ for mailing address.
Cancellation Policy:Click here for our most up to date cancellation policy.
