Bachelor

Bachelor of Music (Interactive Composition)

  • CRICOS code: 058837J
  • VTAC code: 3800638231
  • International VTAC code: 3800638233

The experience

Overview

Meet Tilly Webb

Photo of Tilly Webb

Third-year student Tilly Webb explains why she chose to study Interactive Composition, and why having fingers in a lot of different pies can be the secret for composers.

Interactive Composition was my first choice – I don't think there are too many degrees like it in Australia. There certainly weren't any in Sydney, where I come from, when I was applying. Strangely, I think what really sold me on the degree was how vague it is. I asked the lecturers who auditioned me, ‘What exactly is this course?’, and the answer was: a little bit of everything with a contemporary focus. I wasn't settled on any kind of music in particular; I wanted room to breathe and explore as many genres/ styles as I wanted. I feel this course has definitely provided that for me, while still providing resources to help refine my compositional skills.

Tilly Webb

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Faculty of Fine Arts and Music

The course is taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, the proud home of the Victorian College of the Arts and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

Much of the teaching, research and performance takes place in, or near, the new Ian Potter Southbank Centre at the University of Melbourne’s Southbank campus. Our facilities on the University's Parkville campus, including Melba Hall, are also used for teaching, research and performances.

While studying at the Faculty, you will have the chance to benefit from a range of partnerships and engagement activities at major arts companies in Melbourne's Arts Precinct, local and national festivals and sister institutions around the world.

Explore the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music

Wilin Centre

Situated in the heart of Melbourne's Arts Precinct, the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development provides exposure to contemporary Indigenous arts practices and supports the recruitment of Indigenous artists, academics and students.

Learn more about Wilin Centre

IGNITELAB career development program

IgniteLAB is a world-class professional development program that supports the development of creative entrepreneurship and enterprise skills from the first day of our students' journey so that our graduates are prepared to create their own opportunities.

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Learn from the best

Your teachers are practicing artists who are well-connected to the industry. They are committed to challenging and inspiring our students to become future leaders in music. The scope of scholarly knowledge and performance expertise available to our students is also frequently augmented by visits from eminent colleagues from around the globe.

See more about your teachers

Visiting Master teachers

The Conservatorium has strong relationships with local and national industry organisations, creating unique opportunities for collaborative work and performance. We also regularly welcome national and international visiting artists.

Performance experience spotlight: Fed Square NYE 2022

Performance experience spotlight: Fed Square NYE 2022

Students from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) at the University of Melbourne took over Fed Square on New Year's Eve 2022.

In a brilliant opportunity for our young creatives, DJs and music producers from the Interactive Composition (IC) course at the Conservatorium performed on the main stage, accompanied by live dance performances and eye-catching animations from VCA students throughout the evening and for the countdown to 2023.

Read the full article on NYE 2022

Profile

Dr Anthony Lyons

Meet Dr Anthony Lyons, Interactive Composition lecturer

Composer, performer and academic Dr Anthony Lyons has created an incredibly diverse range of music in his career, from orchestral works to EDM to multimedia installations. So how does this inform his teaching in Interactive Composition?

In Interactive Composition, we are constantly making sound-led work with film, animation, dance, theatre, installation, design, digital and online platforms, working with electronics, synths, songwriting, EDM and more. If I had to sum up the discipline in three words, I’d say it’s fun, challenging and expanding.

In terms of my own practice, to give an idea, I’d say the most valuable skill is the ability be to step across very different creative worlds, mediums and making approaches. And in my teaching approach, it would be helping to uncover and encourage the unique individual qualities in others.

I love being surrounded by amazingly talented and dedicated colleagues and students who are making exceptional work and helping to change the world. One of my favourite experiences was leading the Interactive Composition cohort to Singapore in 2017 to develop collaborative new works in response to four sites across the city. We worked with staff and design students from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), as well as our own VCA Animators, and our finished works were installed at the ON-AIR Gallery.

When you make work in a particular location, something of the time, place and energy of that environment infuses both you and the work.

And my most treasured possession? It’s my Buchla Music Easel synthesiser.

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Learn from the best

Your teachers are practicing artists who are well-connected to industry, and there are course-integrated opportunities to collaborate with students from other creative disciplines. They are committed to challenging and inspiring our students to become future leaders in music. The scope of scholarly knowledge and performance expertise available to our students is also frequently augmented by visits from eminent colleagues from around the globe.

Learn more about your teachers

Visiting Master teachers

The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music has strong relationships with local and national industry organisations, creating unique opportunities for collaborative work and performance. We also regularly welcome national and international visiting artists.