MFA 513 Orchestration I

Prerequisite

MFA 503

Maurice Ravel, acknowledged as one of the greatest orchestrators in musical history, distinguished instrumentation from orchestration by saying that the orchestrator painted the colors around the individual instrument in such a way that these colors became more important than the identity of the instrument. The analogy to painting is fitting: works like Daphnis et Chloe and Mother Goose Suite are highly visual and textured in a way that can almost be felt. This course will put Ravel’s musical paintbrush in your hands. In addition to orchestration techniques, you will also learn the fundamentals of score preparation, notation, and engraving to prepare you for the live recording sessions that will occur at key stages of the program.   

This course is 4.5 credits.