The HB Compose Yourself! Project is Hoff-Barthelson’s annual composition Master Class for young composers, directed by HBMS faculty member Derek Cooper and produced in collaboration with Copland House.

The HB Compose Yourself! Project provides a rare opportunity for students to receive feedback from renowned, award-winning composers on works that they have written. This year’s guest composers are Nils Vigeland and Matt Browne.

Master Classes are open to the public to observe free of charge, but reservations are required.

RSVP here.

Nils Vigeland, born in Buffalo, NY in 1950, is a pianist and composer. He made his professional debut in 1969 with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra under Lukas Foss. Vigeland studied composition with Foss at Harvard (B.A., 1972) and later earned a Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo, studying with Morton Feldman and Yvar Mikhashoff.

Vigeland’s first orchestral piece was performed by Foss and the Buffalo Philharmonic in 1970. His works have since been performed by renowned groups such as the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Oslo Radio Orchestra. Notable compositions include “Piano Concerto” (1984) and “False Love/True Love” (1992), premiered by the English National Opera.

He has recorded collaborations with artists like Jenny Q Chai, Daniel Lippel, and John Popham, and his recent work, “Pale Fire,” a 90-minute solo piano piece, premiered in 2023. Vigeland toured extensively with Morton Feldman as part of “Morton Feldman and Soloists” and directed The Bowery Ensemble (1980-1989), premiering numerous contemporary works.

A long-time educator, Vigeland taught at the Manhattan School of Music for thirty years, retiring as Chair of the Composition Department in 2013. His music appears on labels like Mode, Naxos, and Lovely Music, and his choral works are published by Boosey and Hawkes. To learn more, visit nilsvigeland.com

Colorado-based composer Matt Browne (b. 1988) strives to create music that meets Sergei Diaghilev’s famous challenge to Jean Cocteau: “Astonish me!”, through incorporating such eclectic influences as the timbral imagination and playfulness of György Ligeti, the shocking and humorous polystylism of Alfred Schnittke, and the relentless rhythmic energy of Igor Stravinsky.  His music has been praised for its “unbridled humor” (New Music Box) and described as “witty” (The Strad) and “beautifully crafted and considered” (What’s On London).

Dr. Browne has had the honor to collaborate with such ensembles as the Minnesota Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, PRISM Quartet, Albany Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, and the Eastman Wind Ensemble. His music has received honors such as the ASCAP Foundation Rudolf Nissim Prize, an ASCAP Morton Gould Young Composers award, and a BMI Student Composer award.

He received his DMA from the University of Michigan. Previous teachers include Michael Daugherty and Carter Pann.

Pictured: Matt Browne