composer’s institute

Regrettably, we have had to cancel the institute for the 2020 summer


Jocelyn Hagen & Timothy C. Takach
composers-in-residence

The week-long Composer’s Institute is devoted to the emerging composer. Each composer selected to participate will receive individual composition lessons and attend seminars on the commissioning process and advanced choral writing. Compositions will be rehearsed and performed by the CORO Vocal Artists. During the week-long institute, composers will spend time fine tuning their existing composition and have the opportunity to create a new piece with the guidance of Jocelyn Hagen & Tim Takach. CORO Conducting Faculty, Dr. Moody and Oltman, also spend time with each composer to discuss their compositions and offer insight into the composer/conductor relationship.

application details

  • Work with Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy C. Takach in private lessons throughout the week.
  • Have your choral piece performed and professionally recorded during the CORO Summer Choral Festival by the CORO Vocal Artists.
  • Attend workshops about the commissioning process, compositional techniques, and publishing avenues for emerging composers.

Jocelyn Hagen composes music that has been described as “simply magical” (Fanfare Magazine) and “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). Her first forays into composition were via songwriting, and this is very evident in her work. The majority of her compositional output is for the voice: solo, chamber and choral. In 2015, Test Pilot, her dance opera collaboration with choreographer Penelope Freeh, received a Sage Award for “Outstanding Design,” and the panel declared the work “a tour de force of originality.” Her melodic music is rhythmically driven, texturally complex, and has recently become more experimental in nature. In 2013 she released an EP entitled MASHUP, in which she performs Debussy’s “Doctor Gradus Ad Parnassum” while singing Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team.”

Her commissions include Conspirare, The Minnesota Orchestra, the American Choral Directors Associations of Minnesota, Georgia, Connecticut and Texas, the North Dakota Music Teacher’s Association, Cantus, the Boston Brass, The Metropolitan Symphony, and The Houston Chamber Choir, among many others. She is currently an artist-in-residence at North Dakota State University and regularly composes for their ensembles. For ten years she was a composer-in-residence for the professional choir she also sang in: The Singers, under the direction of Matthew Culloton. Her music has been performed all over the world, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City. Her work is independently published through JH Music, as well as Graphite Publishing, G. Schirmer, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Fred Bock Music Publishing, and Boosey and Hawkes.

Tim TakachReviewed as “gorgeous” (Washington Post) and “stunning” (Lawrence Journal-World), the music of Timothy C. Takach has risen fast in the concert world. Applauded for his melodic lines and rich, intriguing harmonies, Takach has received commissions from the St. Olaf Band, Cantus, Pavia Winds, Lorelei Ensemble, VocalEssence, the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, The Rose Ensemble, and numerous other organizations. His compositions have been performed on A Prairie Home Companion, The Boston Pops holiday tour, multiple All-State and festival programs and at venues such as the Library of Congress, Kennedy Center and Royal Opera House Muscat. He is a co-creator of the theatrical production of All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914, by Peter Rothstein.
Takach studied music composition at St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, where he graduated with honors. He has frequent national work as a composer-in-residence, presenter, clinician and lecturer. He is a full-time composer and lives in Minneapolis with his wife and two sons.