Composing the Future : Reimagining Music Education Through Composition

This thesis investigates how contemporary music composition can be effectively integrated into educational settings through creative workshops and the use of text scores. Drawing from interdisciplinary fields such as music education, music therapy, and music psychology, the project explores how open-ended, collaborative approaches can enhance student engagement, creativity, and musical understanding. Central to the research is the development and implementation of a workshop using a composer-designed text score that introduces concepts such as spectralism, gesture-based conduction, and collective sound exploration. Three research questions guide the project: how composers can design creative workshops for students; how this process influences the composer’s own artistic practice; and how collaborative learning enhances the teaching of contemporary music. The methodology includes a workshop, a preparatory presentation of a subject, student-led improvisation plus videos of the workshop, and post-activity interviews.Findings suggest that collaborative, non-notational exercises foster deeper cognitive and emotional engagement with music. Additionally, the process reshaped my compositional thinking, affirming the pedagogical and artistic value of integrating contemporary practices into early music education. This thesis contributes a flexible, student-centered model for teaching contemporary music in classroom settings.