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Elizabeth Sellers

Professor and Head of Media Composition | CSUN

 

CSUN's Commercial & Media Writing bachelor's degree program was recently ranked in the top 25 in the world, according to The Hollywood Reporter​. And it's one of only a h​​andful in existence that gives students a solid grounding in both classical and contemporary music, including practice writing for musicians every week in a lab. By the time students graduate, they've written for student ensembles and student films and have worked with pros in L.A.'s film scoring industry. All of this allows them to step into the field as emerging composers.

“Composing is a talent and takes a musical imagination, the ability to tell stories with music," says Professor Elizabeth Sellers. “Most student composers know they want to do this from very early on. In today's commercial world, music is created in a computer, but sometimes is realized by a live orchestra. That's the rewarding part: to hear your music come to life with talented musicians."​​​​

“Composing, like many art forms, is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration. It takes good ideas and lots of rewriting and developing t​o make things work well."

Click each photo to read a description of the tools.
 

“The computer station is used to create music used behind the scenes in games, movies, trailers and TV. These computer programs allow audio files, which sound like instruments, to be combined to sound like real music groups. They also allow the music to be matched exactly to the video and locked there. These programs are the same ones used in the studios by working professionals, so the students are prepared to step directly into the working world when they leave CSUN." (Pictured at the computer station is Theron Kay, a 2019 graduate of the media music composition program.)

 

“The electronic keyboard is used to play the music that is recorded in the computer program for scoring. It is one of the primary ways music is transferred into the computer scoring program, one line or instrument voice at a time."

 

“The computer program Logic Pro X is a standard program composers need to know, so students learn it. It displays the wave form of the music and includes blocks to show where the music lines are placed and the instrument names as well as sliders, which control the volume of the music."

 

“The video being projected on the screen is of a student's recital performance with a live orchestra and conductor. It's used as part of the analysis of all aspects of the performance. It's the final capstone project before the composer graduates." (Professor Sellers is pictured at right with Theron Kay.)​

 

“The CSUN Music Department Recital Hall is used for performing live music or digital music to video for the composer's capstone recital. It has built-in sound, mixing and video components to sync directly with the computer audio in the computer program Logic Pro X."

 

Click below to listen to “Susurrus," a composition written by Theron Kay for his senior composition recital.


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Story: Michelle McCarthy

photoGRAPHY: Patrick Record​

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