About Our Camps
Junior Composers Institute: July 7 - 14 ($1600)
A high-intensity week of composing, learning new skills and creating community. Students compose a piece for presentation at the final salon on Sunday, July 14th. First rehearsals begin Wednesday! Students, Faculty & Staff are drafted to perform in those pieces. Students have choices from 6 classes a day presented by faculty on a variety of subjects. They also receive daily one-on-one lessons.
Featuring:
- Reading session with the Boom Island String Quartet on July 7th in the evening (Students submit pieces by June 9th)
- Death march to Culver’s for dinner on Tuesday
- Students stay on campus at UW River Falls
- Pool party on Saturday
- Salon on Sunday morning, July 14th, 10:00 - noon
Junior Composers Studio: July 14-21 ($1550)
Another high-intensity week of composing for a smaller cohort of students with a focus on film and game music. Students compose multiple projects for film and video games which are presented at the final salon on Saturday. Students in the studio compose music into a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) using MIDI samples, sometimes combined with their own acoustic additions. They learn to synchronize music with film and video game visual elements, resulting in original scores for some of their favorite films and video games. Students receive daily one-on-one lessons.
Featuring:
- Improvisation to a silent film as a group
- Movie & Video Game nights!
- Master class with Hollywood Film Composer Rob Pottorf.
- Students stay on campus at UW River Falls
- Death March to China Moon Chinese Buffet
- Mario Kart Tournament!
Crazy Ideas Institute: Date June 10 - 14 ($300)
For girls and gender nonconforming students age 9 - 13; five half-days in-person 9am - 12pm. For Minneapolis-area students only. Learn about music creation, sound, and basics of notation in a supportive female-led space. No previous music or composition experience necessary. Each composer will create music that will be performed and recorded with professional musicians at the end of the week. Register through Hopewell Music Cooperative North:(https://hopewellmusic.com/ ).
Minnesota-resident students who qualify can get full tuition based on family income & GPA. Awarded by MN Office of Higher education, first come first served.
Highlights:
- Explore different ways to create music
- Build musical instruments
- Compose a new piece of music!
- Improvise with a variety of instruments
- Have fun getting to know other musicians
- Hear your new composition performed at the end of camp on Friday!
Meet Our Staff
Sarah Miller, Artistic Director of Composers Institute, JCI, & CII
Sarah Miller, Artistic Director of Composers Institute, JCI, & CII
Sarah Miller, Artistic Director of Composers Institute, JCI, & CII
Dr. Miller has been an instructor at Junior Composers Institute since 2011. She has been an instructor of composition, theory and piano at MacPhail Center for Music in Minneapolis since 1996, and Composition Coordinator since 2001. Dr. Miller has received numerous grants and commissions. Her students have won many prizes in state, regional and national composition contests. She holds a PhD in Music Composition as well as a Master’s of Music in Piano Performance, a Bachelor’s of Music in Piano Performance, and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Humanities, all from Michigan State University.
Casey Palbicki, Artistic Director of JCS
Sarah Miller, Artistic Director of Composers Institute, JCI, & CII
Sarah Miller, Artistic Director of Composers Institute, JCI, & CII
Dr. Casey Palbicki has been instructing Film & Video Game Music and Audio at the Junior Composer Institute Studio Camp since 2021. He has introduced students to concepts in screen scoring, audio and sound design, spotting, SMPTE, the Leitmotif, and many other areas within the commercial music and audio world. Dr. Palbicki is a professor of music at the University of Wisconsin - River Falls where he heads the music theory and composition program. His area of expertise is in Film & Video Game music.
"Working with the brilliant students that attend the JCI Studio has been an absolute pleasure. I am always very excited to hear the incredible music that these very gifted composers and musicians create during the camp!"
Barbara Cohen, Faculty JCS
Sarah Miller, Artistic Director of Composers Institute, JCI, & CII
Barbara Cohen, Faculty JCS
Barbara Cohen is an award-winning singer/songwriter, film composer, multi-instrumentalist known for her distinctive voice, eclectic talent and ability to blend musical genres from folk to electronica, and world to modern-classical. Her career as a recording artist includes co-founding the Virgin Records’ band, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, collaborating with England’s rave luminaries, Orbital, singing lead vocals for the French experimental duo, Air. Cohen’s ability to blend disparate musical elements extends to her scores for film and television which have been featured on HBO, PBS-POV, MTV, Apple TV and Al Jazeera America. Her awards include admittance to the prestigious Sundance Film Composer Lab Fellowship, BMI Conducting Workshop, the Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship Grant for Artistry and Composition and the Minnesota Music Awards for Artist of the Year & Vocalist of the Year. She holds a Bachelors in Music Composition, from Musician’s Institute.
Eric Radloff, Faculty JCI
Eric Radloff, Faculty JCI
Barbara Cohen, Faculty JCS
Eric Radloff is a musician and teacher living in Los Angeles (for now). He is an alumni of the camp and this will be his ninth year returning as a teacher! Primarily a songwriter and producer of contemporary pop music, he likes to dive into the technological side of things and is always trying (in vain) to keep up with trends. Eric's songwriter project is called Okudaxij and he recently went on tour with Will Joseph Cook and Tessa Violet.
Kim Sherman, JCI Faculty
Eric Radloff, Faculty JCI
Frank Felice, JCI Faculty
KIM D. SHERMAN composes for theater, opera, concert, and film. She embraces lyricism and dissonance as equal partners.
Her book of piano solos, UNFATHOMABLE THINGS was published in 2021. Song Cycles include: A PRAIRIE DIARY for voice, cello and piano, THE CLARA CYCLE, for Soprano, Violin and Piano, SUMMER, 1976, for lyric baritone and string quartet, and SONG OF SONGS, for strings, harp and soprano. She is currently at work on BLUESTEM, a chamber opera based on the writings of Willa Cather.
Ms. Sherman studied music at Lawrence University, and composition with composer Thea Musgrave. She is a regular volunteer composer for The 52nd Street Project.
Frank Felice, JCI Faculty
Eric Radloff, Faculty JCI
Frank Felice, JCI Faculty
Frank Felice is an eclectic composer who writes with a postmodern mischievousness: each piece speaks in its own language, and they can be by turns comedic/ironic, simple/complex, subtle/startling or humble/reverent. His music has been performed extensively in the U.S. as well as garnering performances in Brazil, China, Argentina, Japan, Greece, Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Russian Federation, Austria, the Philippines, the Czech Republic and Hungary. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Frank currently teaches as an associate professor of composition, theory and electronic music in the School of Music, Jordan College of Arts at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Mary Kate Arians, Administrative Director
Mary Kate Arians, Administrative Director
Mary Kate Arians, Administrative Director
Mary Kate Arians is in her fifth year of teaching 5th- through 12th-grade band at Newman Catholic School in Mason City, Iowa.Hines is a 2019 graduate of Wartburg College, where she received a Bachelor of Music Education degree and is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Conducting through Messiah University. In addition to teaching, she is an active clarinet player in the North Central Iowa area and enjoys working with such supportive and passionate colleagues in her district while also planning her upcoming wedding!
Pat Steege, Camp Treasurer
Mary Kate Arians, Administrative Director
Mary Kate Arians, Administrative Director
Pat has been involved with Composers Institute since 2007, helping with leadership, administration, grants and scholarships. She is a retired piano and composition teacher now living in Spearfish, South Dakota.
Landon Zientara, Student Aide
Mary Kate Arians, Administrative Director
Landon Zientara, Student Aide
Best known for his dark and whimsical style, Landon is a local composer and filmmaker who has written music for short films and theater productions. Landon has also written concert works for wind band, small ensembles, and creates dark ambient and instrumental music.
Lucas Sanner, Student Aide
Lucas Sanner, Student Aide
Landon Zientara, Student Aide
Lucas Sanner is a JCI alum and native Minnesotan composer and multi-instrumentalist. They are a junior at St. Olaf College, pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Music Composition and a concentration in Business & Management. Their music jumps between genres and styles, drawing influence from jazz, classical, pop, and electronic music, reincorporating their favorite pieces from each into something new.
