In this course, students propose a term-long project with extended instrumentation or length (8+ minutes), of which a part will involve live instrumentalists. We will work together to recruit faculty, student, or outside instrumentalists (with resources provided), towards an end-of-term concert. Class discussion will involve feedback on projects and compositional process, and we’ll discuss form, aesthetic, orchestration, and idiomatic writing in related works. We will also focus on how live instrumentalists and vocalists can be prepared, processed, or extended through innovation in physical technique, instrumental tinkering, or electronic processing. Weekly readings in contemporary aesthetics and techniques, as well as smaller orchestration assignments for unusual forces (prepared piano, interactive looping) will reinforce these concepts.