This teaching is a true game changer. Of course I learned a lot of new technical skills but, while lots of past teachers convinced me I was a nice poor writer, Oscar, Eva, and this wonderful community of passionate enthusiasts, gave me back faith in what I am and what I can do. I wrote 6 pieces (30 min) this year, vs 3 (10 min) before this teaching. The quality of what I write also changed drastically : more complex even if less chaotic, more vivid and colourful, even in a darker style.

Before joining the studio I was composing only intermittently, finishing around one piece a year, but since joining I have completed 16 (half of these being film cues.) The live lessons, workflow, score breakdowns, and feedback from the coaches and fellow composers have all been immensely helpful in allowing me to write more quickly and complete more compositions. It really is wonderful to be part of a community and not be composing in isolation!

I joined the Composer Training studio because there is so much to learn. Key learnings: importance of score study, developing a narrative story for compositions and very practical notions about instrument ranges, propulsion energy, building to a climax and resolution. The community of composers provides great feedback and opened windows into a diversity of styles and creativity. We get regular feedback on work in progress from colleagues and the instructors. And every day is fun.

Before joining, I finished one piece a year—since joining, I've finished 6, all works I'm proud of. As a blind composer writing in braille, transcription to other formats used to cost me 2-3 error-prone days per piece. Inspired by the Studio's pace, I spent a month building DottedNotes, a free bidirectional translator between braille, MusicXML, and Lilypond—letting anyone produce publication-quality braille, digital, and print scores. This community turns dreams into reality!

Before joining the studio I was aimlessly meandering around what composing could look like for me, not sure of how to proceed and only finishing a small handful of projects that would take me far too long to produce. Since joining, my productivity, inspiration and confidence as a composer has soared, and I can now boast that I finish at least 15-20 quality portfolio-worthy projects a year, all thanks to the help of this community and its coaches.