SMU Meadows Composition

Happy Thanksgiving! On behalf of SMU composers, thank you for making our experience truly spectacular! We are grateful for these opportunities!

Congratulations Paul Johnson on a standing-ovation premiere with the Irving Symphony Orchestra !!

An exciting rehearsal by the Irving Symphony Orchestra of SMU-ISO Composer in Residence Paul Johnson's "Overture to the Pleasing and Perfect"! Come to the premiere of this exciting new piece tomorrow evening!

Another great piece and young composer at SMU! Come hear it if you're in town, along with a really balanced and great program by Hector Guzman and the wonderful Irving Symphony Orchestra !!! Saturday Oct. 11th 7:30 pm!

Paul Johnson, a second-year master’s student double majoring in Music Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy has been selected as this year’s SMU–Irving Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence!

This residency, founded in 2012 by Meadows alum Hector Guzman (M.M. ’83) and Music Composition program director and associate professor Rob Frank, aims to offer SMU Meadows composition students the opportunity to gain professional experience via composing for, and working with, the ISO along with Maestro Guzman.

Read more here: https://buff.ly/XWdCdze

Come hear the World Premiere of our 13th SMU-ISO Student Composer in Residence, Paul Johnson, this Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025 at 7:30PM! Congratulations!

Division of Music Student Paul Johnson Named New SMU-ISO Composer-in-Residence Division of Music Student Paul Johnson Named New SMU-ISO Composer-in-Residence A second-year master’s student double majoring in Music Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy has been selected as this year’s SMU–Irving Symphony Orchestra Composer-in-Residence. Figure: Music composition and music...

Congratulations to the winners of the 2025 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards! 🎉🎷 Read the press release now: https://www.ascap.com/press/2025/06/06-18-morton-gould-awards

Come support SMU Music Alum Bethany Wildes if you are able.

🎻 Join Us for a Night of Music and Support 🎶

One of our own—Bethany Wildes, a beloved member of our orchestra and an incredible member of our community—is currently fighting a courageous battle with cancer. To show our love and support, we’re hosting a Benefit Concert in her honor.

The concert will be on July 1 at Christ United Methodist Church at 7:30 PM. Please donate and learn more about Bethany’s story at https://bit.ly/BethanyWildesDonate

Thank you to the Plano Symphony Orchestra, musicians, Maestro Guzmán, CUMC, and Rosemary and Dr. Doohi Lee for making this event possible.

This week many of our composers got to have pieces ready with the Meadows Chamber Singers, Meadows Symphony Orchestra, and Concordia! It was an educational experience for those with pieces being ready as well as those just observing. We are so thankful to our choir and orchestra directors for their generosity and continued support!

Today's voice over recording session for the Spring racing game. Our students produced a great music score and run these sessions like any pro studio around. The new B.M. Film and Game Scoring degree is off to a great start!

Big shout-out to all our seniors, Brandon Morrison, Marco Santisteven, and Max Whittaker, for some amazing performances on their Senior recitals! All three of these composers worked very hard and had a variety of works to showcase their growth during their time here at SMU. We are so proud of you guys and wish you all success on your future endeavors!

Also big thanks to Brent Fathlery for all his help with making these recitals run smoothly!