SCALE UP!

Elevate Your Music and Expand Your Reach

Unleash your musical creativity ✅
Compose a new work and get it professionally recorded ✅
Share your music with the world ✅

A 5-month composition and professional development program for music-makers ready to pursue new directions in their creative and career-building practice.

January 13 - June 16, 2021

PROGRAM ENROLLMENT IS CLOSED.
If you would like to be notified about future courses and workshops, please register below.

Does this sound familiar?

You’re composing music that you’re excited about, but you’re uncertain how to move forward in your professional life.
You want more performances, commissions, and opportunities for collaboration with performers and ensembles.
Getting the music from your head onto the page—or onto the stage—feels like a struggle and you wish the process was easier.
You’re doing the things a composer is “supposed” to do: Applying to calls for scores, for grant opportunities, reaching out to ensembles, and networking as much as possible. But most of the time these efforts feel scattered and haphazard—like hoping to win the lottery!
You want more confidence in your musical life.

Do you ask yourself any of these questions? 🤔

How do I even start this piece?
Would someone look at this music and help me figure out how to make it better?
How do I get my music performed?
How do I deal with the rehearsal of my piece?
How do I self-publish?
How do royalties work?
How do I connect with more musicians?
How do I make a contract?
How do I price my work?

These aren’t things you learn about in school.
That’s okay! It’s never too late to fill in the gaps.

What if you knew exactly how to improve your creative and professional life?

I can teach you in 5 months what took me 15 years to learn.

This opportunity is designed to provide you with the tools and knowledge to get moving in YOUR right direction.

How would it feel to…

⚡️ Make music that you are genuinely proud of and excited to share.
⚡️ Develop a steady stream of performances and commissions.
⚡️ Create multiple income streams and increase your earning power.
⚡️ Build a community and professional network that values you and your work.
⚡️ Gain increased confidence as a composer.

What’s been holding you back?

You over-think your compositions and don’t know when they’re done.

You’re overly self-critical and afraid to share your work.

It seems like there’s an “inner circle” of composers and performers/ensembles that is hard to break into to get commissions and performances.

You think you have to get a doctorate or win “big prizes” to get ahead.

You never learned how to get your work out into the world.

Creating opportunities for your work to be heard and developing new projects when you’ve received little or no guidance about how to actually do that can feel totally overwhelming.

And now, we are trying to do these things during a pandemic! 😷

“I thought composing was for prodigies, not that it was something you could just sit down and do. Alex’s advice really helped me—not just with writing music, but getting past my own mental blocks.” — Julia

When you are empowered to take your artistic life into your own hands, rather than waiting for permission from the outside world, new opportunities and ideas will open up for you.

If you're ready to think outside the box, SCALE UP! is here to help you reach your potential... and have fun doing it!

Introducing SCALE UP!

Throw open the gates to your new musical future!

Starting in January, I’ll be leading a course for highly motivated, adventurous composers who are ready to take their music and their professional lives to a new level.

You’ll have my full support and guidance over 5 months in a program focusing on composition and professional development. Both of these aspects of an artistic life require nurturing and development in order to progress as an artist.

You will create a brand-new work of up to 7 minutes for the award-winning SOLI Chamber Ensemble that will be performed and professionally recorded. The instrumentation is clarinet, violin, cello, and piano (or a subset of your choosing). You will also receive mentoring and collaborative support from the SOLI musicians throughout the course.

This is a safe, supportive space for a small cohort of composers to get real about all aspects of their creative lives.

Fill your composer toolbox with practical skills that will launch you forward into your professional artistic practice.

🛠 🧰

Sound interesting?

Here’s what you get:

🎵 24 Weekly Group Workshops (One 2-hour meeting each week), focused on composition-related topics and professional development, including:

instrumentation, form and structure, orchestration,
fun ways to create new musical material
best practices for communications of all sorts, systems and methods to help you organize the administrative side of a creative practice
how to effectively present your work online, and
how to create and expand a supportive artistic community.

🎵 Guest Expert Master Classes with visiting guests working inside orchestras, chamber ensembles, music libraries, publicity, and more will present master classes to give “backstage tours” of the classical music industry.

🎵 4 Instrument Demonstrations (By SOLI Chamber Ensemble musicians)

🎵 2 Private mentoring sessions with me (composition lessons and/or coaching)

🎵 2 Rounds of personalized feedback from musicians at middle and final stages of score production

🎵 1 Professionally recorded performance video of your composition by SOLI Chamber Ensemble that may be used for non-commercial purposes

🎵 Best practices for self-publishing music

🎵 Private Facebook group

🎵Listening assignments, creative prompts, and writing assignments

Want even more?

SCALE UP! Expanded also includes:

✨ 3 Extra private coaching sessions with me.

✨ 2 mentoring sessions (60-minute 1:1 call) with a special mentor selected by me & based on your specific goals.

✨ Email & text support.

By the end, you will have:

✅ 1 brand new composition, professionally recorded, and ready to be shopped around.

✅ Discovered new creative options for writing music.

✅ Learned business/marketing strategies to increase your visibility and audience.

✅ Built a professional network of composers and mentors.

✅ A roadmap in place that moves you towards your creative and professional goals.

“I discovered that there can be so much more to music than just the notation. I ultimately worked to create a piece that didn’t revolve around the notation, but rather around the performers themselves. I’m super happy with how the performers took the music and ran with it!”
—Ben H.

Who should apply?

You are ready for SCALE UP! if you are:

A composer looking for focused support in creating new work and jump-starting their professional interests.
A music student taking a gap year who wants to keep building a body of work.
A composer seeking an alternative to a degree program.
A musician returning to composing after years away.
A composer who has not formally studied composition before.
A performer interested in exploring music creation

If this is you, apply for SCALE UP!

The application process is easy! To apply:

1. Send 2 compositions or other examples of your musical work (in the case of performers who have not composed). Each submission should include a score & corresponding recording (live recording preferred, MIDI acceptable) to alex@alexandragardner.net. Links and/or files sent via GDrive/Dropbox/SoundCloud/etc. are acceptable.

2. Schedule a free 30-minute call with me.

Please submit your materials at least 24 hours BEFORE your scheduled call.
This not a formal interview! This is a chance to get to know one another in an informal setting, like getting together for a cup of coffee. This will help us both decide whether this course is for you.

SCALE UP! Fees

SCALE UP! Standard

$4997
(payment plan available)

SCALE UP! Expanded

$7497
(payment plan available)

Weekly Training Sessions (One 2-hour meeting each week)

Group Composition Lessons

Instrument Demonstrations

Guest Expert Master Classes

Personalized feedback from musicians at middle and end stages of score production

2 private 1:1 sessions with me (composition lessons and/or coaching)

Private Facebook group

Professional recording of your finished work

3 extra private 1:1 sessions with me

Email and text support

You will be paired with a special mentor of my choice (based on your goals) for two 1:1 60-minute calls.

About Me

Hi! I’m Alex, a composer, coach, and consultant. I help music creators develop and refine their unique artistic voices and navigate the professional world of the creative arts with joy and assurance.

As a composer, my career path has been unusual, winding, and adventurous. I came to composition in college through an electronic music class. The realization that I could make my own sounds from scratch and combine them into anything I wanted was a strike of lightning. I also studied percussion and took a gap year to work in a recording studio in New York City. I had amazing, supportive composition teachers and mentors, two of whom were women. I don’t think I would be a composer today if there hadn’t been inspiring female role models present in my life.

After college, I worked assorted jobs and composed electronic music for modern dance. I loved collaborating with choreographers, but I wanted to write more for orchestral instruments so I attended graduate school. It was a huge change from my previous educational experience. Although my peers were amazing and I remain friends with many of them to this day, the environment was not particularly supportive, nor were my composition teachers especially helpful. One suggested that I quit trying to write instrumental music entirely—that it would be a “really hard road“ for me. At the time, I felt devastated and spent several years afterward making work that was fueled by spite. Effective, but not the healthiest dynamic!

After receiving a Master’s degree, I found out quickly that I knew almost nothing about the business and administrative aspects of being a freelance artist. All of that learning happened on the job after grad school. That was a hard road.

What followed were years of:

Experimentation
Missteps and failures
Releasing ways of thinking and of being that did not align with the creative person I wished to be in the world
Building resilience (So. Much. Resilience.)

[*Fast forward*]

I have been working as a freelance composer for over 25 years. I have composed commissioned works for a major symphony orchestra, for symphonic band, for professional chamber ensembles and solo performers as well as for dance and film. I am self-published. My pieces are performed across the U.S. and internationally. My work is recorded on multiple albums. I have residencies with colleges, universities, and music festivals. I have an incredible community of musicians who I love working with. Most wonderful of all is that performers and audiences value my music and I am making music that I believe in and am proud of.

Today I see composers struggling with the same things I did years ago.

How do I get my music performed?
How do I even start this piece?
How do I self-publish?
How do royalties work?
Would someone look at this music and help me figure out how to make it better?
How do I connect with more musicians?
How do I make a contract?
How do I deal with this rehearsal of my piece?
At what point do I make money from all this work?

I have lived those missing pieces, and I want better for you. Let me use my experience to help you, so you can be on your way quickly.

Meet the SOLI Chamber Ensemble

SOLI Chamber Ensemble has been giving voice to 20th- and 21st-century contemporary chamber music since 1994, mesmerizing audiences for nearly three decades with their engaging performances, ensuring the future of new music through educational initiatives, and continually renewing their commitment to the music of living composers through performances and commissions. Winner of the 2013 Chamber Music America and ASCAP Adventurous Programming Award and a 2020 Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, SOLI continues to champion new works, new contexts, and new audiences for the music of our time.

Individually and collectively, these musicians bring a wealth of skill, passion, and intuitive musicality to their performances, drawing on a deep well of shared experience. As the name of the group suggests, each is a singular musician in their own right, but their synergy – honed and still evolving over the years – provides the intuition, aesthetic vision, and expansive range required to internalize, interpret, and make sense of the diverse musical language of the 21st Century.

SOLI is Stephanie Key, clarinet; Ertan Torgul, violin; David Mollenauer, cello; and Carolyn True, piano.

Still have questions?

I understand! Maybe these thoughts have crossed your mind.

Why group composition lessons?
Group lessons are a fabulous way to accelerate the learning process. Sharing work-in-progress with the group helps address questions that others might also have, sparks new ideas, and creates a positive and collaborative learning environment. You also get one-on-one time with me as well so there is plenty of personal support throughout the program.

My sample recordings aren’t very good. Should I still apply?
Definitely yes! Send them anyway, with the score. Live audio or video is always preferable to MIDI.

What if I don’t have any recordings of my music?
That’s okay. Send me a score and tell me about any experiences you’ve had working with musicians.

What if I make graphic scores?
That’s great! It’s helpful to know that you understand some conventional notation techniques, or that you are open to learning more. Send 2 pieces and schedule a call.

What if I’ve never studied music theory?
That’s okay! You are welcome in SCALE UP! regardless of formal study experience.

I’m a professional musician but I’ve never composed before. Should I apply?
Yes! You have all the skills to start composing right now. Schedule a call and we’ll talk about it.

SCALE UP! feels like a big expense. Why should I invest in this course?
You may think that investing in this course is risky, but the real risk is continuing down a path that relies on gatekeepers and waiting for permission from external forces in order to move ahead. This program is designed to give you more (and different) skills, insights, and personalized attention to your goals than a semester of school or an elite summer festival at a lower fee than either of those options.

Are there payment plans available?
Yes. Please contact me directly to discuss this.

Will this really help my career?
Yes! When you are empowered to take your musical life into your own hands, rather than waiting for permission from the outside world, new opportunities and ideas will open up for you.

What’s the daily time commitment?
I can’t decide this for you, but whatever you would expect from yourself if you were to commit 100% to completing a substantial project. This is not a casual commitment, so 2-hours per week for class time, plus the time you need to complete a 5 to 7 minute new composition.