The New York Youth Symphony’s Musical Theater Songwriting (MTS) Program is designed to lead students through a range of musical theater songwriting processes. Whether their background is as a classical composer, singer-songwriter, performer, writer, or some cool hyphenate, this program will provide students with the opportunity to both study the fundamentals of musical theater songwriting and take artistic risks. Led by Director Michael Kooman, weekly sessions will feature seminars, workshops, and masterclasses with some of Broadway’s most distinguished composers, writers, performers, musicians, producers, directors, and designers. Throughout the year, students will also have the unique opportunity to workshop new material with performers from other theater educational programs, as well as a Broadway pit band.
By the end of the season, students in the MTS program will:
The Musical Theater Songwriting Program will meet weekly on Wednesdays from 5-8pm at the NYYS Office, located at 110 West 40th Street, New York, NY. The first class will be on Wednesday, October 2nd.
Guest artists during the 2023/24 season included: Kait Kerrigan (The Mad Ones, The Great Gatsby), August Eriksmoen (Only Murders in the Building, A Christmas Story, Bright Star), Adam Gwon (Ordinary Days, Scotland, PA), Mark Sonnenblick (Theater Camp, Spirited, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies) and Kara Lindsay (Newsies).
Sharing of student works will take place throughout the year and culminate in a public performance at one of NYC’s iconic cabaret venues.
Applicants should review the guidelines on this page to ensure they can fulfill the commitment to the program before applying.
MTS interviews will be held on June 13th, June 14th, September 25th, and September 26th at the NYYS Office at 110 West 40th Street, New York, NY. Upon completing the online application, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to schedule your interview. All interviews will be held in-person.
As part of the application you will be asked to submit two (2) original work samples. Work samples can be an original song (mp3 recording), an original composition (mp3 recording), an original lyric or poem (PDF document), or a scene from an original script (PDF document). If you are attaching an original song or composition, please attach a SECONDARY document with the lyrics. If you do not have two existing work samples, you are encouraged to create new ones for the application.
In order to participate in the NYYS MTS's 2024/2025 season, applicants must be between the ages of 12 and 22. Applicant's date of birth must be between May 25, 2002 and November 24, 2012. Please do not apply if your birth date falls outside of these dates as you will not be eligible for the program and we are not able to refund your application fee.
Interviews are 15 minutes long, and at your interview, you will meet with the Director and the Assistant Director of the Musical Theater Songwriting Program. Each applicant will be asked about the materials they submitted as part of their supplemental form, and as well as their reasons for applying to the MTS program.
The registration fee for the Musical Theater Songwriting program for the 2024/25 season will be $395.
The NYYS recognizes that the cost of application and registration fees may be prohibitive for some students, and that access to technology may be a barrier to participation. Financial aid, application fee waivers, work-study, and technology funds are available to help offset these expenses. Financial need is the major consideration when awarding assistance. We ask that students seek funding through their personal networks in addition to completing the financial aid application as funds are limited. The application for financial assistance is within the main application.
I've learned about other artists experiences with musical theatre songwriting and the industry. It was exciting to see what opportunities there are and how people collaborated together, and how everyone's experience is different.
Riley Sullivan
I totally achieved my goal of improving and cultivating my songwriting skills.
Nicole Lui
I will be going into 8th grade and my compositions will go on my music portfolio for my audition at La Guardia
Isabel Loanzon
Photo Credit: Molly Higgins
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