ICEBERG Institute

Featuring ICEBERG New Music, Sarah Kirkland Snider, Hub New Music, and Contemporary Art Music Project

June 2-13, 2025

University of Central Florida • Orlando, FL

ICEBERG Institute is a two-week composition intensive led by ICEBERG New Music composers and featuring a variety of guest faculty and performing artists each year. Participants receive rigorous individual instruction from world-class faculty members, hear their music performed in a public concert, and receive high-quality audio and video documentation of their work. The Institute is open to all composers 18 years of age and older, regardless of nationality, experience level, or professional status.

Participant Experience

ICEBERG Institute is a composition-intensive experience that places an emphasis on the advancement of participants’ craft and the high-caliber realization of their music. Unlike many other festivals, participants are encouraged to revise their compositions based on feedback received in daily lessons and multiple workshops of their pieces. Each piece receives as much rehearsal time as possible, guaranteeing the most polished performance possible.

When not participating in lessons, seminars, and masterclasses, ICEBERG Institute participants can explore the many attractions of the Orlando area, including theme parks, beaches, museums, world-class music and theater institutions, wilderness areas, and extraordinary dining. For a guide to the area, visit https://www.visitorlando.com.

Location and Facilities

The University of Central Florida’s main campus is a 1,420 acre site in Eastern Orlando. UCF’s School of Performing Arts is Florida’s first all-Steinway school, and features cutting-edge practice facilities, practice spaces, and technology labs for participants’ use. Temperatures in early June are pleasant, with sun daily and highs between 82-88º F (27-31º C). All instructional, practice, and residential spaces are air-conditioned.

Curriculum and Schedule

ICEBERG Institute is a rigorous two-week composition intensive. During the first week, participants attend faculty and guest seminars, present to their colleagues about their own work, and receive daily one-on-one lessons as they revise and finalize pieces for performance. During the second week, students receive masterclass instructions from guest faculty, rehearse their music with the Institute’s artists and ensemble-in-residence, and hear their pieces performed in a public concert. Academic activities generally last from 9 or 10 AM until 4 or 5 PM.

All participants receive at least four individual lessons with core faculty, at least one masterclass session with guest faculty, and high-quality audio/video documentation of their concert performance.

Lodging and Dining

ICEBERG Institute participants may choose to either secure their own lodging or take advantage the of on-campus housing option. On campus housing consists of single-occupancy rooms with shared kitchen and common spaces, located a one-minute walk from the School of Performing Arts.

ICEBERG Institute does not require participants to purchase a meal plan of any kind. However, UCF offers a variety of affordable on-campus dining options, and is a short walk from many additional restaurants, shops, and bars. On-campus housing units are equipped with kitchens. One banquet-style dinner is included in the cost of tuition (this dinner will follow the final concerts).

Tuition and Optional Expenses

Tuition for the 2025 ICEBERG Institute is $2,400 USD. Tuition includes the following:

All lessons, masterclasses, seminars, and other curricular activities
Access to practice, instruction, and study facilities at UCF
Rehearsal and performance of your work by the Institute’s guest artists and ensemble(s)
High-quality audio and video documentation of your performance
Final banquet dinner

Optional expenses include the following:

On-campus housing ($50 USD/night, $650 total per person). Participants staying on campus should plan to check in on Sunday, June 1 and check out on Saturday, June 14. Alternatively, participants may choose to secure their own housing.
A daylong excursion is scheduled for Friday, June 6. Confirmed participants will choose the destination: options include Universal Studios, Cocoa Beach, and Kennedy Space Center. Cost will depend on destination.

Participants are responsible for their own travel and meals.

How to Apply

To apply, complete the online form. Application is open to all composers, regardless of nationality or professional status. Applicants must be 18 years of age or older as of June 1, 2025. There is no fee to apply.

All applicants will need to provide the following:

Name
Contact information
Date of Birth
Citizenship
Link to a resumé or C.V.
Links to two work samples (scores) with accompanying recordings
A brief paragraph describing their artistic practice and interests

Additionally, accepted candidates will be asked to supply the following before arrival:

Proof of health insurance
I.D.
Passport information (if traveling internationally)

There is no application fee. If you have questions, please contact us.

We are happy to provide whatever document we can to help participants traveling internationally.

Accepted participants will be asked to compose a new piece for a given instrumentation and submit a complete draft of this work by May 1, 2025. These compositions will be workshopped, revised as needed, and performed during the Institute’s final concert.

Application Timeline

OCTOBER 1, 2024: Application opens
JANUARY 1, 2025: Application closes
JANUARY 20, 2025: Acceptance notifications sent
FEBRUARY 1, 2025: Non-refundable $500 deposit due
MARCH 1, 2025: Housing preference due
APRIL 1, 2025: Tuition remainder due
MAY 1, 2025: Composition draft due
JUNE 1, 2025: Participants arrive in Orlando
JUNE 2, 2025: Institute begins

ICEBERG Institute

Application Deadline

Application Fee

Resources

2025 CORE FACULTY: FROM ICEBERG NEW MUSIC

2025 GUEST COMPOSITION FACULTY

2025 ENSEMBLES-IN-RESIDENCE