Learn about composing from the comfort of your own living room. Need-based scholarships are available.

Each six-week virtual-mini course will focus on a different topic in composition – from building your career to film scoring.
No composition experience necessary, no need to be a Wildflower alum to apply, no application fee.

Apply now for our 2025 courses! All admissions are rolling.

2025 Virtual Mini-Courses

Recording, Mixing and Mastering in a Home Studio (Feb. 3 – Mar. 10)

with Maggie Beltran

Mondays from 8–9:30pm ET
February 3 to March 10

This course includes a free Ableton Live Lite code!

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the techniques and tools needed to record, mix, and master music in a home studio setting. Students will learn how to capture high-quality audio, use digital audio workstations (DAWs), and apply professional mixing techniques to achieve a balanced and polished sound. The course will also cover the fundamentals of mastering, ensuring tracks are ready for distribution across various platforms. Ideal for beginners and aspiring producers, this hands-on course equips students with the skills to create studio-quality music from home. A free version of Ableton Live Lite is included with the course.

About Maggie Beltran

Maggie Beltran is a Berklee College of Music graduate with a diverse and impressive background in the music industry. From working in top-tier studios under Atlantic and Interscope Records, engineering for some of the biggest names in pop, to rocking crowds as a professional EDM DJ, Maggie has done it all. Now performing as Ghost in Real Life, she channels her passion for music as an independent artist and producer. Her tracks have earned spots in major networks and video games, including Valorant and ESPN, showcasing her unique style and talent to a global audience.

The Art of Video Game Scoring (Mar. 4 – Apr. 8)

with Nadia Wheaton

Wednesdays from 8–9:30 ET
March 4 to April 8

Learn about game scoring from Nadia Wheaton, a professional game music designer!

The Art of Video Game Scoring will delve into the holistic aspects of creating music for video games. Explore how music interacts with gameplay and game development, and discover the power of collaboration in creating memorable game scores.

Topics will include but are not limited to:

  • Developing strong melodic identity for a video game, expanding melodic ideas to create derivative arrangements/versions
  • Exploring interactive music concepts and how music can enhance the player experience
  • Understanding the roles in game development and their collaboration with music
  • Interpreting and iterating on feedback from game developers
  • Exploring career paths in video game composition as a freelancer
  • Guest speaker interview and Q&A with an industry composer

This course does not require students to purchase or use a specific software; however, access to a notation software (i.e. Noteflight, Sibelius, etc.) is recommended. No game scoring experience required.

About Nadia Wheaton

Nadia Wheaton is a music designer and supervisor known for her work in video games, including Destiny 2: The Final Shape, Destiny 2: Lightfall, and Destiny 2: The Witch Queen. Prior to her focus on video games, she contributed to film and TV projects like Smallfoot and Playmobil.

Film and TV Scoring 101 (May 7 – Jun. 11)

with Alison Plante and Berklee Online

Wednesdays from 8–9:30pm ET
May 7 to June 11

Curious about the world of film scoring? Take Film and TV Scoring 101 to learn from the best!

In this introduction to scoring for film and television, you will be invited to explore all aspects of this amazing art form, in particular the nature of the collaboration between a composer and a director/producer as the score supports their vision for the story. This workshop serves as an overview of the aesthetics, business, and process of scoring, with weekly topics including:

  • Source, underscore, and the functions music can serve in a film/TV show
  • The filmmaking/TV production process
  • The composer’s team
  • The process of scoring from getting hired through final delivery
  • How to make a living as a composer for media: the basics of copyright and fee deals
  • How to score a simple scene to picture
  • Student work screenings

Students can opt to complete a final scoring project for peer and teacher feedback; this is an optional component of this workshop series, and no scoring background is required to participate.

About Alison Plante

Alison Plante is the director of Berklee Online’s Film Scoring graduate program. Berklee Online offers the renowned curriculum of Berklee College of Music at a fraction of the cost with award-winning programming and instruction.

Film and TV Scoring 101 (Sept. 10 – Oct. 15)

with Alison Plante and Berklee Online

Wednesdays from 8–9:30pm
September 10 to October 15

Have you already taken Film and TV Scoring 101 or do you already have some media scoring experience? Join us for a second level of study in Film and TV Scoring 201.

In this continued exploration of the world of scoring for film and TV, students will focus on three popular genres over the six-week program. The first week of each 2-week module will be a lecture-style deep dive into that particular genre and some composition, orchestration, and/or technology techniques that are often used in scoring for that genre. Students will then be invited to score a short film or TV excerpt in that genre that utilizes the technique/s introduced in class, and will spend the next session receiving feedback from Alison and their peers. This pattern of a session on genre exploration followed by a feedback session on student scores will continue over each 2-week module in the six week course, meaning that participating composers will have the opportunity to receive feedback on three different film cues. The scoring assignments are not obligatory.

Applicants must have completed Film and TV Scoring 101 (formerly Introduction to Film Scoring) with Wildflower Composers, either in this season or in a previous season, or must have prior experience with media scoring and basic terminology.

About Alison Plante

Alison Plante is the director of Berklee Online’s Film Scoring graduate program. Berklee Online offers the renowned curriculum of Berklee College of Music at a fraction of the cost with award-winning programming and instruction.

Beyond the Double Bar: Building a Composing Career (Oct. 6 – Nov. 10)

with Dr. Melissa Dunphy

Mondays from 8–9:30pm ET
October 6 through November 10

Your average music composition education teaches you to write music, but what’s next?

This course is intended for any early-career composer who wishes to learn more about the nuts-and-bolts side of being a professional composer. Seminars will cover topics such as:

  • Identifying your audience
  • Creating a profile and public image
  • Networking
  • Legal paperwork (contracts, etc.)
  • How to get commissions and make a living as a composer

This overview course is perfect for anyone who wants to know more about how to build a composing career and succeed as a freelancer.

About Melissa Dunphy

Born in Australia and raised in an immigrant family, Melissa Dunphy herself immigrated to the United States in 2003 and has since become an award-winning and acclaimed composer specializing in vocal, political, and theatrical music. She first came to national attention when her large-scale work the Gonzales Cantata was featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, National Review, and on Fox News and The Rachel Maddow Show, where host Rachel Maddow described it as “the coolest thing you’ve ever seen on this show.” Dunphy has a Ph.D. in composition from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.M. from West Chester University and is on faculty at Rutgers University.

About our Virtual Mini-Courses

Eligibility

We invite applications from female, transgender, nonbinary, and/or genderqueer composers who are just beginning their compositional journeys or are in the early stages of their professional careers. Applicants do not need to have formal composition experience or training in order to apply, nor do they need to have participated in previous Wildflower programming.

The minimum age to participate is 13. There is no maximum age to participate.

Technical Requirements

  • Access to a computer and the internet. We do not recommend participating in courses from your tablet or phone.

  • The latest version of Zoom.

Tuition

Tuition for each course is $200. For each additional course, students receive a $25 discount off the total cost:

  • One course: $200

  • Two courses: $375 ($25 discount)

  • Three courses: $550 ($50 discount)

  • Four courses: $725 ($75 discount)

  • Five courses: $900 ($100 discount)

Need-based financial aid is available. You will be able to request financial aid in your application.
We do not award merit scholarships.