Harvard University · Est. Cambridge, MA
The Harvard Composers Association advances student composition — fostering community, building interdisciplinary partnerships, and bringing ambitious new work to life.
We complement formal coursework by making possible the kinds of ambitious, experimental, and collaborative projects that often exceed its scope.
HCA is a space where composers take risks, work across mediums, and develop original projects in conversation with performers, visual artists, technologists, writers, dancers, and directors.
With support from the Harvard Music Department and faculty advisor Professor Yvette Jackson
NOW Interdisciplinary · Spring 2026
7 new works for string quartet, electronics, and real-time visual projection — performed live at Holden Chapel.
May 1 · Holden Chapel · Harvard Yard · See full project →
Ambitious, experimental, and collaborative work spanning chamber music, electronic composition, interdisciplinary art, and beyond.
2026
Interdisciplinary · String Quartet · Electronics · AVA paracosm is a "private- but- shared imagined world sufficiently rich in detail that people become engaged in the stories and can return to them again and again." Through this performance, HCA and Conflux create real-life paracosms through music, visual art, and technology.
7 original string quartets by Harvard undergraduates, some incorporating electronics, performed in Holden Chapel with flexible seating so the audience can roam freely through the projections.
Collaborators: Conflux Art-Tech Collective · Funded by the Office of the Arts at Harvard
How it works
AUDIO INPUT
String quartet + electronics — pitch, timbre, volume & beat
VISUAL OUTPUT
Real-time projections — color, saturation, shape, opacity & quantity
Timeline
Spring 2025
Recording · String OrchestraA professional studio recording of original works for string orchestra composed by HCA members — capturing the breadth and ambition of Harvard student composition for strings.
Ensemble: String Orchestra
Fall 2024
Recording · Wind EnsembleA studio recording of new works written for mixed wind ensemble, bringing together woodwinds and brass in original compositions by Harvard undergraduate composers.
Ensemble: Mixed Wind Ensemble
Spring 2024
Recording · ChamberA studio recording of original works for mixed chamber octet — an intimate format that showcases the timbral variety and compositional range of HCA student work.
Ensemble: Mixed Chamber Octet
Student composers, organizers, and collaborators driving new music at Harvard.
Co-President
Co-President
Faculty Advisor · Harvard Music Department
HCA operates with the generous support of the Harvard Music Department and Professor Jackson, whose mentorship helps connect student composers with professional networks, resources, and performance opportunities.
Whether you're a composer looking to get involved, a performer interested in collaboration, or a prospective partner — we'd love to hear from you.
HCA welcomes composers, performers, visual artists, technologists, writers, dancers, and directors. If you want to make ambitious new work, this is your home.
