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 1st.
The Musical Theater Songwriting program has 1 final showcase at the end of the season. Please see below for the showcase date and location:
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 at 7pm (Joe’s Pub)
The 2024/25 Johanna Garfield Visiting Artist Series Guest artists included: Cinco Paul (Schmiggadoon!, Despicable Me, The Lorax), Anna Jacobs (Teeth, Disney’s The Tale of Moana), Adam Gwon (Ordinary Days, Scotland, PA), Adelina Mitchell (Wicked) and Ben Fankhauser (Newsies).
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 2025/26 Musical Theater Songwriting program is $455.
Please note, there is a $110 non-refundable application fee through Acceptd.
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 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
Photo Credit: Molly Higgins
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