Below you will find descriptions and registration information for online summer workshops that Nicolas will be offering in summer 2025. All times listed are Eastern Standard Times (EST). If you have questions about any of the workshops, please contact Nicolas via the CONTACT section of the website (header above).
IMPORTANT: if you see a workshop listed below , but the timing does not work for you, please contact Nicolas via the CONTACT section above (header above). Sometimes a new date/time can be created based on student interest.
LIST OF ONLINE WORKSHOPS for SUMMER 2025
All workshops have been offered for 2025. There is a chance that another workshop could be offered if there is interest.
Are you interested in a workshop? If so, please use the CONTACT SECTION (above) and mention that you are interested in a workshop (listing the name of the workshop as well).
For more information about these workshops, and to reserve your spot, see below.
Two week workshop that explores how to write music for video games.
WORKSHOP IS ONLINE, SYNCHRONOUS. You will work directly with the teacher and fellow workshop participants online, getting real-time feedback.
This is a hand on course where students will learn by composing music everyday. The focus of the class is learning about specific video game music techniques by composing a lot of music and getting direct feedback (both from the teacher and fellow students). We move quickly and cover a lot of ground. You should have some basic understanding of how to write music in a DAW (Ableton, Cubase, Logic, Protools, Reaper, Garageband, etc.).
A note from the teacher: I taught this course for years as a summer course at university. I will be using the exact same curriculum I used when I taught this class at a college level course for credit. You will learn all the same skills and techniques I taught in that course, but for much less of a fee. This is a very exciting and evolving art form, and I am excited to share with you some of the latest techniques in writing music for video games.
- Nicolas
Two week workshop on writing production music, specifically instrumental cues, for film, TV and media.
WORKSHOP IS ONLINE, SYNCHRONOUS. You will work directly with the teacher and fellow workshop participants online, getting real-time feedback.
What is a MUSICAL or INSTRUMENTAL CUE? Musical cues are “drag and drop” ready to use music that has been written in advance. This is not “VIDEO SCORING” or “FILM MUSIC SCORING” where composers right music to a scene (writing to picture). So this is NOT a film music scoring workshop, that is a whole different topic. BUT, this world of writing music that is used for unscripted or previously edited media (film, TV, commercials) is a vibrant and lucrative field.
The average reality show has about 80+ unique music cues in each episode, and each of these cues is composed by a composer. The average instrumental cue composed for TV, film, media and commercials is about 90 seconds. These cues need to have edit points and meet certain criteria to be selected by music supervisors (these are the people who place music in shows, media, commercials). The music must meet the needs of the music supervisor, and often the most important thing beyond nailing the genre is nailing the vibe or tone.
This workshop will focus on writing music for TV, film and media that is unscripted (a reality or game show, a documentary, or a talk show). We will learn what a music cue is, what different genres are used for these cues, and how to compose these cues. We will learn what it takes to nail the genre, style, tone, and vibe to get your music placed in shows.
In short, you will learn how to composer music that a music supervisor for a TV show is looking for.
This is a hands on workshop where students will learn by composing and getting direct feedback (from the teacher and fellow students). We move quickly and cover a lot of ground. You should have some basic understanding of how to write music in a DAW (Ableton, Cubase, Logic, Protools, Reaper, Garageband, etc.).
Nicolas Scherzinger has taught courses and lessons in composition and electronic music for over 25 years, working at such institutions as Syracuse University (25 years), Mannes School of Music Preparatory Division (10 years), SUNY Purchase (5 years), and the Kinhaven Music School Senior (high school) Summer Session (17 years). He now makes his extensive knowledge and experience available through these online workshops.
Nicolas has experience teaching college level students at the undergraduate and graduate level and has taught composition lessons and courses in electronic music and DAW (Ableton, Logic, Protools), music theory and analysis, ear training, orchestration, video game music and film music. Nicolas has also taught middle school and high school aged students, teaching composition lessons, electronic music, music theory and ear training, and film music.
