Bang on a Can Media Workshop at MASS MoCA
An exploration of contemporary music criticism
and journalism
July 26-Aug 3, 2025
“One of the most meaningful and impactful experiences of my writing career
thus far.” – Maggie Molloy, workshop participant
Bang on a Can, our special guest faculty John Schaefer and Terrance McKnight, and 6 early career writers will gather at MASS MoCA (the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA) to explore the role of criticism and journalism in today’s dynamic contemporary music scene.
The aim of the workshop is to help writers generate a vocabulary, syntax, and context that is most useful for readers/ listeners and to make modern music and criticism more accessible, welcoming, and exciting to all audiences.
The workshop takes place during the final week of the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA — a residency and festival for composers and performers (14 faculty, 20 performers, and 10 composers) including daily meetings with faculty and daily writing assignments. Additionally, participants are “embedded” in the festival activities, attending rehearsals, workshops, and performances, enabling more insights into the process of bringing music to the stage.
Application deadline, April 7, 5pm ET.
Participants in the workshop will:
- meet with luminaries of the contemporary music field: Bang on a Can’s artistic directors, our performance faculty, and our guest faculty.
- witness the process of building new works from composition, to rehearsal, to performance.
- have access to “primary source material” i.e. the performers and composers.
- learn tools for a successful interview.
- be a part of a community of peers at a similar career stage.
- be embedded in the festival experience, do interviews, and write about them daily.
- learn strategies for a good pitch.
- generate an “audio story” through recorded interviews with festival participants.
Videos about the Workshop (youtube)
Application requirements:
• CV/resume.
• A short personal statement about your current projects and why you’d like to attend.
• Three (3) writing or radio/audio samples. Links preferred for audio samples.
Fee to participate in the workshop:
$1800 USD
The fee covers tuition, housing (shared double-occupancy hotel room close to museum), and meals (lunch and dinner Mon-Fri). Participants are responsible for their own travel expenses.
Tuition assistance is available – please write to [email protected].
• Participants must be 21 or older.
• New music expertise not necessary, but some experience writing about music preferred.
• There is no application fee.
A past workshop participant, writer Maggie Molloy describes her experience at the workshop: “Like music, the field of journalism requires one-on-one mentorship and individualized feedback—and the Bang on a Can Media Workshop was a rare opportunity to study with some of the most accomplished music journalists in the business. Having the chance to create and refine new work in a focused and fast-paced environment like the Bang on a Can Summer Festival thrilled, challenged, and inspired me as a writer. Not only did the experience strengthen my writing skills, but it also helped me connect with a whole new network of musicians, artists, and writers from around the world.
Application deadline, April 7.
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View more work generated for New Sounds by our past workshop participants:
2024
Dispatches from the 2024 Workshop on the WNYC New Sounds website by our 2024 fellows: Elizabeth Derner, Jurgis Kubilius, Leona Oliveros, Maddy Briggs, Stephanie Manning
- Part 1 Audio Story by Leona Oliveros
- Part 2 Todd Reynolds plays his instrument inside an instrument, by Elizabeth Derner / Audio Story by Stephanie Manning / (Un)serious art of (un)welcoming music, by Jurgis Kubilius
- Part 3 Performing with the Sky, by Maddy Briggs
- Part 4 and Part 5 Audio Stories by Leona Oliveros
- Part 6 Meet Bang on a Can’s off-stage star, by Elizabeth Derner
- Part 7 A question you should dare to ask, by Jurgis Kubilius
- Part 8 More radical than John Cage: Julius Eastman and Gay Guerilla, by Maddy Briggs
- Part 9 From Canvas to Stage, by Stephanie Manning
- Leona Oliveros also made a lovely instagram reel about her experience at MASS MoCA
2023
“Dispatches from the Summer Festival” written by our 2023 media fellows: Gray Harrison, Isabela Julianna Gamez, Brooke Knoll, and Molly McCaul.
2022
“Dispatches from the Summer Festival” written by the 2022 participants David Ainsworth, Emma Bauchner, Paige Gullifer, Alice Koeninger, Lara Mitofsky Neuss:
2019
- Earth Sounds: The Didgeridoo Stirs Controversy at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival – By Hannah Edgar and Elias Gross
- “Get a Room:” Composer Rafailia Bampasidou on weird noises and intimate music – By Jeremy Reynolds
- Power Struggles and Rebellion In “Eight Songs For A Mad King” – By Vanessa Ague
- Rehearsals for “Dracula” screening at MASS MoCA frustrated by washing machine – By Jeremy Reynolds
- Dispatches From the Bang on a Can Summer Festival 2019: Part 5 – By John Schaefer
- Ambient Noise or Compelling Sounds? An Exploration of MASS MoCA’s Sound Installations – By Vanessa Ague
- Pamela Z and the One Second Delay that Changed Her Voice – by Elias Gross
- Visual counterpoint: The newest music at MASS MoCA – By Jeremy Reynolds
- Rose Marie and the Bangs – By Hannah Edgar
- The Sounds of the Bang on a Can Summer Festival Meet the Sights of MASS MoCA – By Vanessa Ague
- Who comes to Bang on a Can, anyway? – By Jeremy Reynolds
- Bang on a Can Fellows fill MASS MoCA with sound — and it’s about to get louder – By Hannah Edgar
- It’s Not All Hot Air: Bang on a Can Fellows Blow Up Musical Form – by Elias Gross
If you have any questions, please write to the workshop manager, Philippa Thompson: philippa [at] bangonacan [dot] org
“Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.” – comedian Martin Mull
Photo of John Schaefer by @thesundncekid for On Air Fest
Photo of Terrance McKnight by Julie Yarbrough Photography