Accompanist Policy

      The Music Department provides staff piano accompanists free of charge to all music majors. It is the responsibility of a student performer to contact an accompanist and arrange for all rehearsals, Thursday-noon performances, juries, recital hearings, recital performances, and any other performances required by a student's coursework. Contact information for staff accompanists is available in the music office (PA-111).

Repertoire Classes

      Repertoire classes are held each quarter on selected Thursdays at noon.  A schedule of repertoire classes for a quarter is available in the departmental office (PA-111), and all music majors must attend a repertoire class corresponding to their chosen applied area.  Repertoire class attendance will count for 25% of a student’s applied grade each quarter.
      Repertoire class performances may be scheduled with the designated faculty member for a particular applied area. Students should contact their applied teachers for further information regarding scheduling of performances.  Depending on his or her applied level, each student must perform for a repertoire class a certain minimum number of times per quarter.  See Applied Level Completion Requirements for each level’s specific requirements.

Music Major Recitals

      Music Major Recitals are held each quarter on selected Thursdays at noon.  A schedule of Music Major Recitals for a quarter is available in the departmental office (PA-111), and music majors receive credit toward MUS 998 Concert Attendance for each recital attended.
      Music majors may schedule a performance for a Music Major Recital by filing the appropriate form (“blue card”) in the main music office (PA-111).  Forms are due by Monday of the week of a recital. Depending on his or her applied level, some students must perform for a Music Major Recital a certain minimum number of times per quarter.  See Applied Level Completion Requirements for each level’s specific requirements.

Senior and Junior Recitals and Projects

      All music majors are required to complete either a senior recital (MUS 599) or senior project (MUS 598).  Students pursuing a Composition/Performance emphasis must complete a senior recital.  Students in other emphases usually complete a senior project, but may, if they complete requirements for 400-level applied study, attempt a senior recital. Students in a Composition/Performance emphasis must also complete a junior recital (MUS 499) or junior project (MUS 498).  Students in a General Music Studies, Music Technology, Ethnomusicology, or Music History emphasis also have required units in MUS 528 Special Projects intended for use in completing a senior project.
      A recital is a public performance of art music intended as a capstone or summation of a student’s applied study. A student’s studio teacher will supervise the preparation of the recital, and students should consult their applied syllabi for further guidelines in that regard.  A project is also a capstone experience, but consists of some sort of creative or written product, possibly including a performance component, that mimics professional-level scholarly or creative products produced in the field of music.  The project should be a summation of either a student’s applied study or a student’s study within a degree emphasis.  In the first case, a student’s studio teacher will supervise the preparation of the project, and in the second, either the studio teacher or a member of the full-time music faculty will supervise preparation.  In place of the syllabus guidelines that define recital requirements, a project proposal, approved by the supervising faculty member, will further define a junior or senior project.  If a senior project contains any performance component, the quality of the performance must equal that of a senior recital

Recital Checklist

In preparing for a recital performance, students must follow this checklist:

• Consult with the studio teacher regarding a recital program.  A student’s recital program should ideally be determined several months before the date of the anticipated performance.  A junior recital program should include at least 25 minutes of music, and a senior recital should include a minimum of 50 minutes of music.
  
  
• Submit a Recital Reservation Form. The form must be submitted to the Music Department’s Technician, Dan Robinson, no later than 10 weeks before the recital date, and requires the signatures of the student, Dan Robinson, the student’s studio teacher, and all other performers involved in the recital.   Senior recitals may be scheduled on weeknights or weekends.  Junior recitals will be scheduled only on weeknights and at least two recitals must share a night’s program.  Junior projects that include a performance component may also be paired with a junior recital.  The Music Department Technician will make the final decision on which recitals and/or projects to pair together.  The dress rehearsal for a recital will also be scheduled at this time.
  
  
• Submit a Recital Hearing Form.  The form must be submitted to the Music Department Chair no later than four weeks before the scheduled date of a recital and include a list of repertoire to be performed at the recital.  The student’s studio teacher is responsible for arranging a hearing date and time, and the form requires the signature of the teacher with an indication of the results of the recital hearing.  At least three music faculty members, one of whom must be the student’s studio teacher, will adjudicate the hearing, and a majority of them must approve the recital.  If the recital is not approved at the hearing, the recital performance must be cancelled.  Occasionally, partial approval will be granted, and the student will be required to perform selected pieces again before the recital.  Those pieces should be performed for at least two of the original hearing committee members, including the studio teacher, and the performance should occur not later than 10 days before the recital performance.
  
  
• Submit a Recital Program Form. The form is due to the Music Department’s Publicity Specialist four weeks before the scheduled recital date.  The form must be accompanied by a draft of the program that follows the guidelines outlined in the form, and, if required by the student’s applied syllabus, a draft of program notes.   The form and attachments must be submitted electronically via email, and must either be in a Microsoft Word or rich text format.  The Music Department will print 75 programs for a recital free of charge.  A student can obtain additional programs for a fee of $15 per 25 programs.
  
  
• Submit a Recital Technical Needs Form.  The form is due to the Music Department’s Technician four weeks before the scheduled recital date.  The Music Department will provide free of charge one CD recording of the recital performance for each recitalist and his or her studio teacher.  Additional CD copies of the performance can be made at cost to the student of $10 per CD.  For a fee of $25 a student may also request a DVD recording of a recital.  No audio or video recording of a recital is made unless one is requested by a performer.  All other audio, lighting, equipment, staging or other unusual technical needs must be specified in this form.  If in the opinion of the Music Department’s Technician, a technical request is cannot be met, then the performer must revise his or her performance plans accordingly.  Students are strongly encouraged to consult with the Technician well in advance of the recital hearing so that all technical needs can be addressed in time for the hearing, avoiding technical complications for the recital performance.
  
  
• Perform the recital.  A recitalist’s studio teacher should be in attendance at the performance, and the teacher alone will determine the grade for the recital.  Guidelines for grading a recital should appear in the teacher’s applied syllabus.  The performance must adhere to the usual practices for stage deportment, dress, and other etiquette at a professional-level recital, including any provisions appearing in the teacher’s applied syllabus.

All fees for extra programs or recordings are due four weeks before the scheduled recital performance.  Students may pay fees by check or cash in the main music office (PA-111).

In completing a junior or senior project, students must follow this checklist:

• Consult with the project supervisor.  A student should ideally identify a topic and begin developing a project several months before the anticipated date of completion.  The student must develop a proposal for the project that includes a detailed description of the project, including a clearly defined outcome, and a firm due date for the project. 
  
  
• Form a project committee. The project supervisor will form a committee to review and comment on the project proposal.  The committee must consist of at least three music faculty members, including the project supervisor and at least one full-time faculty member.  The committee must have at least two weeks to review the proposal. Once the committee has reviewed the proposal, the project supervisor should schedule a meeting of the committee with the student.  If the committee does not approve the proposal, the student may resubmit a different project, but must do so within two weeks of the original project's rejection.  The committee may also suggest changes to the project that the project supervisor is then responsible for documenting and supervising. 
  
  
• Submit a Project Approval Form.  The form must be submitted to the Music Department Chair by the beginning of the quarter in which the project will be completed.  It must include the project proposal, the signature of the project supervisor, and documentation of changes required by the project committee.
  
  
• Submit a Project Technical Needs Form, if the project requires any sort of public presentation, performance or lecture. The form is due to the Music Department’s Technician four weeks before the scheduled presentation date.  The Music Department will provide free of charge one CD or DVD recording of the project's presentation for each presenter and his or her studio teacher.  Additional electronic copies of the performance can be made at cost to the student of $10 per CD and $20 per DVD.  No audio or video recording of a recital is made unless one is requested by a performer.  All other audio, lighting, equipment, staging or other unusual technical needs must be specified in this form.  If in the opinion of the Music Department’s Technician, a technical request is cannot be met, then the performer must revise his or her presentation plan accordingly.  Students are strongly encouraged to consult with the Technician well in advance of the presentation so that all technical needs can be addressed in time. 
  
  
• Submit Recital Reservation Form, Recital Hearing Form, and Recital Program Forms, if the project includes a performance component. The performance portion of a project must meet the same performance standards as for a senior recital, including adherence to the time line and hearing requirements described above for recitals.   Generally, the performance portion of a project takes place in a performance site other than the Performing Arts Recital Hall.  Performance in the Recital Hall is only possible if the technical needs for the project's presentation can be easily met in that space.
  
  
• Complete the project.  The project supervisor alone will determine the grade for a project.  If the project includes a performance component, the supervisor must be in attendance at the performance.  The project will be graded based on how well the final result satisfies the expectations defined in the proposal.