Boyer College Policies for Music Students

Please see the Undergraduate Academic Policies. Students are responsible for complying with all University-wide academic policies as well as those of the Esther Boyer College of Music that appear below.

Band Camp and Choir Retreat Policy 

Each fall, prior to the opening of school, the University Marching Band holds its annual band camp. In addition to having a concentrated four-day work period to prepare for the coming season, students get to know each other in both a working and social relationship. They also become acquainted with the group directors at both the personal and professional levels. Attendance at band camp is mandatory for group participation.

The University Concert Choir often meets a few days prior to fall classes or during the first weekend of fall classes for extensive rehearsals.

Ensemble Requirements

• Undergraduate students with a major or concentration in voice or keyboard are required to participate in a choral ensemble, as determined by the Director of Choral Activities, throughout the undergraduate degree program where indicated by the curriculum. Participation begins in the first semester and continues until a baccalaureate degree is obtained. The requirement is waived during the semester of senior recital, internship, or student teaching.

• Music Education/Jazz Studies majors whose concentration is voice are required to participate in both classical and jazz vocal ensembles. After advisement to determine which kind of ensemble is appropriate, these students should go to the Director of Choral Activities to be placed in a classical ensemble and to the Coordinator of Jazz Studies to be placed in a jazz ensemble.

• Undergraduate students with a major or concentration in strings are required to play in the Symphony Orchestra. Participation begins in the first semester and continues until a baccalaureate degree is obtained. Qualified jazz strings and upright bass students are required to audition. This requirement is waived during the semester of student teaching or internship.

• All woodwind, brass, and percussion performance majors and concentrations must audition for instrumental ensembles, large and small, each semester. Continuing students will audition for ensemble placement through juries at the end of each semester. New students will audition for ensemble placement at the beginning of the first semester of study.

• Music education majors whose principal instrument is woodwind, brass, or percussion are required to play in the Marching Band for two semesters, normally during the fall semester of the freshman and sophomore years. Transfer students in this category must also register for Marching Band for two semesters unless they can show evidence of equivalent undergraduate experience at another college or university as determined by the Director of Athletic Bands.
  

• All students taking private lessons (major or concentration) or Recital Extensions are required to participate in an ensemble each semester in attendance.

• Percussion majors are required to participate in Percussion Ensemble.

• Any instrumental student who does not play for a private lesson jury at the end of each semester must arrange for an audition for ensemble placement for the succeeding semester with the Department of Instrumental Studies.

• Students may perform in more than two ensembles only with permission of their advisor.

• All students must show evidence of ensemble experience in their performance medium.

• All students who concentrate in string, woodwind, and brass instruments who are registered for lessons must arrange their schedules in order to attend regularly-scheduled master/studio classes. Failure to do so may result in the lowering of the applied lesson grade.

Independent Study Policy  

Independent Study provides a special opportunity for juniors and seniors to work in a highly-individualized setting with one or more faculty members.

Those who wish to design an Independent Study project must prepare a written proposal six months in advance of the semester in which the study is to be accomplished. This proposal is then submitted for the approval of a special Honors subcommittee of the Academic Planning and Review Committee, which includes the Dean and Associate Dean. Private lessons beyond those required in the curriculum are not an appropriate form of Independent Study.

Professional Development Policy 

All students in the College, in addition to passing the required subjects toward their degrees, are obligated to serve in a number of capacities in order to enrich their academic and musical expertise. The Boyer College believes that such experiences give impetus to successful professional careers. Among the duties that may be required are conducting laboratory classes, tutoring, teaching private lessons, coaching, participating in the distribution and inventory control of University-owned musical instruments and instructional materials, participating in ensembles, accompanying, supervising performance classes, performing at admission and open house events, and other academically-related activities. The Boyer College performances must be given priority over non-college commitments.

Instrumental Jury Policy

All instrumental students, both performance majors and instrumental concentration students, must play a jury at the conclusion of each semester to show evidence of progress on their instrument. For string performance majors, the jury at the end of the sophomore year is the 'Junior Standing Jury,' which must be successfully passed in order for the student to continue in the performance program.

Recital and Concert Attendance Policy

The Dean and Faculty of the Boyer College of Music and Dance consider recital and concert attendance to be a significant educational activity in the training of a musician. It is largely through the process of active listening that the young musician develops powers of discrimination and critical judgment with relation to musical performance. Therefore, attendance at a minimum of sixteen College recitals or concerts throughout the course of an academic year is mandatory for full-time undergraduate students. Part-time, matriculated undergraduate students are also responsible for attending a specific number of concerts in a direct ratio to the number of credits for which they are registered. During student teaching, therapy internship, or senior recital, this requirement is waived. A maximum of fifty-six recitals is needed to complete the requirement. The requirement for full-time transfer students will be based on the number of semesters they attended the Boyer College. Failure to comply with this ruling may result in delay of graduation from the College.

Senior Recitals Policy 

Students in the following curriculums are required to perform a senior recital: Piano Performance, Piano Pedagogy, Instrumental Performance, Voice Performance, Jazz Instrumental Performance, Jazz Voice Performance, and Jazz Arranging/Composition. The Senior Recital provides the opportunity for the performance major to display his or her development and potential as a professional musician and should be considered the focal point for the semesters of private lessons which precede it. Before the Senior Recital is scheduled, the student (1) must have successfully completed private lessons during each semester prior to the recital and (2) must have achieved senior status academically. All grades of "incomplete" in private lessons must be cleared before the student may apply for the senior recital. Students should refer to the Boyer College of Music and Dance Undergraduate Handbook for further details and policies governing recitals.

After receiving approval from the jury and the major teacher in the applied area, a student should apply for the Senior Recital date and complete the necessary recital arrangements through the Recital Coordinator.

For students enrolled in the Instrumental Studies Department, the recital approval jury serves to demonstrate the student's ability to perform the degree recital successfully. Normally, this occurs at the preceding semester's jury. If by Departmental approval this jury does not occur, then a jury must be scheduled at least four weeks prior to the recital. If the jury is not successfully completed by that time, the Instrumental Department reserves the right to cancel the recital date. Most of the recital repertoire, with the exception of chamber ensemble works, should be available for performance at the jury and accompanied by the recital accompanist. Recital approval is dependent upon the time remaining between the approval jury and the actual recital date, as well as the degree of preparedness of the repertoire.

Except for non-sonata and complicated contemporary repertoire, string performance majors should perform from memory (and the recital program should include some portion that will be performed from memory). Students who wish an exception to this memorization policy must obtain prior approval from the Department by indicating the request on the recital repertoire form when it is submitted to the department for approval of the program.

Senior Recitals are usually presented Monday through Friday at 5:15 PM or 7:30 PM. Performance time should be forty-five to fifty minutes, exclusive of an optional intermission of no more than ten minutes.

Recital Extension Policy 

Some students may need to extend their applied study beyond the required number of semesters in order to complete the preparation for the Senior Recital. Students who do not present a recital during the recital semester will receive the grade of "Incomplete" and must register for Music 5000-Recital Extension for 2 semester hours of non-degree credit. Recital Extension must be taken each semester until the recital has been presented. The sole exceptions to this rule are as follows:

• Students who give their recitals during the first three weeks of the spring semester are not required to register for Recital Extension that semester.

• Students who register for Recital Extension or for private lessons during the summer may give their recitals during the first three weeks of the fall semester. However, if a student does not register for either Recital Extension or lessons during the summer, he or she may not present the recital in the fall semester -- regardless of the date -- without also registering for that semester of lessons or Recital Extension.

• Private applied lessons beyond the eight-semester requirement currently in effect for undergraduate performance majors may be taken by permission of the jury and/or the appropriate performance department chairman. Music 5000-Recital Extension carries a $400 fee (subject to change without notice). Tuition scholarships do not cover this private lesson fee.

Program Performance Policy  

All music departments reserve the right to dismiss an undergraduate student at any time from a given undergraduate degree program, regardless of grade point average, if in the opinion of the major department, he or she is unable to meet departmental standards. The decision will receive automatic review by the Academic Review and Planning Committee. The student has the right to appeal the dismissal to the Academic Review and Planning Committee of the Boyer College of Music.

Undergraduate Private Lesson Policy  

Weekly one-hour private lessons are arranged for full-time matriculated undergraduates in the Boyer College for as many semesters as required by the particular curriculum. (A full-time student must be registered for at least 12 credits each semester.) A per semester lesson fee of $200 (subject to change without notice) -- above and beyond the regular tuition -- will be automatically added to the tuition charge of each student for this study. Students who do not complete a minimum of 12 semester hours must pay a private lesson fee of $400 for the succeeding semester of private lessons. Students who are accepted for a double concentration or a double major in performance must be fully accepted by both departments by audition. A private lesson fee of $400 is assessed for the second instrument. Approval of the Associate Dean is required for all students desiring a double major or double concentration. Tuition scholarships granted by the Boyer College do not cover the private lesson fees.