Performance Requirements
Student Recitals
All students in the BAM and BSGME programs are required to perform on a student recital at least once each semester, with the exception of the semesters of junior and senior recitals. There are typically six of these student recitals each semester, and they are held at 3:00 on Friday afternoons. Students in the BSM/MIRT program are not required to perform on student recitals, but may do so with the approval of their applied music teacher. In order to perform, a student is required to complete a recital form, which must be approved and signed by his or her applied music instructor. This form must be submitted to the director of the Division of Music no later than the Tuesday before the requested recital date.
Junior and Senior Recitals
All students in the BAM and BSGME programs are required to present a senior recital, which is the culmination of their applied music studies. While not required, a student may present a junior recital with the approval the music faculty. All junior and senior recitals must be approved by the faculty at a recital hearing, which takes place no less than two weeks before the recital date. Students in the BSM/MIRT program are not required to present a junior or senior recital, but may do so with the approval of the music faculty.
Jury Examinations
All music department majors and minors take an applied music final examination (jury examination) at the end of each semester. Music faculty members administer the exam and provide the student with written comments on his or her progress. The grade constitutes 25% of the student's final grade in applied music. If the student fails to satisfactorily improve from semester to semester the committee may recommend probation. Students can be removed from probation during the following semester's jury examination if they meet the prescribed improvements. Individuals may be dropped from the music or music education major if they do not shed their probationary status after a semester.
Piano Proficiency Requirements
All students in the BAM and BSGME programs must meet basic piano requirements before they graduate. Students typically take the piano proficiency examination at the end of the sophomore year, but students must continue to enroll in applied piano lessons until they pass all areas of the exam. Students who pass the exam prior to the end of their sophomore year may take lessons on another instrument to meet secondary instrument requirements. Students in the BSM/MIRT program are required to take at least four semesters of piano lesson, but they are exempt from the piano proficiency exam unless piano is their primary instrument.