Juries for Applied Music
Students taking applied music must take a jury examination at the end of each semester. Students may be exempted from jury examinations only when they have performed a recital during the last seven weeks of the semester in fulfillment of degree requirements.
General Recital Information
MM Recitals are taken for zero (0) credit using the MUSR 98 course number.
Students must be enrolled in applied music with their primary teacher during the semester of their degree recital.
If the grade of incomplete is recorded for a recital, the student is required to register for applied music in the semester during which the recital is given (credit hours to be determined by the supervisory committee).
Students pursuing Composition or Performance Specializations must perform a recital of at least 45 minutes (composition = 30 minutes) and no more than 60 minutes duration (actual performing time). The time available for each recital includes 15 minutes of preparation time in the recital hall and a maximum time of 75 minutes for the recital itself (start on-stage to finish off-stage). The maximum recital length applies only to recitals given in Kimball Hall or Westbrook Recital Hall (119).
The Woodwind Specialist candidate shall present a recital of no less than 50 minutes and no more than 60 minutes (actual performing time) on the student's major instrument, and recitals of no less than 30 minutes on each of two secondary instruments (60 minutes total in actual performing time). The expected proficiency level for the major instrument is the same as that for an MM in performance. The expected level for the secondary instruments is equivalent to an acceptable performance of a junior recital.
Performing forces for MM conducting recitals are obtained in one of the following three ways:
- Most customarily, students organize their own ensembles, of a size appropriate to the repertoire approved for the recital. Ensemble personnel consists primarily of UNL student musicians engaged by the student conductor; when necessary, these forces may be augmented by professional musicians from outside UNL. (Any expenses incurred forming the recital ensemble are the responsibility of the conducting student.) Performing personnel should be selected in close consultation with studio faculty in the student's performing area. A complete written list of performers must be approved by the Chair of the student's Supervisory Committee prior to the first rehearsal. The student also assumes responsibility for all rehearsals, rehearsal space, rehearsal accompanists, instruments, scores and parts, and performance location.
- Less commonly, a standing ensemble of the Glenn Korff School of Music may, on occasion, be available for use in all or part of a Master of Music conducting recital. Again, this situation arises relatively rarely, and always at the discretion of the ensemble's director and instructor of record, and with the approval of the Chair of the student's Supervisory Committee.
- In exceptional circumstances, a standing ensemble from outside the Glenn Korff School of Music may be used for a master's conducting recital. These circumstances are likely to exist when the conducting student is affiliated with an outside ensemble as its director or as an associate conductor, and when the outside ensemble is judged by the student's Supervisory Committee to exhibit a technical and artistic level of performance commensurate with the level of conducting technique and interpretation expected of a student in the MM program. Any UNL graduate student conductor desiring to use a non-UNL ensemble must request permission, in writing, from his/her Supervisory Committee. The conducting student presenting the recital is responsible for initiating the written petition and must obtain signatures from all his/her Supervisory Committee members before the recital is scheduled. A copy of the approved petition is to be placed in the student's official folder.
Procedural Info for all MM Recitals
Each graduate recital must be recorded. The recording is kept in the Music Library as a permanent record of the recital. All recitals are recorded, and archival recordings of recitals are stored on the following website. https://collections.unl.edu/GKSoMPerformances.html. A grade for the recital will not be accepted until the completed Graduate Recital Review Form is processed with the GKSOM Graduate Program Coordinator.
RECITAL PROCEDURES
Students who want to give a solo or chamber recital in Glenn Korff School of Music facilities, whether that recital is for degree credit or not, must follow certain rules and regulations. Off-campus recitals by GKSOM students may be bound by certain stipulations as well.
Enrollment
Students must be concurrently enrolled in major applied lessons during the semester in which they give a degree recital. Non-degree recitals do not require enrollment unless for some reason the student wishes to have the recital on their transcript.
Recital Course Numbers
MM and DMA students use the course number MUSR 98-Grad Recital (and for additional recitals, under some circumstances, MUSR 91A and MUSR 91B) for zero-credit degree recitals.
Recital Sign-Up
Students performing degree recitals (both on and off campus) must complete recital sign-up procedures and pay the recital fee.
Recital scheduling for recitals takes place at the start of each semester with graduate students receiving priority scheduling beginning at the start of the second week of classes. Recital sign-up continues through the end of the fifth week of classes.
Priority in scheduling goes to graduate students over undergraduates, and to degree recitals over non-degree recitals.
Students enrolled for recital credit can schedule a recital by visiting https://unlscheduling.nebraska.edu/, logging in (top, right corner), and choosing the appropriate reservation form. The graduate degree recital form will be made available starting on Monday in the second week of classes. Both recital forms will close on Monday of the sixth week of classes.
Once a student secures a recital date and time, the student will receive an email that includes a linked form. The form generates a contract that will include your recital date, time, location, and advisor/committee contact email addresses. Your recital contract will then be sent to your committee for signatures. When the contract is signed by all committee members, you will receive instructions for submitting your program information. At this time, you will also see a charge for the recital fee posted to your UNL student account for the next month’s billing cycle.
DEADLINES FOR ALL MM DEGREE RECITALS
Two Weeks Prior to Recital
- Students must submit all program information as instructed in the recital contract. Failure to do so may result in the cancellation of the recital. Substitutions in supervisory committee members for degree recitals are approved by the chair of that committee. Any changes, even temporary, must be recorded with the GKSOM Graduate Program Coordinator.
- Supervisory Committee Chairs must be present in person at all recitals. Other committee members who cannot be present for a recital may use recordings/videos/livestreaming to participate in the recital adjudication. If it is not possible to use technology to circumvent the absence, the student, with the approval of the committee chair, may secure a faculty member not on the committee to serve as a substitute to adjudicate the recital.
NOTE: THE STUDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING A RECORDING OF THE RECITAL TO THE COMMITTEE MEMBER WHO CANNOT ATTEND IN PERSON OR OBTAINING A FACULTY MEMBER TO SUBSTITUTE FOR ANY MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE WHO CANNOT ATTEND THE DEGREE RECITAL. ADDITIONALLY, IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT TO COMMUNICATE TO EACH MEMBER OF THE SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE ANY CHANGES OF AGREED TIME OR DATE OF THE RECITAL.
One Week Prior to Recital
- Remind the supervisory committee members of the recital date. The student is responsible for finding a substitute for a committee member who is not able to attend. If a substitute is necessary, the GKSOM Graduate Program Coordinator must be informed of the substitution.
PIANO ACCOMPANIST POLICY FOR MM STUDIO LESSONS, JURIES, AND DEGREE RECITALS
In order to provide a positive studio and performance environment for students, the Glenn Korff School of Music employs staff accompanists, graduate teaching assistants, and pianists registered in MUDC/MUCO 440/840 (A and/or B) to support applied studio lessons, semester juries, and departmental recitals as much as possible.
Assignment Procedure
All faculty members receive an Accompanist Request Form for each applied major at the outset of each semester. The request form requires providing information such as the student's name, class standing, semester repertoire, and recital plans. Studio assignments are made based on a priority system that considers degree status, recital preparation, and the availability of accompanists. It is the responsibility of the instructor, the student, and the accompanist together to decide upon suitable lesson times for the semester.
Additional services beyond those able to be supported by the GKSOM in any given semester (in particular, services such as degree recitals and/or recital preparation) must be contracted directly by students with accompanists at their hourly rates. In order to avoid potential misunderstandings, it is strongly recommended that students determine all costs with their accompanists prior to any engagement.
Performance Juries
The performance jury is the equivalent of a final exam for the applied area(s) of semester study. Juries in the major applied areas, required of music majors and minors, are held during the week of final exams. Scheduling is done by individual sign-up.
All applied music students must take a jury examination at the end of each semester. Students may be exempted from jury examinations only if they have performed a recital that semester in fulfillment of degree requirements.
Approximately 10 days prior to exams, sign-up sheets are posted on the appropriate applied faculty doors (usually the head of the area, such as brass, woodwinds, voice, etc.). Specific content and length of each student’s jury is determined by the applied area. A panel of area faculty members serve as the evaluating group; each member registers a grade for the performance and the results are averaged together. The final jury grade is weighed as one-third of the current semester’s final applied studio grade.
Failure to meet expected standards in a jury can result in probationary status for one semester at the end of which significant improvement must be demonstrated. If standards are not sufficiently met, dismissal from the applied area and reduction or elimination of scholarship support are considered by the appropriate area faculty member.