Policies
Jury and Recital Information
Ensemble Participation
Lessons Abroad
Lesson Fee Policy
Placement Auditions
Jury and Recital Information
Juries
1. Juries for undergraduate music majors are scheduled as follows:
- Sophomore and Juniors: Saturday, February 10, 2012, in the Annenberg Auditorium in the Snite Museum.
- Freshmen, Saturday, March 31, 2011 in the Annenberg Auditorium, Snite Museum.
Sign-up sheets will be posted by the Department Office (105 Crowley) at the beginning of the spring semester.
If you are planning to go abroad next semester must complete a jury before you leave. Contact Professor Peter Smith and your faculty advisor IMMEDIATELY.
2. All Performance majors must perform a jury or recital each year they are enrolled in the program. Students in the Performance Concentrate will be notified after their sophomore jury about their status in the program. Qualified students will be invited to participate in the Honors Program.
3. Students are not required to give a jury in the semester in which they are presenting a degree recital; students giving a non-degree recital must still present a jury.
4. Students planning to spend time abroad must arrange to perform a jury within the academic year that they will be out of the country, preferably before they leave.
5. Juries normally last 10-15 minutes. The student should play selections from two to three different compositions and may be asked (when appropriate) to play scales and arpeggios.
6. Juries serve several important purposes. They give the faculty an opportunity to monitor the progress of the students. They also help faculty to advise students. Finally, there are specific achievement level requirements for each of the degree programs and it is through the juries that faculty determine whether they have been (or are likely to be) met. Although jury reports are confidential, your teacher will have access to them and can transmit to you the comments from the faculty on your performance to provide you with constructive criticism for future reference. Jury performances are also used to determine scholarship status.
7. If you have any questions about juries, contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Recitals
1. All students in the performance concentrate must present one full-length recital (one hour) or two half-length recitals (30 minutes each) before graduation.
2. Further restrictions on repertoire, recital procedures, etc. may exist and the student is expected to work closely with his or her major teacher in the planning of his/her recital.
3. The student is strongly encouraged to plan ahead and schedule his or her recital date as far in advance as possible. Recital timeslots are given on a first-come/first-served basis. Students are also strongly encouraged to consider performing their recitals in the Fall semester or early in the Spring semester, as there is a concentration of degree recitals in April and early May. Recitals MUST be scheduled directly through the Publicity Coordinator. Complete the Recital Request Form and submit it to the Noelle Elliott.
4. Recitals will be recorded on Digital Audio Tape (DAT) for departmental records. Students who wish a copy of their recital must manually transfer the recording to compact disc. The Administrative Assistant for Music or Publicity Coordinator will assist the student in making a copy of his/her recital.
Ensemble Participation
For Performance Concentration Majors
All students in the performance concentration are required to participate in at least one ensemble in each of the six semesters that they are Music majors.
For Prospective Majors
Students who are intending to major in music are also encouraged to perform in at least one ensemble during their freshman year.
Limits on Ensemble Performance
As music majors, vocalists may participate in no more than two ensembles per semester (this includes the Basilica choirs); instrumentalists are limited to a maximum of three ensembles per semester.
Music majors may choose from the following departmental ensembles: Chamber Music, Chamber Orchestra, Chorale, Collegium, Concert/Symphonic Band, Concert/Symphonic Winds, Opera Notre Dame, Opera Workshop, Orchestra. Music majors may also participate in any of the three Basilica choirs (Folk Choir, Liturgical Choir, Women's Liturgical Choir), but may only count such participation for up to two semesters toward the six-semester ensemble requirement. In other words, a student who participates in one of these choirs must also participate in an additional departmental ensemble for at least four semesters (the participation may be concurrent).
Organ and voice majors are exempted from the Basilica choir aspect of this policy in that they may satisfy the ensemble requirement by participating in Liturgical Choir for six (or more) semesters if they so desire. Please note: numeric credit for the three Basilica choirs is awarded by the Department of Theology, not by the Department of Music.
Ensembles qualify as "Activity and Experiential" courses (see the Undergraduate Bulletin). Up to three credits may count towards graduation, but the credits do not count toward the Music major.
Lessons Abroad
Office of International Studies
154 Hurley Hall
University of Notre Dame
(574) 631-5203
For music majors only. Guidelines for requesting approval of music lessons from abroad:
1. Identify local procedures for acceptance into lessons. The faculty will recommend instructors whom the students may contact for lessons abroad; however, students may also do their own research to find an instructor. It is ultimately the student’s responsibility to set up the lesson arrangement. Your acceptance may be contingent upon an audition. Contact your chosen instructor for more information on the protocol for acceptance.
2. When you have chosen an instructor, compile the following in a well-organized document. Do not submit your request until you have all the information requested below. This will expedite your request and improve your chances of a positive response for course approval and funding.
- Name of instructor and short biography (instructor's institutional affiliation, instrument, recent recitals, performances, recordings)
- Contact hours for proposed lessons (typical: one hour/week for 14 weeks. Please explain if more or less time is requested)
- Price for lessons
- Repertoire and learning goals
- Course number requested at Notre Dame
- Grade: A letter of assessment must be submitted in a sealed envelope to the student. It is the student's responsibility to send this envelope to the on-campus OIS staff member at Notre Dame who is in charge of the program where the student is studying. OIS will ensure that grades are recorded.
Important information on funding for lesson fees:
The Department of Music will make every attempt to assist music majors with the cost of music lessons. As soon as possible prior to departure for study abroad, the student must see the DUS or Chair of Music regarding financial arrangements. In situations where the fee for lessons abroad exceeds the amount for those taken on the Notre Dame campus, the Department will make every effort also to cover the differential, at least in part. Once the student is abroad, he/she should re-contact the Department to confirm the financial arrangements. All departmental funding will be paid as a lump-sum reimbursement, on the basis of receipts for lesson fees paid by the student and presented to the Department when the student returns to the Notre Dame campus.
3. Submit. When you have compiled all this information, send your request via email to:
- the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Music at ND
- your resident on-site director (if applicable)
- the OIS program director or coordinator for your program at ND
- the assistant/associate dean of your college
For Music Department Faculty, Contact People: Guidelines for Processing Students’ Requests for Course Transfer Approval from Abroad
1. Please generate your reply to the student in 5 working days.
2. Please send your response to the student, and cc:
the appropriate OIS program director or coordinator on-campus,
the assistant/associate deans,
the on-site program director (if applicable).
3. Make sure to include the following in your response:
Course number
Credits
Lesson Fee Policy
Music performance majors (majors are declared sophomore year) qualify for a 100% discount on weekly one-hour applied music lessons on their primary instrument, and a 50% discount on a secondary instrument. Theory and History and Music and Culture majors qualify for a 50% discount on their first lesson and pay full price for any additional lessons. Applied music lessons are available for all students, including nonmajors, for a fee. Lessons may count as “activity” elective credits. (The College of Arts and Letters accepts up to three activity credits towards graduation.) The fee is charged to the student’s accounts, and no refunds are made after the first lesson.
Placement Auditions
Placement auditions are for advanced students who are interested in majoring in performance. The performance professors must listen to your technique and range in order to place you with the appropriate instructor.
When you arrive on campus, please meet with the Head of Studies for your instrument. There will be sign-up sheets in the main hallways of Crowley Hall for vocal placement auditions. Potential majors in piano, organ, violin, viola, cello, and voice must contact the studio teacher in their respective area to set up a placement audition.
Voice: gresick@nd.edu
Piano: jblacklow@nd.edu
Strings: plummer.1@nd.edu
Organ: ccramer@nd.edu
Students who have had previous music education may place out of the prerequisite studio lessons, and out of Harmony and Voice Leading (Theory I), by examination.
