MUS 405 - SENIOR RECITAL

1.  The performance must include representative works from the following five categories:

       a) 17th or 18th-century Italian or English

       b) 19th-century German

       c) 19th or 20th-century French

       d) 20th-century American or British

       e) an aria from an opera or oratorio.

 

2. The student must perform in French, German, Italian, and English.

 

3. All literature for this program must be approved by the voice faculty at least 10 weeks prior to the hearing date.  Any changes in literature must be immediately approved by the applied teacher and the voice committee members.

 

4. The length of this program must total no less than 50 minutes of memorized music.

 

5. A hearing must be scheduled at least two weeks prior to the public performance.  If the student fails the initial hearing, she/he may reschedule one additional hearing during that semester.  If she/he fails two hearings, she/he must wait until the next semester to reschedule.  A grade of  I (incomplete) will be given for the course. Comment sheets will be written for the student during the hearing.

 

6. Public performances may be scheduled at the 2 o'clock recital hour or during any available evening (afternoons only on Saturday and Sunday).  This must be scheduled by the applied instructor and will not be advertised or confirmed until the public performance is recommended by the hearing committee.

 

7.  The student must prepare 10 minutes of material selected by or recommended by the voice committee, without the aid of instruction. This decision should be made prior to #3 (above).

 

8. A Performance Portfolio (notebook) on the recital material is due absolutely no later than the day prior to the hearing. Failure to do so will result in postponement of the hearing until the portfolio is presented to the faculty. The portfolio must be free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation, and must include:

    a) clean copies of scores with measures numbered

    b) brief biographical information of each composer with emphasis on the selections performed or at least the genre

    c) word by word translations of each selection

    d) brief statements about stylistic interpretation with specific references to measures in the score

    e) brief pedagogical comments which include mention of technique and interpretation with specific references to measures in the score

    f)  song translations for the public recital

    g) comments on poetry or poet where appropriate

    h) citations in MLA style, i.e. do not plagiarize.

    i)  phonetic transcriptions for each song using IPA

    j)  brief program notes for the public recital

    In addition, the student must be prepared to discuss this research at the hearing

 

9. The public performance and performance portfolio will be graded by the voice faculty (MUS 405).  A separate grade will be given for the 2 hour applied lesson.

 

Additional Guidelines for the Preparation of the Portfolios for MUS-305 and MUS-405

 

1.  The length of each entry should be about one and one-half to two pages.  This gives you enough room to write in some detail without writing a novel.

 

2.  When making pedagogical comments, you should reference your detailed practice journal entries.  The information contained in this journal will be invaluable and readily accessible for the portfolio.  Cite specific vocal challenges you encountered while studying your literature (e.g., passaggio, breath intake and management, the use of vocal shadings/coloring of the voice for dramatic effect, register issues, etc.). Detail what you did, or tried to do, to fix any problematic areas.  Were the problems solved, or partially solved?  If not totally solved, which part showed improvement and what was your strategy for fixing the rest?  In other words, provide some detail in your discussion.

3.  Please ensure that your biographical information contains the items listed below.  Writing this should give you about one page or so of biographical information.

The following is to be included in your biographical commentary:

 

            a. dates and a paragraph about the composer/poet or librettist’s life;

            b. a paragraph about his/her historical significance to the music you are  performing or to the vocal field in general;

            c. a paragraph or so on this composer and the genre presented (opera, song cycle,   

                        song, musical theater, etc.).