Master of Music Degree Recital Requirements

Instrumental and Vocal Performance Majors

The student is responsible for establishing the date and time of the degree recital in consultation with the major applied teacher and the Graduate Program Coordinator.  Notification of the date and time of the recital must be given in writing to the Graduate Program Supervisor no later than four weeks prior to the performance.  The reviewing committee will consist of the major applied teacher, two additional applied teachers from the student’s performance area, and two members of the Graduate Curriculum Committee.  The Graduate Program Coordinator is responsible for assigning the reviewing committee.  The examining committee must be informed of the time and place of the recital at least two weeks prior to the event. 

The recital must include forty-five minutes of music.  The recital repertoire will include literature from three or more stylistic periods.  Students pursuing the Master of Music in Vocal Performance must include the following languages:  English, French, German, and Italian.  The major applied teacher will approve the content of the recital program.

After discussion, each committee member will vote pass/fail and make comments.  The recital must be approved on a vote of four to one.  If the result is “fail” the committee may ask the student to replay the recital during the next semester with possible changes in repertoire.  In such a case, a grade of “I” (“incomplete”) will be assigned.  According to the Graduate Bulletin, an incomplete grade not removed before the last day to withdraw during the next semester in which the student is enrolled at the university or within one calendar year if the student does not enroll, unless extenuating circumstances are provided in writing to the Graduate School, will be recorded as “F.”  A copy of the Master of Music Degree Recital Form will be placed in the student’s file.  The major applied professor will give the final grade for the recital.

Instrumental or Choral Conducting Majors

Since a student conducting recital requires an ensemble, individual recital requirements will be determined on the basis of whether or not the student is a full-time or part-time graduate student.

Full-Time Graduate Students

Full-time graduate students will likely be in residence four semesters, not including summer terms.  During each of their first three semesters, the student will conduct a work (or works) with one of the ASU concert ensembles, which will include rehearsals and performance.  Each semester, the major professor in consultation with the Graduate Program Coordinator and ensemble directors will determine the format of each student’s conducting activities including dates, times, and ensemble assignments.  Works conducted will be selected by the major professor in consultation with the student.  Throughout the first three semesters of residency, the major professor, at their discretion, will assemble faculty members to offer suggestions and feedback for students following their conducting performances.  This may also include rehearsal observations.  Students will be expected to videotape all conducting performances and save them onto a tape or DVD format.  The video should be a front view of the conductor, not the ensemble.  All conducting performances should be made available to faculty upon request. 

During the final semester in residence, students will conduct multiple works with ASU ensembles.  This may include conducting a work with several different ensembles, or preparing and performing a portion of, or an entire program with a single group.  Works conducted will be selected by the major professor in consultation with the student.  Unless directed to do so by their major professor, students will not assemble groups on their own as they will conduct ensembles already organized within the department. 

In addition, during the final semester of residency, a conducting review committee will be formed for the student by the Graduate Program Supervisor.  The committee will consist of the major professor and four other faculty members as recommended by the major professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator.  The conducting committee must be informed of the time and place of all conducting performances at least two weeks prior to the event.  At least one member of the conducting committee must attend each performance.  All performances must be videotaped in accordance with previously mentioned guidelines.  Members of the conducting committee who could not attend the live performance will evaluate the videoed recital and report the results to the Graduate Program Supervisor. 

Each committee member will vote pass/fail and make comments.  For the student to receive a passing grade, at least four of the five committee members must vote “pass.”  If the result is “fail” the committee will offer suggestions and a course of action to remediate observed deficiencies.  In such a case, a grade of “I” (“incomplete”) will be assigned.  According to the Graduate Bulletin, an incomplete grade not removed before the last day to withdraw during the next semester in which the student is enrolled at the university or within one calendar year if the student does not enroll, unless extenuating circumstances are provided in writing to the Graduate School, will be recorded as “F.”  A copy of the Master of Music Degree Recital Form will be placed in the student’s file.  The major professor will give the final grade for the recital.

Part-Time Graduate Students

Part-time graduate students have the option and are encouraged to conduct their school or community ensembles to satisfy their recital requirements.  Works conducted will be selected by the major professor in consultation with the student.  The student is responsible for establishing the date and time of the degree recital in consultation with the major professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator.  Notification of the date and time of the recital must be given in writing to the Graduate Program Supervisor no later than four weeks prior to the performance. 

The recital reviewing committee will consist of the major professor and four other faculty members as recommended by the major professor and the Graduate Program Coordinator.  The reviewing committee must be informed of the time and place of the recital at least two weeks prior to the event.  If the recital occurs off campus, at least one member of the reviewing committee must attend the recital.  Whether on- or off-campus, the recital must be videotaped and saved onto a tape or DVD format.  The video should be a front view of the conductor, not the ensemble.  Members of the recital reviewing committee who could not attend the live performance will evaluate the videoed recital and report the results to the Graduate Program Supervisor. 

Specifications for Scholarly Document to Accompany Recital

I.                 Content

A.   Technical aspects unique to the performance (i.e. techniques of singing Bach as contrasted to those of singing Brahms; the features and specifications of the Baroque trumpet and the techniques of playing it, etc.).

OR

B.   Historical analysis of one recital section or the composer thereof.

OR

C.   Theoretical analysis of one of the following:

1.    Compositional style of the composer

2.    One specific composition, analyzed in depth

3.    For a composition recital, analytical explanation of the composer’s own work.

II.             Form

A.   Manual:  Any accepted manual for writers is acceptable, particularly Campbell-Ballou or Turabian.

B.   Specific features

1.    Footnotes at the end of the paper are permitted.

2.    Length:  The paper is to be between ten and twenty pages.

III.         Supervision

A.   The major professor is to be the advisor for the document.

B.   In addition, one member of the graduate committee may be selected to provide supplemental supervision and approval during the writing of the document.

IV.           Purpose

The paper should demonstrate an element of independent thinking and responsibility on the part of the student, manifested in the selection of the topic, the research procedure, and the establishment of appointment times with the major professor and graduate committee member who are supervising the writing of the document during that process.

Comprehensive Examinations

The Comprehensive Examination for the ASU Graduate Music Program will consist of three components:  one for the major applied area or music education, one in music theory, and one in music history.

The examining committee will consist of the student’s major applied professor (MM) OR music education professor (MME), the graduate program supervisor or another applied faculty member from the student’s performance area, and three members of the graduate music theory and history faculty for a total of five (5) members.  All members of the examining committee must be permanent full-time members of the graduate faculty.  One member of the examining committee may be selected by the graduate student; the remaining four committee members will be selected by the Graduate Program Supervisor.  The examining committee must be formed at least one month prior to the date of the examination.

Questions for each graduate student taking the comprehensive exam will be submitted to the committee by (1.) the student’s major applied professor who will focus either on pedagogy and/or literature, OR the student’s music education professor who will focus on music education topics, (2.) a theory professor or professors who will select one or two compositions related to the student’s area of expertise which will be thoroughly analyzed according to criteria specified by the professor, and (3.) a music history professor or professors who will present one or two questions plus two listening examples and two score examples related to the student’s area of expertise as indicated:

·         For instrumentalists and instrumental conductors the questions and examples will involve either orchestral or chamber music.

·         For vocalists and choral conductors the questions and examples will cover vocal solo literature, opera, or one of the choral genres. 

·         For pianists the questions and examples will cover keyboard literature. 

·         For composers the questions and examples will be specifically aimed at the history of style and may focus on any of the genres of music.

All members of the examining committee will review the questions submitted, determine their appropriateness and select questions to be included in the comprehensive examination.  The questions will be approved on a vote of four to one.  Two weeks prior to the administration of the exam, the students will be given the questions.  At this point the student may elect to take either a written exam OR an oral exam. 

• The written exam will be three (3) hours in length during which the candidate will be expected to write detailed essays using proper English.  Each portion of the written exam will be graded pass/fail by the faculty member who submitted the questions.  If a student fails any portion of the exam, the answer to the failed portion may, at the discretion of the committee, be distributed to all of the other committee members for their opinions.  The grader will assign a percentage score in the case of a failed exam in order that those who may review his opinion will have some standard of comparison. 

• The oral exam will be ninety (90) minutes in length and will require the presence of the entire examining committee.  At least thirty minutes will be devoted to each of the three areas of the exam.  The candidate will be expected to answer the questions in full and then field additional oral questions related specifically to the questions the candidate has already answered.  Each portion of the oral exam will be graded pass/fail by the committee immediately after the administration of the exam.  Each component must be approved on a vote of four to one. 

• In both the written and the oral exams the candidate will not be allowed to bring notes into the examination.  The examining committee will be provided with scores for the theoretical analysis as well as copies of the score excerpts used in the history portion.

• A student who fails any component of the written or oral exam must retake that component as a written exam.

• All decisions of the examining committee must be approved on a vote of four to one.