Brass Policy
Jury Examinations: All Brass students will play a jury examination in the semester they are enrolled, unless officially excused by their major teacher.
In all undergraduate “critical level” juries (critical level has not yet been reached) students must perform at least one work with piano accompaniment. Each individual studio may include other expectations for jury presentations.
Examples of representative literature and etudes appropriate for each performance level are listed on the Division of Music Applied Music Requirements for each individual studio. This document, as well as the course syllabus lists other expectations, including technique, transposition, musicality, range, interpretation, etc.
Normal Jury presentations will be twelve minutes in length. Performance majors (graduate and undergraduate) and others who are registered for four hours of credit will register for a twenty-four minute jury presentation.
A minimum of three professors, including the student’s major teacher must be in attendance
during juries. The brass faculty are committed to hearing all juries; however in
instances of medical or professional emergencies this may not be possible.
Students performing a degree recital are excused from performing a jury in that semester unless the recital is deemed unsatisfactory. Music minors may perform on a studio recital or make other arrangements with their applied teacher rather than perform an end of semester jury.
Written comments from all professors present at the jury will be submitted to the major teacher who will then distribute them to the student. Students who are not making satisfactory progress on their instrument by the end of the second year of study will be officially informed and counseled by the brass faculty. Faculty will seek to reach a consensus on a performance level for each student’s presentation. If no consensus can be reached through discussion, a vote will be taken with each faculty member receiving one vote. The majority vote will decide the level. In the event of a tie vote, the student’s major teacher will have the tie breaking vote. The brass faculty will exercise its prerogative to raise, maintain or lower a student’s current level at the jury examination. A level may be lowered only after a student has failed to advance at the previous jury examination, as a probationary warning to the student. A cap of one whole level will be the maximum any level can be lowered in a given semester.
Critical levels in Brass determined by the following criteria:
- BA-Level 7. The student should be able to perform works from the basic repertoire for the instrument. The student should exhibit competence in all aspects of performance, including tone quality, articulation, range, endurance, rhythm, pitch and musicality.
- BM in Music Education-Level 7. In addition to the requirements listed above, each student should display a mature sound, maturity in musical interpretation, and the ability to interpret works and perform them with the appropriate stylistic characteristics. Students should be able to be “professional” in their approach and concept of their instrument.
- BM in Composition-Level 8. The student is expected to continue to improve in musical maturity, and expand beyond the “essential” repertoire for the instrument.
- BM in Performance-Level 10. A level 10 indicates a proficiency by which a performer could gain entry to a nationally recognized Masters Degree program in the United States.
- MM in Performance. The student must establish a level 10 by audition, and must continue to exhibit performance skills in all jury presentations that are indicative of a professional level of competency. Performers must exhibit mastery of literature from all periods of music, as appropriate to their instrument’s repertoire, and competency on other related instruments, such as different pitched trumpets, etc.
- DMA in Performance. The student must demonstrate a level of performance necessary to gain an entry-level professional position (performance and teaching) in the United States.
