9. Graduate Recitals
For a summary of these procedures, see the Graduate Recital Checklist, Appendix I
9.1 General Recital Information
You must enroll in the recital course that corresponds to your applied music course during the semester you will be giving your recital – including degree and non-degree (special) recitals. You will not be allowed to schedule your recital if you are not enrolled in the course.
Recitals must be presented on or before the last day of classes in a semester, except for semesters in which the last day of class is a Friday. In this situation, recitals may be scheduled on the Saturday and Sunday following the last day of class. While recitals are permitted to be scheduled against other events (except Distinguished Artist Series events), it is encouraged of students to avoid doing so as it will impact attendance at either their recital or the other performance. Students are encouraged to discuss appropriate scheduling times with their applied professor as each division may have separate recital scheduling policies.
Reminders When Deciding a Recital Date:
- Discuss possible recital dates with your applied professor.
- Avoid scheduling recitals when possible against other performances in the School of Music.
- Be aware of your commitments, as well as other commitments within the School of Music for your peers – including chamber concerts, studio performances/competitions, large ensembles, etc.
*For Graduate Students Only — For students who plan to graduate at the end of a semester in which they give a degree recital must schedule the recital to be completed prior to their oral exam.
9.2 Scheduling a Recital/Reserving a Hall
Students are limited to the venues under the administration of the School of Music – Roxy Grove Hall, Recital Hall II, Meadows Recital, Jones Concert Hall (organ and percussion only, or with approval by the Associate Dean of Operations. All recital reservations are made by completing and submitting the following online form:
Recital Scheduling Submissions Form
Due to the high volume of recitals that are presented each semester, the School of Music schedules a window of time for each divisional area and degree to schedule their recitals in order to maintain organization during the scheduling process. Students may only submit the scheduling form on their designated day after 7:00am. Any forms submitted prior to 7:00am on the day scheduled for your degree area will not be submitted appropriately and leave you at risk of not having your recital scheduled. After the request form has been submitted, you will receive confirmation and further correspondence regarding your recital as appropriate.
Important Reminders Regarding Recital Scheduling:
- Maintain flexibility in your dates. The more flexibility you have, the higher the chance you will have in being able to hold your recital when you want to.
- Students who earn an incomplete “I” for a prior semester recital may reserve their date at any time and are not limited to the schedule below regardless of degree plan but must communicate with the Associate Dean of Operations to reschedule their recital.
- Please be mindful that many students are scheduling their recitals throughout the semester. It is our goal to work together and remain flexible when scheduling during busy points of the semester (i.e. middle to end of terms) when most events take place.
NEW! Spring Recital Scheduling Information
To encourage students to perform spring semester recitals earlier in the semester, we will allow students who can perform their recital before Spring Break to sign up beginning Monday, December 16th by submitting a Recital Reservation Form. This offer extends to all graduate, undergraduate, degree and non-degree (special) recitals. Special Recitals are required to be performed before spring break in the spring semester. Students must be registered for the appropriate recital course in order to reserve a date.
All students who intend to perform recitals after Spring Break will sign up in January during the normal registration period. We are also adding incentives for BME, BM Jr., and BA recitals (all 30-minute recital length programs) to pair with another student doing a 30-minute recital. All shared recitals will have the benefit of signing up earlier than their normal date.
Per the UG Handbook, item 5.5: “A maximum of fifty (50) minutes and a minimum of forty (40) minutes of music is required for a Senior BM recital, with the overall length not to exceed 60 minutes including intermissions and stage time. All other degree recitals may not exceed twenty-five (25) minutes of music, with the overall length not to exceed 30 minutes* including intermissions and stage time.”
Spring 2025 Recital Scheduling
- Monday, December 16
- All Graduate, Undergraduate, Degree and Non-Degree (Special) Recitals - (Recitals must occur before Spring Break in the Spring semester)
- Monday, January 27
- All Graduate Recitals; Senior BM Piano Recitals; APC Recitals
- Tuesday, January 28
- Senior BM Performance and Secondary Major Recitals
- Paired Junior BM, BA, and BME Recitals
- Wednesday, January, 29
- BME Recitals and Other Senior BM Recitals (Comp. & Church Music - not paired)
- Thursday, January 30
- Any non-paired Junior BM and BA Recitals
- Friday, January 31
- Special Recitals and All Non-Degree Student Recitals (Recitals must occur BEFORE Spring Break)
A recital reservation will include a thirty (30) minute setup time before the program and a thirty (30) minute break down and storage time after the program. An additional thirty (30) minutes of setup time may be requested for percussion and composition recitals but will require approval by the Associate Dean for Operations.
9.3 Reservation Grace Period
The School of Music allots a two-week grace period following the initial week of recital reservations each semester to allow students to rearrange and make any adjustments to their reserved date, time, or venue without penalty. After this grace period, a $75.00 fee will be assessed for each change made to a reserved event.
Fall 2024 Grace Period
Ends Monday, September 30th at 5:00pm
Spring 2025 Grace Period
Ends Monday, February 24th at 5:00pm
9.4 Location and Time
All degree Recitals may be presented in Meadows Lecture/Recital Hall, Roxy Grove Hall, or Recital Hall II. Recitals occurring in other, non-music, venues must be approved by the Associate Dean for Operations. It is not possible for the School of Music to provide recording services or piano tuning for non-music venues. Non-music venues may also not be included in School of Music publications such as Music This Week, website, or social media publicity.
There is no cutoff date for scheduling non-degree (special) recitals in the fall semester; in the spring semester the cutoff date is March 31. Non-degree recitals may not be presented after March 31. Performances may be presented in Meadows Lecture/Recital Hall, Roxy Grove Hall, or Recital Hall II.
9.5 Length of Recital
A minimum of forty-five (45) minutes of music is required; maximum length is sixty (60) minutes of music. Precise length and repertoire expectations vary by discipline. Please consult your studio professor and the Director of your Division.
A recital reservation will include a thirty (30) minute setup time before the program and a thirty (30) minute breakdown and storage time after the program. An additional thirty (30) minutes of setup time may be requested for percussion and composition recitals.
9.6 ASTRA Hall/Room Scheduling
Students may reserve a space in ASTRA to use for recital rehearsals, recording sessions, and/or meetings. Requests are due by noon on Fridays for the following week.
Students may not make reservations more than seven (7) days in advance and are limited to no more than nine (9) hours per week and may not exceed three (3) consecutive hours.
ASTRA Scheduling (General Tutorial)
Room Scheduling in ASTRA Instructions
ASTRA Single-Event Submissions (Tutorial Video)
ASTRA Recurring-Multiple Event Submission (Tutorial Video)
9.7 Exceptions
Any exceptions to these policies require prior approval by the Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
9.8 Programs
The layout of recital programs is the responsibility of the performer. Students are required to follow the procedure and specifications listed below.
Recital Program Procedure
Begin this procedure at least 30 days before recital; your part must be completed 17 days before recital!
- Type program information into the program template:
- Proof program according to Program Specifications below. Refer to examples of other student programs; electronic, searchable copies are available on the Baylor Digital Collections website (http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/).
- Print a copy of your preliminary program.
- Write in the timing for each piece and the total time of music on the preliminary program.
- Submit the copy to applied teacher for proofing and make corrections, as needed.
- Acquire signatures of graduate committee members on preliminary program signifying their proofing and approval of the program (can be e-mails forwarded to the Graduate Academic Advisor). The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies signs only after the full committee has approved it. All signatures must be obtained at least 17 days before the recital.
- Confirm with the Graduate Academic Advisor, the date, time, location, and committee for the recital.
- The Associate Dean for Graduate Studies will forward your program to the Concert and Promotions Specialist for final approval.
- Upon final approval, the Concert and Promotions Specialist will send your program to the Copy Center and 75 copies of the program will be printed. Students who wish more than 75 copies will need to make arrangements to pay the extra charge for more copies. Students will receive an email about when they can pick up their programs from the Copy Center (Morrison Hall, Room 150, hours 7:00-5:00 Monday through Friday).
- Another printing service may be used if official music paper is purchased from The Copy Center. Instruct the printer to print on music paper the number of programs required and to cut all to centered 6 1/4" x 9 1/2" size.
9.9 Program Specifications Checklist
Programs not meeting these specifications will be returned to you to be corrected/reprinted.
- Must use program template from the School of Music website and must use the template’s fonts, font sizes, and format
- Recitalist’s name and instrument in largest font (instrument in italics and not capitalized)
- Names and instruments of all other performers as on template (instrument in italics and not capitalized)
- Correct type of recital: Graduate Recital or Special Recital (don’t add anything else)
- Names of all pieces and movements to be performed (Roman numerals for movements align on the right, as on the template!)
- Full names of all composers with their birth and death dates separated by an “en” dash (Mac: hold option and type hyphen; Windows: hold Alt and type 0150 on number pad). If living, use “b. year”
- Full name of arranger, in addition to composer's name/dates, if piece is arranged
- Intermission or Interval, if needed
- Fulfillment statement (in italics): This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Music degree. [Your name] is a student of [teacher’s title and first and last name]. Don’t add your major; just say “Master of Music degree” or “Doctor of Musical Arts degree.”
- Complete day, date, place, and time of recital in CAPS (include “:00” if occurring on the hour, and use a space before PM or AM, don’t add st, nd, rd, or th to the date, and be sure to include the year)
- Faculty acknowledgment, if faculty member performs (as on template)
- No unnecessary information or symbols added (i.e., receptions, stars, etc.)
- If two pages are needed, use the two-page template from the School of Music website
- Camera-ready master must be printed on laser printer (if not using The Copy Center service)
- Must use School of Music paper (purchase from The Copy Center if using another printer)
- Printer must cut to exactly 6 1/4" x 9 1/2" centered
Program notes and/or translations are the responsibility of the performer.
9.10 Scheduling Rehearsals
Up to four (4) hours of rehearsal time (including setup and breakdown) in the hall for graduate recitals may be distributed as the performer desires. In the event of unusual setup and breakdown circumstances, an additional thirty (30) minutes of time may be reserved for each rehearsal.
9.11 Collaborative Pianists
Pianists are to be contacted early in the recital planning process and must be provided music for the recital a minimum of six (6) weeks prior to the hearing performance in order to allow appropriate preparation. All fees and arrangements for payments are the responsibility of the student and are to be discussed in advance. All collaborating musicians’ names are to be included on any programs, advertisements, flyers, etc.
The term “assisted by” should not be used under any circumstances, and the term “pianist” should be used instead of “accompanist.”
Collaborative Piano Request Form
9.12 Recording and Performance Preparation
A fee of $50.00 is charged for the recording of recitals. This fee is added to the student’s bill when the student registers for the graduate recital course. Special recitals will not be recorded unless requested by the performer. Any questions regarding the recording of recitals should be directed tothe Recording Studio Manager, Rick Carpenter 254-709-3965 or Rick_Carpenter@baylor.edu
The School of Music has (4) four performance venues, Jones Concert Hall, Meadows Recital Hall, Roxy Grove Hall, and Recital Hall II. Audio recording is available in all 4 venues, live streaming and video recording are available in Jones Concert Hall and Roxy Grove Hall only. All approved performances except for those taking place in non-School of Music venues will have a recording studio staff member available on site (30) thirty minutes prior to the start of the performance. If no one is present, please contact the recording studio manager (Rick Carpenter @ 254-709-3965). If you have any a/v, live sound, lighting, or staging needs, please contact Music_Facilities@baylor.edu.
Assistance for stage setup, ushers, and house managers are the responsibility of the performer.
An audio recording will be made of the performance and once processed, will be uploaded to Baylor Box. You will receive an “invite” to a box folder with the performance date and your name in your Baylor email. In the folder will be an audio file of your performance titled All Raw. You will be able download the file and share the file with any Baylor email address. You will have access to the file if you have a current Baylor email, but it is strongly recommended you download the file as soon as you receive it. Processing usually takes a couple of days but takes longer as the semester progresses. While mid-fall takes a couple of days, mid-spring can take a couple of weeks.
Approved performances in Jones Concert Hall and Roxy Grove Hall will be live streamed in addition to the audio recording (Jones Concert Hall’s 4-camera system has one camera dedicated to recording the conductors, if the acoustic shell is used, it will block the view from this camera making it unusable). If a video recording is desired, you will need to provide the required media to the staff member prior to the start of the performance and you will need to get the media back from the staff member after the performance. Please provide the media in a protective case with your name on it. Do not leave anything stored on the media, it will be formatted before the performance, and this will erase anything on the media. It is formatted to ExFAT Windows / Mac file system.
Our recorders require SDXC UHS II flash cards, we recommend Lexar Professional Silver Series or San Disk Extreme Pro Series cards. Whatever card you choose to provide it must be SDXC-UHS II.
Recording at 1080p (full HD) will require a 256GB card for one hour of record time and it is strongly recommended having a second card at least 128GB in size to cover going over one hour.
If recording at 1080p is cost-prohibitive, we recommend recording at 720 which would allow one hour of recording time on a 64GB card.
9.13 Special Recordings
Any School of Music student or personnel may reserve School of Music facilities for the purpose of producing a personal recording. The School of Music’s (4) four performance venues, Jones Concert Hall, Meadows Recital Hall, Roxy Grove Hall, and Recital Hall II are each equipped for audio recording. Jones Concert Hall and Roxy Grove Hall are equipped to provide a single camera video recording.
Recordings made without School of Music equipment require no fees, however, the Facilities Coordinator must approve any recording done in the School of Music facilities. Any in-house support such as a/v or audio playback, live sound support, lighting, chairs, stands, risers, acoustic shell etc. must also be arranged with the Facilities Coordinator and some fees may apply.
Facilities Coordinator
Hayden Johnson - 254-304-2752 or hayden_johnson@baylor.edu
Recordings made with School of Music recording equipment will require approval of the Recording Studio Manager, fees will be assessed for use of equipment and Recording Studio Personnel will need to be contracted for access, operation, and oversight of equipment. All fees for personnel and use of equipment will be paid by the user. Fees can vary depending on the size and scope of the project, contact the Recording Studio Manager for the fee amounts based on your project.
Recording Studio Manager
Rick Carpenter 254-709-3965 or Rick_Carpenter@baylor.edu
All approvals and arrangements must be made at least three weeks prior to reserving a facility for the project. Once this is achieved facilities can be reserved according to availability and established priorities.
Any requests or concerns regarding pianos, including tuning, should be directed to our Piano Technicians:
Darren Roos 254-710-1342 or Darren_Roos@baylor.edu
Jonathan Patterson 254-710-1723 or Jonathan_Patterson@baylor.edu
9.14 Receptions
The School of Music does not permit students to sponsor receptions outside of performance venues following recital programs. Post-recital receptions must be done either off-campus, or in another venue on-campus outside of the School of Music.
Students who do not comply with this policy are subject to a fine of $250.
9.15 Special Instruments
The Dowd harpsichord is available for use only in Roxy Grove Hall. The Collegium harpsichord is also available for use in School of Music sponsored functions. Anyone wishing to use the harpsichords should contact Dr. Jann Cosart at least thirty days in advance of the performance. Requests for harpsichord tuning should be submitted to the piano technician at least thirty days in advance of the performance. The Harpsichord Request Form and Instructions for Completing and Submitting the online Piano and Harpsichord forms are located on the School of Music website under Resources for Current Students.
The Hamburg Steinway concert grand in Roxy Grove Hall is to be used only for faculty and piano degree recitals.