Music Performance
Coordinator: Tim Harbold
Department home page: http://www.wheatoncollege.edu/Acad/Music/
Courses in ensemble and individual performance are offered to enhance a student's musical understanding, technical excellence and artistic expression. Students may participate in a variety of faculty-directed ensembles, and individual performance instruction is available either for credit or on a noncredit basis.
Ensemble performance courses
Students may participate in any of six faculty-directed ensembles with or without academic credit: Chorale, Chamber Singers, Chamber Orchestra, Jazz Band, Wind Symphony and World Music Ensemble. Criteria for credit are available from the director of the ensemble or the Director of Performance. Ensemble participation is also available on an audit or a pass/grade/fail basis. If taken for credit, two semesters of participation are required, resulting in half-credit for the year. These two semesters required for credit are usually but not necessarily consecutive. Membership in some ensembles is by audition (see descriptions below), but there are no pre- or corequisites. A student may count a maximum total of two ensemble credits (four years of participation) toward the 32 credits required for graduation.
Individual performance courses
Private lessons are available for voice, piano, jazz piano, guitar, jazz guitar, organ, harpsichord, conducting and most orchestral instruments. Lessons may be taken with or without academic credit. Fees apply, but are waived for majors. Credit lessons have corequisites. See below for details.
Credit lessons and fees: Credit lessons award half-credit per semester. Each semester of lessons includes 12 private 60-minute lessons or the equivalent; six hours of preparation are required weekly. Credit students must pay a private lesson tuition fee of $500 per semester; however, there is no fee for declared music majors. Students may declare majors as early as the second semester of their first college year. Lesson fees are nonrefundable after the end of the registration period. Practice pianos, harpsichords and organ may be used without extra fee. Students must assume the cost of credit or noncredit lessons taken off campus.
Noncredit lessons and fees: Lessons without academic credit are offered at any level of ability. Fees are charged each semester based on the length of the lessons: $335 for twelve 30-minute lessons; $500 for twelve 45-minute lessons; or $670 for twelve 60-minute lessons. These fees are non-refundable after the end of the registration period.
Corequisites for credit lessons: To earn academic credit for lessons, students must also take one additional course in the Music Department each year. (It is recommended that students take Musc 114-Musc 115 as a sequence during their first year of lessons.) The required schedule of co-requisites is as follows:
- 2nd semester of credit lessons (Musp 002, 102, 202, 302, 402): Musc 114 or Musc 115 or any 200-level Music course
- 4th semester of credit lessons (Musp 004, 104, 204, 304, 404): Musc 115
- 6th semester of credit lessons (Musp 006, 106, 206, 306, 406): Musc 115 and any 200-level Music course
Auditions and placement: To qualify for performance study with academic credit, a student must pass an audition with the instructor. Auditions are scheduled during orientation and may also be scheduled privately with the instructor at the start of each semester. Students who wish to progress to the next level of study and are committed to more advanced repertoire and more intensive practice will request promotion at the end-of-semester jury and must have the approval of the instructor.
Lessons for beginners: Beginning singers and instrumentalists will be expected to take noncredit lessons until they have achieved a level of proficiency acceptable for credit study. An exception is granted for music majors, who may take credit lessons at the 000 level in order to fulfill major requirements or learn a new instrument.
Group lessons: Group lessons may be offered for voice and some instruments. Class size is limited to four to six students and the students will share the fee for one-hour, noncredit lessons.
Registration: Registration for all lessons, whether for credit or not, is administered via completion of "yellow cards," which are available from the Registrar, from the Music Department, or from the instructors of lessons. Yellow cards require both student and instructor signatures and should be submitted to Nancy Milka in the Watson Fine Arts administrative office, Watson 101.
400-level Lessons and Recitals: 400-level credit lessons are reserved for students preparing for a half-credit recital Musp 415 or full-credit recital Musp 420. Typically, students will take two semesters of 400-level lessons in preparation for a full-credit recital, and one or two semesters of 400-level study in preparation for a half-credit recital. Students taking 400-level lessons are expected to practice 12 hours weekly. Students may enroll in the Musp 415 or Musp 420 recital courses only in the semester of the recital, and only if they have passed a Permissions Jury at the end of the previous semester. 400-level lesson fees apply as usual (see above), but there is no additional fee for credit recitals.
Specific requirements for all credit performance courses may be obtained from the instructor of the course or the Director of Performance, Tim Harbold.
Major
See the major in music.
Minor
See the minor concentration in music performance.
Courses in Performance
ENSEMBLES
010. Wheaton College Chorale
The Wheaton Chorale is open to all students by audition. The Chorale rehearses three hours weekly, performing two to three times each semester. Repertoire consists of music from various traditions, including major works, standard Western-practice choral literature, folk musics of the world, jazz, gospel and more.
(Tim Harbold)
015. Wheaton Chamber Orchestra
The Chamber Orchestra is open to all Wheaton students who play orchestral string instruments. The orchestra rehearses weekly and presents several concerts each year, both on and off campus. Repertoire includes music from the Renaissance through the 20th century and often involves collaboration with other campus ensembles.
(Earl Raney)
020. Southeastern Massachusetts Wind Symphony
The Wind Symphony is open to all Wheaton students who play woodwind, brass or percussion instruments. The ensemble rehearses weekly and presents several concerts each year, both on and off campus. Repertoire includes standard wind ensemble and concert band literature from the Renaissance through the 20th century.
(Earl Raney)
025. Wheaton Jazz Band
The Jazz Band is open by audition to Wheaton brass and woodwind players, guitarists, bass players, keyboardists, percussionists, drummers and vocalists. Other instruments may be incorporated with permission of the instructor. Repertoire covers a wide range of styles, including swing, bebop, progressive and fusion jazz. The ensemble rehearses weekly, presenting several performances each year.
(Rick Britto)
030. World Music Ensemble
The World Music Ensemble performs music from a variety of world traditions, including Brazilian, Irish and South Indian music. Open to all singers and instrumentalists regardless of background, the ensemble is a workshop for both learning repertoire and for learning how music is taught in different cultural settings. We rehearse weekly and give a public performance at the end of the semester.
(Sheila Falls-Keohane)
035. Wheaton Chamber Singers
The Chamber Singers are an advanced vocal ensemble open to all students by audition. The group rehearses two hours weekly, performing two to three times each semester. Repertoire consists of music from various traditions, including major works, standard Western-practice choral literature, folk musics of the world, jazz, gospel and more.
(Tim Harbold)
LESSONS
Registration for all lessons is administered at the beginning of each semester via yellow cards only, available from the Office of the Registrar or Music Department. For all credit lessons, the first digit of the course number will reflect the level of study. The second and third digits (01-08) will reflect the number of semesters of credit study on a given instrument. Fees and corequisites apply. See "Individual performance courses" above.
001-008. Performance Study
000-level lessons reserved for majors.
101-108. Performance Study
201-208. Performance Study
301-308. Performance Study
401-408. Performance Study
400-level lessons reserved for advanced students who are also preparing for a credit recital Music 415 or Music 420.
Lessons available:
Piano: (Leslie Amper, Lisa Romanul, Ann Sears, Guy Urban)
Jazz Piano: (Rick Britto)
Organ/Harpsichord: (William MacPherson)
Guitar and Jazz Guitar: (Jeffrey Cashen)
Voice: (Joanne Mouradjian)
Violin: (Sheila Falls-Keohane)
Viola: (Ilana Ringwald)
Cello and Bass: (Zarina Irkaeva)
Flute: (Seta der Hohannesian)
Saxophone and Jazz Saxophone: (Rick Britto)
Other woodwinds: Contact Director of Performance (Tim Harbold)
Trumpet, Horn, Trombone and Euphonium: (Earl Raney)
Percussion: (Daniel Hann)
Conducting: (Tim Harbold, Earl Raney)
Other instruments
Contact Director of Performance Tim Harbold with questions about other instruments. Qualified students may pursue credit or noncredit study of any instrument not listed above with off-campus teachers approved by the department. However, this study, whether for credit or not, is paid for by the students, who must also provide their own transportation.
See also courses in Music History and Theory.