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Applied Music Instruction (Lessons) 2024-25

Registering for Applied Music (Lessons) and Recitals

Undergraduate

Please remember to register for your Applied Music lessons in the summer, just as you would register for any of your other courses. Do not assume that this will automatically be done for you! You must register for your lessons yourself, if you wish to receive credit. 

Be sure to also register for 0918 Ensemble. This generic course number will be converted to the actual Ensemble number at a later date, by the Dean’s Office, following the Large Ensemble auditions.

In addition to registering for your recital (if required), you must also book your recital date and time in early October. [see Credit Recitals]

The progression of Applied Music course numbers appears below, by program.

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Graduate

Incoming graduate students will be able to register online for their lessons following their initial meeting in September with the Performance Department Chair (or the Associate Dean [Graduate Studies] in the case of DMA students). Returning graduate students should register online for lessons. Those wishing to take optional lessons should contact both the Performance Department Chair and the Graduate Program Assistant as soon as possible.

In addition to registering for your recital, you must also book your recital date and time in early October. [see Credit Recitals]

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Policies and Requirements

Lesson Requirements

Students registered in any of the following Applied courses receive 24 lessons of 50 minutes each, normally 12 per term: 1920, 1925, 2925, 2920, 2921, 2922, 3925, 3920, 3922, 3929, 4925, 3921, 4920, 4921, 4922, 4923, 4929. Students registered in 3924y or 4924y receive 12 hours of lessons, spread throughout the year.

Undergraduate performance majors registered in one of the following courses also receive 12 lessons of 50 minutes each, oriented toward recital requirements: 3921, 4921, 4922, 4923.

Graduate students in Literature and Performance receive 48 lessons (50 minutes duration each, spread over four terms (9509a, 9584b, 9585a and 9786b), normally 12 lessons per term.

• Students registered in 9508 receive 24 lessons of 50 minutes each, normally 12 per term.
• 9508 jury: Thirty minutes of music to be prepared, of which 15 minutes will be heard. Jury to be performed in April along with the undergraduate juries.
• A Jury Repertoire Form, available from the studio instructor, must be completed and handed in to the studio instructor by March 15.
• The final mark to be calculated as follows:
        Jury:  25%
        Studio Mark: 75%
        Performance Class Mark:  not applicable as attendance at masterclass is not required.
• No recital is required.

Cancellations

If a teacher cancels a lesson, the lesson must be made up. If a student cancels a lesson for any reason, the teacher is not obligated to make it up.

Non-Studio Repertoire

As a matter of courtesy and good pedagogy, all students should inform their studio teachers as early as possible of non-studio repertoire that they have been asked or assigned to do in addition to their studio course load.

Practicing

In preparing for juries or recitals, students should pace their practicing carefully, doing regular amounts every day. Practicing, like any other physical activity, requires fitness and a daily routine; students who cram in many hours of practice in preparation for a coming examination and who have not been practicing regularly throughout the year, run the risk of physical injury, and possible serious interruption of their Applied courses.

Piano Performance Major Practice Rooms, located in the Music Building, are rooms 226-230. During the first week of classes, roughly equal numbers of piano performance majors will be assigned to some of these rooms.

Masterclasses

All Music undergraduate students registered for individual instruction (excluding 1925, 2925, 3925, 3929, 4925, 3924y, 4924y and 4929) are required to participate in performance classes as part of their Applied Music course and final mark. The Chair has the responsibility of assigning students to a Performance Class and designating the instructor and the number of hours per term based on class size. Students registered in the excluded courses listed above may be invited to the performance class at the discretion of the studio professor, but their participation will not be marked.

List of Professional Collaborative Pianists

A list of contact information for professional collaborative pianists in the London area is available below. Students should contact their professor for advice regarding their preferences.

• List of Professional Collaborative Pianists

Change of Studio Teacher

Each student registered for Applied Music instruction is assigned by the Department Chair to an Instructor. Every attempt is made to meet students' requests to study with a particular instructor, but the Department cannot guarantee that every request can be met.

Requests Initiated by Students

The ultimate goal of the individual instruction offered by the Department of Music Performance Studies in the Don Wright Faculty of Music is the sustained progress of the individual student. The relationship between a student and his/her studio instructor is a special one. For this reason, the Performance Department has implemented a Change of Teacher Form which gives clear guidelines on the formal changeover between studio instructor and student. Please work through the Chair of Music Performance if questions arise.

• Change of Teacher Request Form

Reassignments Made by the Music Performance Department

The Chair of MPS is responsible for assigning students to studios annually. While normally students should expect to stay in the same studio during their full course of study, the pattern of entering graduate and undergraduate students (especially if specifically recruited by a given teacher), and new performance majors, may increase an individual teacher’s workload to the point that a studio change for some students may become necessary.

When such a situation is perceived by a teacher or the Chair, the two will consult about which students might be moved. Changes will not normally be permitted for students entering year four.

The Chair will contact any affected students as soon as possible after the Spring Examination period, explain the situation, and suggest alternate teachers. If necessary, the Chair will consult with the prospective new teacher(s). As always, students’ and teachers’ preferences will be accommodated if possible, but the final decision rests with the Chair, and will be recorded on a Change of Teacher Form (see above) in the MPS office by June 30.

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Undergraduate Grading

Grading System for All Applied Principal Instrument Courses

Studio Instructor Mark

At the end of the first term, each undergraduate student registered for individual instruction receives a midterm report and mark from his or her instructor. This mark will be 50% of the final studio mark assigned by the instructor at the end of second term.

At the end of the year the studio instructor submits to the Chair an annual report and a year‑end mark for each student in the class, which will be the average of the studio mark given for Term I and Term II. The mid-year mark and report are submitted by the instructor only to the student.

The instructor reports include comments on the student's progress, ability, attitude, attendance, repertoire covered and mentions any particular problems. The report is intended both to help the student and to inform the Division Coordinator, the Academic Advisor, the Chair and the Dean. Reports are prepared with care and in detail in order to convey as fairly as possible the student's standing in relation to the Department standard for the course concerned.

The mark that the studio instructor submits reflects the student's work in individual lessons within the context of Department standards.

Performance Class Mark

The performance class instructor submits a grade out of 10 that represents the participation of the student in performance class and which counts as 10% of the final grade.

Juries

All undergraduate students taking Applied Music instruction are required to take a jury examination.

• All Honours Performance, Artist Diploma and Minor in Music Performance Studies students registered in 3921, 4921, 4922, 4923 will do a jury in December. The repertoire will be selected from the Jury Requirements for each instrument, out of which 10 minutes will be heard.
• All students registered in 1920, 1925, 2925, 2920, 3924y, 3925, 2921, 2922, 3920, 3922, 3929, 4924y, 4920, 4925 or 4929 will do a year-end jury in April scheduled at 15-minute intervals. Refer to the chart below for how much music is to be prepared plus see the jury requirements for your instrument and course number.

All juries are scheduled at 15-minute intervals.

Students are reminded to check the music website periodically for up-to-date information pertaining to class lists, juries, auditions, etc.

Jury Requirements

Students are responsible for acquainting themselves with Jury Requirements for their instrument, as well as information contained in the Music Performance Studies Handbook.

Jury Repertoire Form

Students who are doing an Applied Music jury in December or April, must obtain a Jury Repertoire Form from an Undergraduate Assistant in TC210 or their studio teacher, complete it accurately, hand it in to their instructor for approval and signature no later than November 15 for December juries and March 15 for April juries. Repertoire must be listed in the order in which the student wishes to play it. It is the student's responsibility to make sure that the repertoire submitted for examination meets the requirements. Presentation of repertoire that does not meet the requirements could result in the jurors refusing to hear the jury.

The studio teachers will collect the repertoire forms from all of their students, sign them and, when all have been received, hand them in to an Undergraduate Assistant in TC210 by November 15 or March 15 as applicable for insertion into the jury envelopes, along with the jury report forms. If the jury repertoire form, signed by the teacher, is missing from the jury envelope, or if a student appears at a jury with an unsigned form, the jury will proceed to grade the playing/singing but the mark will be withheld from the Registrar and kept in the Department office until the Dept. Chair has consulted the teacher. Please note that changes in repertoire can be accommodated after the November/March 15 deadline if submitted by the studio teacher in writing to the Dept. Chair.

Repertoire submitted for jury examination may not have been previously performed in a jury or credit recital. Works requiring accompaniment must be performed with an collaborative pianist, and students are responsible for providing their own collaborative pianist.

Jury Day & Grading of Juries

Jury dates are posted on the music website and information about how to access the schedule will be sent by email. A less-detailed schedule can be found on the Important Performance Department Dates page.

Each student is responsible for arriving, with collaborative pianist if required, at least 15 minutes before the scheduled jury time. The jury may stop the student's performance at its discretion or according to the regulations stated in the jury requirements for the student's Division. Any student who is late for his or her jury may not be allowed to proceed.

In a non-recital jury performance, the student plays for two teachers, not including the student's own, in a private examination. The two jurors will agree on one mark, but each juror will write separate comments.

Jury marks are based strictly on the student's performance at the jury. They do not reflect attendance, attitude or progress. The jury examination is an objective examination of the student's ability to perform the required repertoire, and the mark is an assessment of that performance in relation to the Performance Department’s requirements and standards.

Failed jury marks will be averaged in with the teacher's year-end studio mark and the performance class mark.

Students who are currently registered in 1925 and want to use their year-end jury as an audition for BMus, must take the following TWO steps:

1. Inform the Admissions Officer, Odilla Van Delinder, TC210, ovandeli@uwo.ca, of their intent to do this so that she can get the information into her records and prepare an audition form.
2. Inform an Undergraduate Assistant, TC210, mpsdept@uwo.ca, so the jurors can be alerted they will be filling out an audition form for BMus, as well as a jury report form.

Progression Requirements

Performance majors taking 2921 or 3921 must obtain a final mark of 70% in these courses to progress within the Performance program. See additional progression requirements for both programs in the Academic Calendar.

Graduate Grading & Progression

The student's professor will provide a mark out of 100 based on progress over the term and preparation for masterclasses and/or performances. Students must achieve a mark higher than or equal to 70 to register in a subsequent course.

Admission to the Honours Performance Program

Students interested in applying to the Honours Performance program should contact mpsdept@uwo.ca in February to complete an Intent to Register form for the performance program. They will be scheduled to do a performance audition in late April. This will be a 10-minute audition of repertoire only (no technique) which can be repeated from the April jury. Students must also meet the academic requirements for an Honours program: an overall average of at least 70% in music courses, no music mark below 60% and a passing mark in all non-music courses. The mark for Music 1920 or 2920 must be at least 70% to be eligible to enter the Honours Performance program.

Admission to the Artist Diploma Program

*Admission to the Artist Diploma is suspended effective September 1, 2023 until further notice.

Music students already at Western who are interested in applying to the Artist Diploma program should contact mpsdept@uwo.ca during the Intent to Register period in February to complete an Intent to Register form. Program information and audition dates will be given out at that time.

Auditions requirements for the Artist Diploma program

Keyboard
15 minutes. 3 pieces from different periods. Memorization is required.

Orchestral Instruments
15 minutes. 2 contrasting pieces plus orchestral excerpts equivalent to 3rd year performance (Music 3921). No memorization required.

Voice
15 minutes. Memorization is required, except for Oratorio arias.

• 1 opera aria in Italian
• 1 oratorio aria in any language
• 3 art songs showing a variety of musical styles and periods.
• One each in French, German and English.