Any student may study voice, composition, or an instrument for which we offer private instruction.
Vocal and Instrumental Lessons
Private lessons are available at three levels:
- 100-level: half-hour lessons (.5 credits)
- 200-level: hour lessons (1 credit)
- 300-level: advanced instruction, either half-hour (.5 credits; course number ends in 0) or hour (1 credit; course number ends in 1)
Students typically begin at the 100-level and advance in consultation with the primary teacher. Entrance to advanced instruction is by audition, usually an end-of-semester jury.
Lesson Fee Policy
The College charges a fee for vocal and instrumental lessons.
- Standard lesson fees: $780 (half-hour) / $1,560 (hour) per semester
- Reduced lesson fees: $30 (half-hour) / $60 (hour) per semester for:
- Declared Music majors
- Music Scholarship recipients (on scholarship instrument)
- Ensemble Lesson Scholarship holders
You may declare a B.A. in Music to access reduced fees while exploring your options. You can also contact the Chair or any major ensemble director for more information about ensemble lesson scholarships.
End-of-Semester Juries
Juries are the final exam for your applied lesson. During finals week, you will perform a substantial portion of your semester’s work for faculty evaluation.
- Duration: 10 minutes (half-hour lessons) / 20 minutes (hour lessons)
- Grading: typically 15–30% of final grade; written evaluations kept in departmental files for majors
- Exemptions (unless teacher requires otherwise): students auditing lessons, complete beginners in the applied area, and those who already performed a recital jury that semester on the same instrument
Additional Lesson Requirements
- All students are expected to discuss their plans for any public performance with their applied teacher before the event.
- All prospective voice students must demonstrate the ability to read music.
- B.A. and B.M. students with an emphasis in violin performance must complete .5 credits in viola lessons.
Practice Expectations
Your weekly practice commitment includes score study, memorization, textual analysis, and the like:
- Half-hour lessons: 9 hours of practice per week
- Hour lessons: 18 hours of practice per week plus one Departmental Recital performance per semester
Make-Up Lessons
Make-ups are offered for
- Lessons canceled by the teacher
- Student absences due to illness and with advance notice (24 hours when possible)
Check your syllabus for specific policies.
Enrollment Priority
In rare cases when teaching loads require limiting enrollment in lessons, we prioritize:
- Music majors and Music Scholarship holders (on their primary voice/instrument)
- Other Music majors
- Students continuing with the same instructor
- Large-ensemble members (on their ensemble voice/instrument)
- Other students taking lessons for credit
- Students wishing to audit lessons
Composition Lessons
Both acoustic and electronic composition are available at two levels:
- 200-level: half-hour lessons (.5 credits)
- 300-level: hour lessons (1 credit)
Students typically begin at the 200-level and advance in consultation with the primary teacher. The College does not charge a lesson fee for composition lessons.