Degree Requirements

Strings & Harp

MM • String Performance

Overview

The two-year Master of Music (M.M.) degree in Music Performance trains students as informed artist-performers. In addition to demonstrating technical mastery of their instrument or voice, students are expected to exhibit a thorough understanding of the theoretical, pedagogical, and historical aspects of the major, as well as a knowledge of the literature of their performance area.

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Contacts
Degree Requirements
Advising & Registration
Graduation Timeline
Important Links

Contacts

Administrative Contacts

Graduate Advisor | Director of Graduate Studies

James Buhler

Scholarships & Assistantships

Anne Hall

Graduate Admissions Coordinator

Daniel Seriff

HR Coordinator

Theresa Orendain

Graduate Coordinator

Marina Martinez

Operations & Scheduling

Page Stephens

Division Contacts

Division Head, Strings

Bion Tsang

Area Counselor, Strings

Joel Braun

Faculty

Robert A. Duke

Director, Center for Human Learning
Suzanne Pence

Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning, Choral Conducting
Laurie Scott

Associate Professor of Music and Human Learning
Director, The University of Texas String Project
Director, Musical Lives
Amy Simmons

Senior Lecturer in Music and Human Learning
Justin J. West

Assistant Professor of Music and Human Learning
Marjorie Yankeelov

Lecturer in Music and Human Learning

Ensembles

Ke-Yuan Hsin

Co-Director, University Orchestra
Teaching Assistant, Orchestral Conducting
Farkhad Khudyev

Music Director, Symphony Orchestra
Douglas Kinney Frost

Principal Conductor, Butler Opera Center
Gabriela Mora-Fallas

Teaching Assistant in Orchestral Conducting
Co-conductor, University Orchestra

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Degree Requirements

The M.M. in String Performance requires 30 hours of registered coursework, a comprehensive examination, and a recital.

Major Coursework

Major Coursework for the M.M. in String Performance
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
8	Inst. 480	Graduate Performance (2 semesters)
6	MUS 698RA and MUS 698RB	Master’s Recital (2 semesters) The recital may be performed at any time during the third or fourth semester.
3	MUS 379K or MUS 387L	Symphonic Literature
2-4	MUS 281K	Chamber Music
2	ENS 18x	Problems in Performance Practice, Orchestra or Guitar Ensemble (2 semesters)

A comprehensive examination is required of all master’s degree candidates, usually in the final semester.

Supporting Work

Supporting Coursework for the M.M. in String Performance
Hours	Course Number	Course Title/Description
3	MUS 398T MUS 388T MUS 388M 3	Pedagogy of Music Theory or Analytical Techniques or Contemporary Styles and Techniques
4-6		Semester hours chosen from the following: MUS 387L, Music Literature other than Symphonic Literature MUS 380, Advanced Studies in the History and Culture of Music Upper-division or graduate-level courses in music theory, Music & Human Learning, or related fields outside of music.

Ensemble Requirements

All String Division students are required to participate in the University of Texas Symphony Orchestra (UTSO) or equivalent ensemble, as determined by the Director of Graduate Studies, the director of orchestral activities and the string division head, in each semester of enrollment. Post-candidacy D.M.A. students are exempt unless advised otherwise by their studio instructor.

Master’s Recital

Students must perform a public degree recital in their second year.

Find recital scheduling procedures on the Butler School Operations website.

Juries

Master’s students in string performance, chamber music performance or literature/pedagogy must perform a 10-minute jury in their first semester and a 20-minute jury in their second semester of study. The long jury must be completed successfully before the required recitals can be attempted. No more juries are required after the long jury—the final jury in sequence—has been successfully passed.

Postponements are allowed for extenuating circumstances (injury, death in the family, etc.). No-shows are considered a failure.

Students should fill out a jury form and provide it to their instructor for every semester of study until the jury sequence for a degree program is fulfilled.

M.M. Jury Requirements for All String Instruments
Instrument	Short Jury Repertoire (10 minutes \| 480a) all concerto & unaccompanied works must be memorized*	Long Jury Repertoire (20 minutes \| 480b) all concerto & unaccompanied works must be memorized*
Violin	1) One complete movement from J.S. Bach Sonatas and Partitas for solo Violin (the Doubles for each movement must be prepared as a pair) 2) One complete movement of a concerto for violin and orchestra	1) Short jury requirements 2) Additional repertoire may be added at the discretion of the teacher for a total of 20 minutes of music
Viola	1) One movement of solo Bach 2) One movement of a sonata or concerto	1) One Movement of solo Bach 2) Two or more contrasting pieces drawn from the sonata or concerto repertoire for a total of 20 minutes of music
Cello	1) One movement of solo Bach 2) One movement from a standard concerto 3) All of the orchestral excerpts from the UT Symphony Orchestra audition	1) Short Jury Requirements 2) Instead of UTSO audition excerpts, one other contrasting work or movement of a work for a total of 20 minutes of music
Double Bass	1) One movement from the Bach Cello Suites or two contrasting movements of a Baroque sonata 2) One contrasting piece or movement selected from the standard solo literature 3) Two contrasting orchestral excerpts selected from the standard repertoire	1) One movement from the Bach Cello Suites 2) One movement from a standard concerto 3) One other contrasting work or movement of a work 4) At least two contrasting orchestral excerpts selected from the standard repertoire for a total of 20 minutes of music
Guitar	At least two contrasting works from different periods	1) One movement of Bach (or equivalent Baroque composer, i.e. Scarlatti, Weiss, etc.) 2) Two other contrasting works from different periods, one of which may be a concerto movement, for a total of 20 minutes of music
Harp	Two works in contrasting style	Three to four works in contrasting style for a total of 20 minutes, which may include: multiple movements of a concerto or sonata; an original 16th to 18th-Century harp composition (or a published transcription from that time period); a concerto etude, solo, duo, or chamber work by a major or harpist composer.

* Orchestral excerpts and etudes (excepting concert etudes) may be performed with printed music; all other solo repertoire should be memorized.

Find more information about this semester's juries, including FDFJ forms and deadlines.

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Advising & Registration

For information about course registration, deadlines, adding and dropping courses and other policies, visit the Graduate School Academic & Registration Policies webpage.

Students who wish to take an independent study course need to fill out a Consent Form. Once the faculty member and Graduate Coordinator have approved your request, the bar to register for the course will be lifted.

To be eligible for fellowships, scholarships and assistantships, graduate students are required to be enrolled full-time (at least 9 hours).

All international students are also required to be enrolled full-time during each long semester, regardless of whether they receive funding from the Butler School of Music.

Transferring Coursework

A new master’s student may petition to transfer up to six credits of graduate level coursework completed at another institution, subject to approval by both the Butler School of Music Graduate Studies Committee chair and the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Detailed transfer regulations and forms for master’s students are maintained by the Graduate School.

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Graduation Timeline

Semester-by-Semester Overview

Prior to 1st semester

All students must take the diagnostic examinations in music history and music theory. Additional diagnostic exams are administered for students in composition, voice, jazz and music theory.

Semester 3

Registration for the following if required – MUS 698RA, 698A.
M.M. Piano Performance students take their group comprehensive exam.
With the approval of their studio teacher, some performance area students may perform their thesis recital.

Semester 4

Students must submit a completed M.M. degree check form to verify their completion of coursework.
Students must apply to graduate – check graduate school website for deadline.
Registration for the following if required – MUS 698RB, 698B, 398M.
M.M. String students take their group comprehensive exam.
All other students take individual comprehensive exams as arranged by their studio teacher (for performance area students) or their supervising professor (for academic area students).
Most performance area students perform their thesis recital.
M.M. Music & Human Learning – Non-Thesis Track complete their master’s project.
M.M. Music Theory, M.M. Music & Human Learning – Thesis Track and M.M. Composition students complete their master’s thesis or master’s report and submit it to the Graduate School.
M.M. Ethnomusicology and M.M. Musicology students complete their master’s report and submit it to the Graduate School.