Music Education, B.M.

Program Mission: The School of Music seeks to provide professional training to talented students who pursue careers as performers, teachers, and scholars, and to offer experiences in music to all persons of the College and community, thereby enriching cultural backgrounds and developing musical skills.

Program Goals: The School of Music thus realizes its mission in students who as music majors:

Develop intellectual curiosity about, and the ability to evaluate, the meaning of music and its role in humankind’s search for aesthetic communication and human understanding;
Strive to become sensitive, well-rounded musicians, through the development of technical proficiency and corresponding creative ability in their primary area(s) of musical performance;
Develop basic and advanced musicianship skills, and acquire a broad knowledge of historical musical styles;
Commit themselves to a lifetime of increasing musical awareness and appreciation in their own lives and in their respective communities.

Program Objectives: Students who major in music will demonstrate achievement in the field of music by:

Demonstrating individual technical proficiency and musical sensitivity, as well as group performance skills, through the performing of solo, small ensemble, and large ensemble music, in their primary areas of performance;
Successfully completing courses in music theory which develop basic musicianship skills and which study the constructs and compositional techniques of music and its evolution through time;
Successfully completing courses in music history and literature in which they acquire an in-depth understanding of music and its societal relationships from the earliest recorded time through the present;
Successfully completing courses in music pedagogy (music education, techniques, methods) and demonstrating the skills obtained in these courses through conducting and performing in colloquium, lab, master classes, student teaching, and other teaching situations.

Westminster College is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Music. Lessons, ensembles, and courses are available to all students in the College.

Prospective music majors must fulfill the general admission requirements of the College. They are also required to arrange an audition with the School of Music to demonstrate proficiency in at least one area of performance. A tape recording is acceptable in lieu of an audition on campus.

Degrees

The BACHELOR OF MUSIC degree is offered with majors in (1) Music Education and (2) Performance. The music education major fulfills certification requirements for those preparing to teach music in the public schools (K-12). The performance major is designed for students planning to continue specialized study in preparation for careers as professional performers. The student pursuing a major in music education or performance must complete 95 semester hours’ credit in music plus 36 semester hours of credit outside of music, including the all-college requirements for graduation.

A student under the BACHELOR OF ARTS or the BACHELOR OF SCIENCE degree can pursue Music as a second major, or as a minor. Both are available to those students who have a strong interest in music but who choose another discipline as their primary major. To receive a second major in music, the student must complete 36 semester hours’ credit in music. To receive a minor in music, the student must complete 24 semester hours’ credit in music.

A student may be admitted into the performance major, on a provisional basis only, during the first semester of the first year, during which the student will be allowed to take private lessons at the frequency of one hour of instruction per week. The faculty jury at the end of the first semester of private study will assess whether or not the student qualifies to continue as a performance major. A student who is permitted to remain in the major will subsequently take private lessons at the frequency of two hours of instruction per week.

There are no private music lesson fees for prescribed lessons. However, students will be assessed private music lesson fees for any additional private lessons. Each student is required to regularly attend MUS 600 (Music Colloquium) and MUS 600M (Master Class) each semester as a part of their private lessons, MUS 600P String Practicum while enrolled in MUS 204, and MUS 600P Band Practicum while enrolled in MUS 201-203.

The Major in Music Education - Bachelor of Music

The curriculum prescribes the following courses (98 semester hours):

Theory (20 SH)

History (8 SH)

Conducting (3 SH)

Pedagogy (7 SH)

Prof. Education (35 SH)

Private Lessons (7 SH)

7 semesters’ private study in primary instrument or voice

Large Ensembles (7 SH)

7 separate semesters’ participation in a large ensemble

Secondary Ensemble

2 semester hours of an ensemble not listed as a large ensemble

Music Electives (3 SH)

3 one-hour electives in music from group of

Voice concentration must take both

Instrumental concentration must take a minimum of two of the five:

Elective Lessons

Students may take 1 credit of Elective Lessons on a secondary instrument (odd-numbered lessons in the MUS 300 -MUS 399 range) for one of these music electives.

Music Literature (4 SH)

1 four-hour elective in music from group of

Capstone Recital (4 SH)

MUS 601 - Capstone Recital (or MUS 602 Capstone Lecture Recital) concurrent with seventh semester of private study of primary instrument or voice

Each student is required to pass a series of examinations on his/her primary instrument, as follows:

7 Juries

one at the end of each semester’s primary private lessons

1 Sophomore Hearing

performance and portfolio review during first semester of sophomore year; review of graduation audit (3.000 GPA is required to student teach)

NOTE:

Continuance in the program is dependent upon maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.000. In all cases, only Westminster College courses are factored into the GPA calculation. Experience indicates that students who have difficulty in attaining the required 3.000 GPA by the end of the sophomore year are also likely to experience difficulty in passing the state certification examinations. Students who have not attained a 3.000 by the time of the sophomore hearing/ portfolio review or who have not passed the Praxis Series Examinations will be required to address the music faculty.

1 Recital Hearing

two weeks prior to the capstone recital or capstone lecture recital

Eligibility Requirements for Admission to Student Teaching

Complete the required block of first year, sophomore, and junior observations and field study in the public schools:
- First year observation: Six observations in the music classroom, four observations in special education
- Sophomore year: observations in elementary music attached to MUS 182 General Music Methods
- Junior year field experience: comprehensive week of observation and teaching in the public schools with one cooperating teacher.
Attain a cumulative GPA of 3.000 in all college courses;
Complete and attain a minimum grade of B- in all Primary Private Lessons (odd numbers), Large Ensembles, Capstone Recital (or Project), Conducting (MUS 271 , MUS 272 , and MUS 273 ), and Professional music courses (MUS 182 , MUS 183 and MUS 184 );
File the Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance, Pennsylvania Criminal History Background Check and FBI Fingerprint Clearance to be completed in the second semester of the first year and updated as necessary throughout the collegiate career;
Piano Proficiency Examination Levels 1-3 must be completed by the end of the sophomore year, and Levels 4-10 must be completed by the end of the junior year.
Certification Testing: Pass the Praxis examinations as required by the state of Pennsylvania;
PAPA Tests must be completed by all Music Education students unless students are exempt from this test due to meeting or exceeding the minimum required SAT or ACT score. Students must report any exemptions to the Music Education Area Head;
Fundamentals of Education Test and Music Core (take by second semes ter of junior year);
Make formal application to student teach by mid-term break of spring semester of junior year (form is available in music office);
Receive a current negative Tine test in the semester immediately preceding student teaching;

Eligibility requirements for recommendation for Pennsylvania state teacher certification in Music K-12:

Pass the Pre-Professional Skills Test (reading, writing, and mathematics), the Fundamentals of Education Test and the Music Core Battery of the Praxis Series Examination
Attain a minimum grade equal to 3.000 in each of MUS 195 and MUS 196 (student teaching)

Each student is required to regularly attend MUS 600 (Music Colloquium) and MUS 600M (Master Class) each semester as a part of his/her private lessons, and MUS 600P (Instrumental Performance Practicum) during those semesters he/she is taking instrumental pedagogy classes (MUS 200 , MUS 201 , MUS 202 , MUS 203 , MUS 204 , and MUS 205 ) or instrumental conducting class (MUS 273 ). Of the required pedagogies, students must take one String Practicum (MUS 600P -02).

The Pennsylvania state requirement of teachers to take 6 hours of English composition and literature are fulfilled when the student passes INQ 111 and WRI 111 . Music Education majors must also take 6 hours of Mathematics courses, MTH 110 and MTH 124 recommended.

NOTE: Although a C- is acceptable, students are strongly encouraged to maintain at least a B cumulative average in these courses in order to attain the 3.000 GPA necessary to student teach.

NOTE: Changes in state requirements take precedence over information printed in this Undergraduate Catalog.

Policy Regarding Changes in a Student’s Instrumental or Vocal Concentration

Occasionally, students may desire to change their instrumental/vocal concentration to a different instrumental/vocal concentration within the Bachelor of Arts Degree (Music as Primary Major), the BA Degree (Music as a Second Major), and the Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education. If a student wishes to do so, the following procedures must be followed.

The relevant faculty to whose area the student is wishing to transfer must consult with (1) the relevant faculty from whose area the student is leaving, as well as with (2) the Chair of the School of Music, before agreeing to hear the audition. The Chair of the School of Music may veto the transfer.
The student must audition for relevant faculty on the instrument/voice to which he/she is proposing a change; the faculty may deny the audition. This audition may coincide with a jury.
The student’s Music Talent Award, if any, will be re-evaluated at the audition. The Chair of the School of Music reserves the right to decrease the Music Talent Award if necessary.
If allowed to change concentrations, the student must take at least the number of remaining lessons on the instrument/voice to which he/she is changing. That is, if four semesters’ worth of lessons remain, the student must take at least four more lessons on the instrument/voice to which he/she is changing.
The student may be required to take additional lessons (up to 8 semesters’ worth, depending on the degree program) on the instrument/voice to which he/she is changing at the discretion of the relevant faculty. These lessons may be in the form of the 2-hour-per-week lessons, summer lessons, or they may be added on to the student’s course of study, requiring the student to stay longer than the typical four-year plan for a degree. This is at the discretion of the relevant faculty, with approval from the School of Music Chair.
If the student takes lessons beyond 8 semesters total because he/she changed his/her instrumental/vocal concentration, regardless of the instrument/voice studied during the lessons, he/she must pay for these lessons. For example, if John Doe takes two semesters of voice lessons and switches to flute, and is required by the relevant faculty to take 8 more lessons on flute, then he must pay for the last 2 lessons, because he will have accrued a total of 10 lessons, and only 8 are subsidized by the Music School.
Students generally may not petition to change concentrations after the first semester of their Junior Year. If there is confusion about what constitutes this timing, the Chair of the School of Music will decide if the student is eligible to petition to change concentrations.
Students may change instrumental/vocal concentrations only once, if at all.