Scheduling a Recital

A Recital Request Form must be submitted to the Large Ensemble Office (room 156) no later than 4 p.m. on the last school day of the deadline week listed below. The deadline must be met in order to receive priority scheduling over other scheduling categories. Recitals must be scheduled three weeks before the earliest requested date. Accompanist request forms are due one week before the recital request form is due.

Due to such reasons as limited summer staffing and reduced building hours, scheduling of summer performances in the Music Building are considered on a case-by-case basis.  Due to summer weekend building closures, approved faculty or student recitals are to be scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday evenings.  For students, approved summer performances are restricted to degree-required recitals.

Dates are reserved according to the following priorities:

1. Ensembles
2. Faculty and Guest Recitals
3. Chamber Music programs sponsored by faculty
4. Required graduate recitals
5. Required undergraduate recitals
6. All others

Student recital dates are submitted with the approval of the appropriate faculty instructor. These dates are scheduled on a master calendar and can only be changed at least three weeks in advance of the old and new dates. Anyone needing to reschedule a recital within three weeks of the date must wait until the calendar opens for the following semester or perform the program off-campus. To schedule a recital, students must complete the following:

1. Obtain a Recital Request Form.
2. If using an accompanist, obtain an Accompanist Request Form in the Music Office (Room 140), or click HERE for a printable form. Fill it out, and turn it in to Dr. Goldenberg (Room 308) at least one week before the Recital Request Form is due. Recitals will not be scheduled until an accompanist has been secured and signed the form.
3. Graduate students must obtain the Graduate Coordinator's signature if the recital is required for graduation and must also submit a MUSC 699 information form, signed by the applied teacher/recital director.
4. In consultation with your applied teacher, accompanist, and others involved in the program, list up to 10 dates (in order of preference) within a three-week period of time. In choosing these dates, please note that recitals must be scheduled at least three weeks before the requested date.
5. Submit the Recital Request Form along with your $10.00 (CHECKS ONLY--payable to "NIU") non-refundable processing fee. This form must be signed by you and your applied instructor, and by your accompanist and the Coordinator of Graduate Studies, if applicable. Submit the signed and completed form and processing fee to the Large Ensemble Office (Room 156) by the appropriate deadline listed above. The deadline must be met in order to receive priority in your scheduling over the other scheduling categories.
   
   This form and the $10.00 fee are required even for recitals that are given in off-campus venues. Programs for off-campus required recitals must be prepared by the music office following the procedures listed below.
6. Return to the Large Ensemble Office to find out your date on the Wednesday after the deadline, or three working days past the submission if the form was turned in after the deadline.
7. If the following items are not completed after each rehearsal and the recital you will be billed for damage or clean-up:
   • Room seating returned to original format
   • Keyboard instruments covered (and if Concert Hall, put backstage)
   • Lights out
   • Room cleaned of any debris and secured
   • All posters removed throughout the building (see Miscellaneous, below, for details)
   • Projection screens, if used, must be rolled up (RH) or taken down (CH)
8. A recital involving a large or complicated set-up may be allowed extra time on the day of the performance. The Large Ensemble Office Manager must approve any additional time and it must be scheduled in advance

Cancellations

If you need to cancel your recital, notify the Large Ensemble Office immediately by email.

Time Slots

Recitals are scheduled for either 6:30 or 8:00 weekdays, 11:00 a.m., 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, or 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, or 7:00 p.m. Sundays.

If the recital is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on a weekday, there must be no intermission and the hall must be vacated by 7:30 to allow for a following 8:00 p.m. recital in the same hall

Length of Recitals

Graduate student recitals for Master of Music - Performance majors and Performer’s Certificate students will be restricted to one hour and 15 minutes. Recitals for all other Master of Music students will be restricted to 45 minutes. Students desiring to perform longer recitals may have their private teacher so request and must have successfully performed their recital for the faculty in their performance area.

Senior recitals for performance majors will be approximately one hour of music (not including an intermission of ten minutes). Senior recitals for music education will be 30-60 minutes in length. Students desiring to perform longer recitals may have their private teacher so request and must have successfully performed their recital for the faculty in their performance area.

Programs

Recital programs must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of the performance to the Music Office, Room 140. All concert and recital programs must be prepared by the Music Office following the school’s standardized format. If you miss the required two-week deadline, it is quite possible that programs will not be available in time for the performance. Submitted programs must be emailed by the applied professor. Handwritten programs will not be accepted. No program will be accepted without the following:

• Timing for each piece
• Instructor's signature

It is your responsibility to have your applied teacher proofread your program before he/she signs it. Programs that contain too many errors will be returned, so please make sure that you and your applied teacher have gone over the copy very carefully.

You are encouraged to ask your applied teacher to send your program to the office electronically, as an e-mail attachment. The program does not have to be signed if it is sent from his/her e-mail address.

Inserts and program notes must be approved in advance by the Assistant Director. Inserts are highly discouraged, and will be approved only if they are relevant to the recital content, such as carefully-researched program notes. Extravagant thank-yous to parents, teachers, friends, extended families, etc. are best tendered via Hallmark, not the recital program.

Exceptions: Students in some graduate specializations may be required to develop unique programs for non-degree performances given as a component of a required course. In these cases, programs in non-standard formats will be permitted, but must be approved by the Director or Assistant Director. Preparing and printing the programs are the student's responsibility; the music office will not type, print, or copy non-standard programs.

The student should follow the regular reservation practice for securing the hall; however, as in all non-degree recitals, he/she must wait until the "All Others" scheduling window opens before making the reservation. The student should NOT check the box on the reservation form that states that it is a required-for-degree recital, and the graduate coordinator's signature is not required.

Audio/Visual Requirements

If you need special audio/visual equipment, contact the Media Services.

Tape Recording/CDs

Forms for securing recording services must be filed at least two weeks before the program date. Forms may be picked up in the Music Office or click HERE for a printable form. A deposit (by check) must be paid at the time of reservation. This deposit will be applied to the cost of services (materials and labor). Tapes/CDs may be picked up in the Music Office when the balance of charges is paid.

Recital Course Registration

For the semester in which the student plans to perform his or her senior recital, undergraduates register for MUSC 399A concurrently with private lessons and will receive an “S” for a successful recital. In order to register, students must complete the Senior Recital Registration form, available in the Music Office or click HERE for a printable form, have it signed by the private instructor, and return it to the Undergraduate Advisor.

Graduate students in the Master of Music program register for MUSC 699A but DO NOT concurrently register for private applied lessons.

Graduate students in the Performer's Certificate program register for MUSC 799 concurrently with applied lessons.

Miscellaneous

If scheduled on a weekend, either the student or the applied teacher is responsible for opening and closing the hall. Faculty may check out a key and assume responsibility for its safekeeping and return.

Receptions in the Music Building are strongly discouraged. See Dr. Bauer for exceptions. If a reception is approved, it MUST be held in the Concert Hall lobby, NOT on the carpeted area outside the Recital Hall. If a program is taking place in either the Concert Hall or the Recital Hall during your reception, you and your guests must be considerate and avoid excessive noise. You are responsible for completely cleaning up after your reception. If the custodians report that excessive clean-up was required, you will be billed for their extra time.

No personal still photography cameras are allowed at recitals or concerts. Any audio/visual recordings can be used for archival purposes only.

Any student requiring more than four music stands or four chairs for his/her recital must make arrangements with the Large Ensemble Office (Room 156) at least one week before the performance date.

Posters and other recital announcements are to be placed ONLY on bulletin boards in the Music Building. Posters attached to walls, doors, elevators, etc., will be removed. If you have damaged, e.g., the finish on a door, you will be billed for the repair cost. Posters must be removed within 48 hours of the date of your performance. You will be fined (an encumbrance will be placed on your account) if you fail to remove your posters.