Recital Guidelines

General Guidelines for all Official Music Department Recitals

  1. Read carefully and follow the policies and procedures provided in this handbook.
  2. Official Music Department Recitals include weekly Student Recitals, Junior and Senior Recitals that fulfill a degree requirement, recitals by any senior student taking lessons in the semester of the performance, and Chamber Ensemble, Composition, and Advanced Conducting Recitals.
  3. Students must be taking lessons from a St. Olaf Music Department faculty member in the medium in which they will perform in order to perform in an official recital.
  4. Chamber Ensemble (e.g. Brass Night, Woodwind Night), Composition, and Advanced Conducting Recital participants must be under the mentorship of a music faculty advisor.
  5. No two official Music Department events may be scheduled at the same time.
  6. Only faculty are permitted to reserve rooms. For space availability, first check the RS-25 link under “Quicklinks” found on the St. Olaf College home page. Then email or call in your reservation request to Barb Barth at barth@stolaf.edu or 786-3568.

IMPORTANT! Before planning or scheduling any recital performance, see the Collaborative Pianist section in this handbook for collaborative pianist information.

Student Recitals

  1. Locations: Urness, Studio A, and Boe Chapel (Organists have priority in Boe. Consult the Student Recitals and Events schedule posted on the bulletin board outside CHM 101.)
  2. Official Times: 7:00 p.m. or 8:15 p.m., typically on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
  3. Application Process: Application forms are available in the music office or at http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/music/resources/index.html Completed forms are due in the Music Office by 5:00 p.m. one week before the recital date. Individual performance times should be kept under eight minutes. Instrumentalists wishing to perform works longer than eight minutes are encouraged to sign up for student recitals during the first weeks of the semester. Please clear performances longer than eight minutes with the Recital Committee Chair. The performance studies teacher must proof all spellings and timings included on recital application forms.
  4. Rehearsal Times: Rehearsal times in the recital halls are limited to 20-minutes.  Only faculty are permitted to reserve rehearsal times and can do so by emailing or calling Barb Barth at barth@stolaf.edu or 786-3568.
  5. Chamber ensembles coached by a faculty member may also perform on Student Recitals.

Junior and Senior Recitals

  1. Sign-up for all junior and senior recitals will be in the following manner:

Beginning September 21: Senior required degree recitals

  • BM Performance
  • BM Education
  • BM Church Music
  • BM Theory/Composition (recital of compositions, not primary instrument)

Beginning September 28: Junior required degree recitals

  • BM Performance
  • BM Church Music

Beginning October 5: All other official recitals

  • BA General Major
  • BA Education
  • BA Theory/Composition
  • Non-music majors taking lessons

After Fall Break:

  • Unofficial recitals (see section on Informal Recitals)

The last day to sign up for a recital for the 2009-2010 academic year is the last day of fall semester classes, December 15, 2009. Until Fall Break, the two weeks prior to Spring Break will be reserved for required junior degree recitals. Once scheduled, a recital date can be changed only in an emergency or because of a debilitating illness through petition to and approval by the Recital Committee.

  1. Locations: Urness, Studio A, Boe Chapel (Organists only), the Orchestra Room or Fosnes.
  2. Times: Sunday recital times are 2:00, 3:15, 4:30, 7:00 and 8:15 p.m. Monday through Friday times are 7:00 and 8:15 p.m. There are no Saturday recitals except for one Saturday in the spring semester, when 2:00, 3:15, 4:30, 7:00 and 8:15 p.m. recital times will be available.
  3. Application Process: Application forms and instructions are available in the Music Office and at http://www.stolaf.edu/depts/music/resources/index.html Consult with your teacher and read the guidelines contained in this handbook. An application form must be completed in its entirety and returned to the Music Office before a recital time can be reserved. A $25 recital fee will be billed to the student’s Ole Card (Ole Dollars).
  4. Program Format:
    • Full Recital – one hour in length: solo performer performing the entire program.
    • Half Recital – one-half hour in length: soloist performing no longer than 30 minutes. Performers should be partnered and scheduled with another Half Recital performer. The total recital length should not exceed one hour.
    • There are no official solo or group sophomore recitals. These students are strongly encouraged to perform on Student Recitals.
  5. Before a Full or Half recital will be scheduled, the student or ensemble must complete two solo performances on a Student Recital (an entrance and/or continuance recital performance may fulfill this requirement.)
  6. Junior Recitals may not be scheduled after spring break. Only Senior Recitals may take place after spring break. All Senior Recitals must take place by the end of the first full weekend in May.
  7. All Junior and Senior Recitals required for any Bachelor of Music degree must have three faculty members evaluate the recital, the student’s teacher and two additional faculty members. The student is responsible for obtaining the consenting faculty member’s signature on the recital application form before it is submitted for processing.

Chamber Ensemble, Composition, and Advanced Conducting Recitals

  1. Locations: Urness, Studio A, Boe Chapel, or the Orchestra Room.
  2. Times: Sunday recital times are 2:00, 3:15, 4:30, 7:00 and 8:15 p.m. Monday through Friday times are 7:00 and 8:15 p.m. There are no Saturday recitals.

Further Guidelines

  1. All recital participants must be selected and their respective performance studies teachers must give their approval by signing the recital application before the Music Office will accept a recital application.
  2. A list of all composition recital participants MUST be initialed by each participant and turned into the music office no later than two weeks before the performance date.
  3. Recitals should not exceed one hour (including set-up, applause, stage changes, etc.)
  4. The Music Office will complete the final preparation for all official recitals. The sponsoring faculty member must approve and proofread program content before the Music Office will accept the program information. Programs and notes must be submitted at least two weeks before the recital date. If notes are not submitted before the deadline, the student will be responsible for preparing the notes and they will not be included in the student's or the department's permanent files. Notes should be succinct and only relate to the music performed. All programs must be submitted to barth@stolaf.edu in either a doc. attachment or in the body of the email. The Music Office needs four copies of each program. The student is responsible for placing the print order, the cost of the print order, and pick up of the print order.
  5. Students are provided a stage manager, house manager and a recordist but must provide their own page-turner.  Performers are responsible for restoring the performance hall to be sure it is in good condition for the next performer(s).
  6. The Music Department may provide financial assistance towards the collaborative pianist’s accompanying fee for degree-required programs. See Collaborative Pianists in this handbook for additional information.
  7. Receptions in the CHM Reception Room are scheduled through the Music Office by emailing Barb Barth at barth@stolaf.edu with your request. Check RS-25 for room availability. Students are responsible for clean up afterwards.
  8. Posters are to be no larger than 11 X 17 inches.
  9. Consult your teacher for points of etiquette, i.e. bowing, entering and leaving the stage, etc. Unauthorized photography or video and audio recording is prohibited. No flash pictures during any recital.
  10. Any student wanting to use the harpsichord or forte-piano for a recital must contact the Music Office at least two weeks prior to the recital.
  11. It is the student's responsibility to inform family and friends attending the recital that flowers on stage and presentation bouquets are not allowed. There are to be no encores.

Informal Recitals

Occasionally a student may want to perform a recital that doesn’t fall into the “official recital” category (e.g. a sophomore student or non-degree recital.) These “informal recitals” may be given in residence halls (as permitted by hall directors) without applying to the Department of Music. Students are not allowed to perform informal recitals in Urness or Boe Chapel. With the permission of one’s performance studies instructor, a student may petition the Recital Committee to be allowed to hold an informal recital in the Orchestra Room, the Band Room or Fosnes. Organists only may petition to hold an informal recital in Studio A. Applications for informal recitals will be accepted after Fall Break.

For informal recitals, students will not be supplied with a stage manager, a house manager or a recordist. Students will not be permitted to advertise the event as a St. Olaf Music Department recital. Students will supply their own printed programs, if needed. Students will be fully responsible for setting up the stage for the recital and for returning the space to the condition it was in before the recital. Informal recitals do not fulfill any of the performance requirements for the music major and are not included in the Music Department calendar. They are not pink card events.

Before an informal recital may be scheduled in the Orchestra Room, the Band Room or Fosnes, the student or ensemble must complete two solo performances on a Student Recital (an entrance and/or continuance recital performance may fulfill this requirement.)