Senior recital: culmination of all of your work at Hurley, final semester of study.

i. Performance concentration recital—required recitals for this concentration must:

1. Contain at least 50 minutes of music
2. Display the student’s ability in a wide variety of styles and musical eras
3. Most or all of the material must be memorized for vocal and piano recitals (exceptions may be made for certain styles of music, approved by your teacher).
4. Instrumental students must present at least one memorized piece.

ii. Composition concentration recital—required recitals for this concentration must:

1. Contain at least 30 minutes of original compositions, to be guided by the composition teacher.

a. If your compositions require additional musicians, you must arrange rehearsals and payment accordingly.

2. Performance on the student’s primary instrument, generally 30 minutes as approved by the student’s applied teacher and composition teacher.

Honors recital: Given in tandem with department honors projects. See your academic advisor for details.

a. Half recitals (25-30 minutes of music)

i. For instrumentalists, this may be two groups of short selections; or a concerto movement or sonata and another brief group.

ii. For pianists, this may be a concerto movement and another two or three short pieces; or two groupings of shorter pieces.

iii. For singers, this is generally about nine selections, which may be arranged as two song groups and one aria.

iv. Students are encouraged to program collaborative pieces that include other musicians, such as a vocal piece with an instrumental obbligato or a four-hand piano piece.

b. Full recitals (50 minutes of music)

i. For instrumentalists, this typically includes one larger work in its entirety, and both accompanied and unaccompanied music.

ii. For pianists, this typically includes a larger work (like a sonata) in its entirety, perhaps a concerto movement, and some shorter selections.

iii. For vocalists, this is typically about 18 selections, generally divided into four groupings by language. Required languages are English, French, German, and Italian.

c. Recital repertoire may include material from any point during the student’s studies at Centenary.

d. Students are encouraged to tailor their recital material to the repertoire that will be most useful to them in their immediate future.

Consult with your applied teacher and accompanist (if applicable).

Meet with the Assistant to the Dean of Hurley as early as possible in the semester you plan to give your recital (for instance, if you plan to give a recital in the spring semester, then it is wise to try and get it scheduled within the first two weeks of spring-semester classes). This will be tentatively scheduled until the Assistant to the Dean is made aware that you’ve passed your Hearing (see next FAQ).

Recitals must be performed prior to the middle of prep week (see Centenary’s academic calendar).

It is wise to find a date that does not conflict with Hurley events, as well as other large campus events. This will increase the likelihood that others can attend.

Yes! The recital permission hearing must consist of at least 90% of the planned repertoire, performance ready.

A panel consisting of the applied teacher and other faculty in the area of study (e.g. a trumpet player might have their teacher and other brass faculty) must be assembled to hear and grant permission to offer the recital. At least one panel member must be a full-time faculty member.

All students who intend to offer a recital must schedule a hearing 30 days prior to the date of the recital. The hearing may not take place less than 30 days before the recital date.

Once the desired date for the hearing is set, and it is clear all panel members can be present, the student should consult the Assistant to the Dean of Hurley to be sure a space is available at the proposed time.

If, in the judgement of a majority at the Hearing, a student’s work does not reflect an appropriate standard of achievement, the student will not pass the Hearing, and the recital may not be scheduled. The student may re-attempt the Hearing at a later date, and the panel will specify whether the student must repeat all or a portion of the repertoire in that Hearing.

Once you’ve passed your hearing, make sure to notify the Assistant to the Dean of Hurley.

These Hearing requirements apply to any recital given under the auspices of the School of Music.

Yes! If an accompanist is needed for your recital, they will be paid $150 for a half recital (approximately 30 minutes) and $250 for a full recital (approximately 60 minutes).

The student is responsible for paying the accompanist with their own funds.

Accompanists must be paid the day of the recital.

If a student is negligent in paying the accompanist fee, it will be charged to their student account, along with a late fee of $50. It is not possible to request that the accompanist fee be charged to your account for convenience.

Here are the most important budget items:

i. Accompanist fee: $150.00 for a half-recital or $250.00 for a full recital
ii. Programs: $10.00/50 programs

iii. Recording fee: $50.00 (see more details under “How do I record my recital?”)

Programs are formatted and printed in the music office. Do not print your own programs without special permission.

You may also want to budget for your attire (a tuxedo or gown is customary), which can be anywhere from $50.00 to $200.00.

If you decide to have a reception following your recital, you are responsible for providing food and beverages. Consult with the Assistant to the Dean of Hurley to request the setup of tables, chairs, etc.

You may not charge for tickets to your recital.

Upon passing the recital hearing, students should immediately consult with the Assistant to the Dean of Hurley. A request will be submitted to the Centenary Marketing department. Marketing requests must be made no less than two weeks prior to the recital, no exceptions.

Details that MUST be available when making the marketing request are:

i. Recital date
ii. Recital time
iii. Recital location
iv. All participants’ names
v. Any pertinent details that should be included in publicity
vi. Any headshots students would like included on publicity.

If you would like your recital streamed live, the Assistant to the Dean of Hurley can help.

Students are responsible for any fees associated with printing posters or other materials.

The Assistant to the Dean of Hurley can assist with arranging a recording engineer to capture audio and/or video of your recital. Students are responsible for paying the engineer $50 for the event. Students must pay the $50 fee on the day of the recital.

If students would like pictures of their recital, they must arrange that privately with a professional photographer.

The Assistant to the Dean of Hurley will help you format and print your programs.

Fill out this form to send over the details.

Please have all of the following details readily available as you fill out the form:

i. Date and time of your recital
ii. Type of recital (Senior, Performance, Composition, etc.)
iii. Piece titles and what larger work they are from
iv. Composers and dates
v. Translations
vi. Names of any other musicians participating, along with which piece they’ll play, and what instrument they play
vii. Whether or not you plan to hold a reception
viii. Name and email of your applied teacher
ix. Name of your accompanist (if applicable)
x. Any other custom formatting requests

If you have received permission to print your programs outside of the music office, you are responsible for coordinating and paying for them on your own.