The Artist Diploma is a non-degree program for the specialized training of the unusually gifted and accomplished performer. The program focuses on the practical aspects of musical training: private instruction, performance, participation in musical organizations and chamber music, and musicianship skills.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must be superior performers who have demonstrated strong potential for a successful performing career. Applicants must have a bachelor’s degree or diploma in music, or equivalent, to be determined by the faculty.

Applicants must submit a preliminary DVD or videotape (U.S. VHS format) and a completed application for admission by December 1. In addition to the audition, solo and ensemble experience and breadth of repertoire are taken into consideration as criteria for admission. Based on the review of the recording, applicants may be invited to audition in person.

Artist Diploma applicants in Voice should submit a preliminary CD or tape of not less than 30 minutes of music. The tape should include song literature in English, Italian, German, and French, as well as one oratorio or operatic aria in the original language.

Program of Study

Students spend two years in residence and pursue private instruction in their performance field during every semester. Each student gives a minimum of three recitals or the equivalent. Voice majors must satisfactorily complete an examination in the application of the International Phonetic Alphabet to English, French, German, and Italian.

Candidates for the MusM may concentrate in composition, conducting, historical performance, music education, music theory, musicology, or performance.

Applying

Applicants must apply online at www.bu.edu/cfa. Two recommendations, normally from teachers, official transcripts from all colleges attended, a two-page statement of purpose explaining why the candidate is applying and his/her career goals, and a non-refundable application fee are required of all applicants. Performance programs require a complete repertory list; some departments have additional requirements. Check online for the full list of departmental application requirements. Please note: performance applicants must audition in person if residing within 300 miles of Boston.

Admission Requirements

All applicants must have: (1) a bachelor’s degree from a school or college with a major in the subject in which the degree is sought, or with credits equivalent to the corresponding curriculum at Boston University, and (2) demonstrated talent and ability in performance, scholarship, or composition sufficient to promise superior accomplishment at the graduate level.

Applicants must meet the admissions requirements for graduate study. In addition, each applicant for a master’s-level program in performance must have presented a senior recital at his or her undergraduate institution.

Historical Performance

The Program and Boston Baroque Residency

Three-time Grammy nominee Boston Baroque serves as resident professional ensemble for the Historical Performance Program, providing educational enrichment, training, and professional performance opportunities for students. Students work closely in a wide range of ensemble settings with seasoned professionals. Distinguished guest artists enrich the program with master classes and special presentations. Students audition for understudy and public performance roles in Boston Baroque’s orchestral, choral, and opera productions, observe Boston Baroque’s rehearsal process, and attend the ensemble’s public performances.

Audition Requirements

This program is for performers on harpsichord, fortepiano, other period instruments, and singers. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in different national styles from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Program of Study

Terminal Projects

Two recitals are required, each containing a minimum of 60 minutes of music.

General Degree Requirements

The MusM is granted upon successful completion of a program of study and terminal projects appropriate to the student’s field of specialization. Students must complete a minimum of 32 semester credits with grades no lower than B– in graduate-level coursework. All degree requirements must be completed within five years from the date of matriculation. Students may also be required to take prerequisite courses based on the result of the required proficiency examination.

Master of Music Comprehensive Reviews

A satisfactory comprehensive review or examination is required for graduation. The faculty in each major area determines standards for this review and its format, and conducts the evaluation. In each case, the comprehensive review concentrates on the major area and other related fields. Unsatisfactory performance on this review may require remedial work and/or a repetition of the review after counseling with the student’s advisor. Descriptions of the departmental comprehensive reviews or examinations are found in the School of Music Graduate Handbook, available to enrolled students on the School of Music website.

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the MusAD program should possess a Master of Music degree or a Master of Arts degree with a major in music and should have completed theory, harmony, and solfège (20 credits); history of music (12 credits); and liberal arts courses distributed among the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences (32 credits). Any deficiency must be made up without credit toward the fulfillment of the degree requirements.

Applicants must pass an entrance audition after presenting a repertoire list to the faculty including works of representative composers from several periods. The faculty will select 15 minutes of music from this list. Although taped auditions are accepted, the faculty strongly recommends live auditions for doctoral applicants.

Audition Requirements

STRINGS, WINDS, BRASS, AND PIANO

Strings, winds, brass, and piano applicants should prepare material equivalent to a master’s-level recital program.

COLLABORATIVE PIANO

Collaborative pianists in the MusAD program may choose to concentrate on either vocal or instrumental repertoire, or a combination of both. Audition repertoire choices should reflect the intended concentration. Therefore, applicants should select either repertoire choice a. or b. from each category. (Please note that all songs should be prepared in the HIGH key.)

1. a. Beethoven—sonata for cello or violin
   b. Schubert—Im Frühling and Rastlose Liebe
2. a. Brahms—sonata for cello, violin, or viola
   b. Strauss—Cäcilie and Glückesgenug
3. a. Franck—Violin Sonata
   b. Debussy—Trois Chansons de Bilitis
4. a. Shostakovich—Cello Sonata
   b. Argento—Six Elizabethan Songs (complete)
5. Solo piano—a piece or movement less than 10 minutes in length from the Classical, Romantic, or 20th-century repertoire; memorization not required.

In addition, applicants will be asked to sight-read both vocal and instrumental literature. Foreign language proficiency will be evaluated for those applicants choosing the vocal repertoire focus.

ORCHESTRAL CONDUCTING

Each candidate must submit a preliminary video by December 1, before an audition can be scheduled. This tape should include 20–30 minutes of the candidate conducting in rehearsal and/or performance with an orchestral ensemble. The repertoire for the live audition will be chosen from the following works: Beethoven, Symphonies 1 and 2; Mozart, Overture to Die Zauberflöte; Stravinsky, L’histoire du soldat: “Royal March” and “Petit concert.” The audition will also include an individual interview that will examine skills in conducting, sight-singing (in all clefs), keyboard, dictation, musical terminology, score-reading, orchestration, and analysis. Each candidate will also be asked to perform on his or her principal instrument. Selected candidates will conduct an ensemble as the final part of the audition.

VOICE

Applicants must present a full recital program of approximately one hour’s length. Four languages must be presented: English, Italian, German, and French. An aria from opera and an aria from oratorio should be included.

CHORAL CONDUCTING

Choral conducting candidates must submit a preliminary video by December 15, before an audition can be scheduled. This tape should include 20–30 minutes of the candidate conducting in rehearsal and/or performance with a choral ensemble. The repertoire for the live audition consists of the following pieces: Gregorian Chant, Pange Lingua (suggested edition: Gems of Gregorian Chant, Collegium Music Publishers, John Rutter); Victoria, O Magnum Mysterium (suggested edition: Hinshaw Music Inc., Walter S. Collins); Bach, St. John Passion (2a, b, c, d, e Neue Bach Ausgabe); Haydn, The Creation, Opening Recitative and Chorus (“In the Beginning”) (suggested edition: Dover); Stravinsky, Symphony of Psalms, Movement 1.

Program of Study

Students must complete a minimum of 48 graduate credits including Music History and Music Theory, including:

Choral conducting majors must take eight credits of Choral Literature Seminar.

Doctoral students in Performance may elect one of two program options: the Dissertation Track or the Performance Track.

Dissertation Track

Each candidate in Performance and Historical Performance must present three public recitals, each consisting of at least one hour of performing time.

For candidates in Collaborative Piano, the programs for the three recitals should reflect the specific interest of the individual student, who may wish to specialize in either vocal or instrumental literature. Chamber music (compositions for three or more instruments) must comprise at least one-third of each recital program.

For candidates in String Performance, two of the recitals will consist of solo literature (unaccompanied and/or works with piano, including sonatas), and one recital will be composed entirely of chamber music (not including sonatas with piano).

Candidates for the MusAD in Conducting must give two public recitals. The programs for the recitals can reflect the specific interest of the individual student, but the programs must include literature from a broad historical span.

Terminal Project: Independent Research
Document Dissertation
and Lecture-Recital

The student must write a substantial document demonstrating the ability to conduct independent research. This document should stress source materials, comparative editions, score analysis, and performance practice. The student must give a lecture-recital based on this document and use the medium of performance to illustrate it. The lecture-recital must be supervised and approved by assigned faculty readers. A copy of the lecture must be included as an appendix in the final copies of the document. Conducting students are not required to give a lecture-recital.

Recital Track

MusAD candidates may pursue the recital track following successful completion of one semester of MusAD-level coursework and applied lesson study, and upon approval by their major teacher and area head. Appropriate paperwork must be filed with the Applied Department Chair. In lieu of the dissertation as terminal project, each candidate in Performance and Historical Performance must present five public recitals: Solo Recital, Concerto Recital, Chamber Music Recital, Recital Prepared Without Guidance, and Lecture Recital. Detailed requirements for each recital vary by area, and applicable written and research components require faculty approvals.