Examination:
Juries, Procedures & Requirements

General Guidelines for All Students

During the final two weeks of the semester (normally during final four), juries will be held according to the following general guidelines:

All majors taking private work are required to perform in a jury each semester in their major area.  Exceptions are made only through a teacher's request.

Junior and senior majors playing half or full recitals during a semester will not take a regular jury during that semester.  Exceptions may be made by teacher request.  However, applied juniors/seniors, and music education seniors, preparing independently prepared compositions during that semester, must play a short jury consisting of that selection.  Music education majors are not required to take a jury during the semester of student teaching internship.

Repertoire Report for Jury (Jury Sheet): One week before the jury exam date the student will submit to his teacher a draft of her Jury Sheet. After teacher check and approval, the student will correct and print the record and submit four signed copies to the studio teacher no later than 2 days before the jury exam date.

All works or movements selected for jury performance must be indicated as such by the student by typing a J in the code field.  These selections should be made in consultation with the faculty member.

At the jury, the student will choose (from the compositions marked J) the first selection to be performed.

No student's final semester grade may be submitted without a jury.

Each student taking a jury will receive a pre-jury grade from the teacher, which will be averaged with the jury grade for a final semester grade. Jury grades comprise 60% of the semester grade, the studio grade 40%.

Performance Area Guidelines

Instrumental (Revised 1986)
A teacher may request a jury of any student in his or her studio.

Faculty members who are working with unusual problems of embouchure, bowing, or physical difficulties may request a special excuse from juries for the student to be approved by the instrumental faculty.

Students who plan to change to another major will be graded by the teacher, and will not take a jury, unless the teacher requires it.

Length of juries: 1-2 credit hours – 6 minutes; 3 credit hours – 10 minutes; and 4 or more credit hours – 12 minutes.

No more than half of the allotted time will be used in hearing the student’s choice.

The faculty will choose scales, etudes, studies, or pieces marked with a J from the repertoire sheet and hear portions that will indicate your level of competency.

Selection of jury pieces should represent your best work and show both technical advancement and musical expressiveness through the selections.  Contrasting styles would be appreciated.

The student’s choice may be accompanied.  Memorization is recommended. 

Organ
Organ juries are required at the end of each semester by all organ majors, regardless of curriculum or hours of credit sought, and by all non-organ majors earning three or more credits for the particular term.

Juries shall be 10 minutes up to 3 hours credit and 15 minutes for 3 or more hours credit.

Except at beginning level(s), some memorization is expected: approximately one-third of the repertoire; for church music and music ed majors, an amount determined by the teacher for each student.

Piano
Selection: From the pieces studied, the student, in collaboration with his or her teacher, will select for jury performance one work (e.g. Bach P and F) or substantial movement (e.g. sonata first movement) for each credit hour of study up to 4 hours.  Students taking 5 or 6 hours will also perform four works.

Styles: The student should select works in contrasting styles from various periods for jury performance.

Memorization: Preferably all selections will be memorized, but a minimum of two for up to three credit hours and three for 4-6 hours.

Procedure: The student may select his first piece.  The jury may decide to hear up to 5 minutes of this piece.  The selection, order, and amount of remaining repertoire will be determined at the jury by the jury chair and other faculty jury members.

Length of Jury: For 2 credit hours – 10 minutes; 3 hours – 12 minutes; 4 or more hours – 15 minutes.

Exceptions: The above requirements for jury contents do not apply to students in their first semester of study at Houghton (first-years and transfers).  These students will take juries by the type and amount of jury content will be determined by their teachers. (Revised by Keyboard Faculty, 1986)

Practical Keyboard
Practical keyboard students who are not completing their practical keyboard sequence will take final exams during the last regular class period before the final week.  Instructors may request additional faculty to hear these final exams.

Practical Keyboard and/or Keyboard Skills students who are completing their practical are required to take a jury final exam during jury time.

Exam and Jury Contents will be based on syllabus semester exam requirements, along with any further stipulations given by the instructor.

Semester Work Records: Each class Piano and Keyboard Skills student, whether taking a class exam or a jury, must submit a typed and signed Semester Work Record to the instructor one week prior to the end of the semester.  Please check with the teacher for exact contents and format of the rough draft before final typing and submission.

Voice (Voice Faculty Action, Fall 1994)
A teacher may request a jury of any student in her or his studio, whether or not that person is a music major.

Repertoire to be offered for jury examination is as follows for each semester:

• First year students:
  • First semester – 2 memorized pieces
  • Second semester – 4 memorized pieces
• Sophomores:
  • First semester – 3 memorized pieces
  • Second semester – 5 memorized pieces
• Juniors:
  • First semester – 4 memorized pieces
  • Second semester – 6 memorized pieces
• Seniors:
  • First semester – 5 jury pieces
  • Second semester – 6 jury pieces (or recital and an independent piece)

The student will choose the first selection. The jury panel will then select additional songs from the remaining indicated jury pieces. In addition, the jury may request any song on the repertoire list not marked with a “P.”  Such selections may be sung with music if not yet memorized.  All students will sing a minimum of two songs and a maximum of four.

Jury members will give written comments to the student’s teacher noting strengths, weaknesses and suggestions for improvement.

Juries will be approximately 10 minutes in length.

A student who performs a junior or senior recital is exempt from a jury for that semester, but is required to present an independently prepared piece to the jury.