Recitals for DMA Students in Music Performance

DMA students are required to present three recitals: two full-length public performances as well as one public lecture-recital. Each recital is registered for one credit. As a practice-based degree, these recitals are critical for students to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have through coursework and research. DMA students work with their instructor and a member of the DMA Governance Committee from within their primary area of study to develop repertoire appropriate to their course of study. Each primary field of study in music performance has a unique process for program review and approval, and DMA students must be certain they fulfill all academic requirements in conjunction with the recital. Guest artists may be invited to participate in these recitals, but doctoral students must adhere to their program’s guidelines for guest artists, as outlined by their Program Directors. All recitals must be recorded for further evaluation by members of the DMA Governance Committee.

Lecture-Recital Guidelines 

The lecture-recital is a 45-minute public performance on a topic of the student’s choice, approved and evaluated by their instructor and a member of the DMA Governance Committee from within their primary area of study. The basic format for a lecture-recital is a lecture, illustrated by brief performance excerpts, followed by a complete performance, with a written program referencing a bibliography and literature review. All lecture-recitals must be recorded for further evaluation by members of the DMA Governance Committee.

The lecture-recital requires the candidate to undertake extensive non-credited research and preparation to bring to bear his or her accumulated skills and knowledge on a presentation demonstrating an ideal synthesis of performance and scholarship and at a level appropriate for a university job interview or a meeting of a national professional organization such as the College Music Society. Research may focus on performance and analysis, performance practice, pedagogy, editions, contemporary music, or other areas of the student’s interest and areas of specialization. 

Recording (Jazz Studies Only)

Jazz doctoral students work with their instructor and a member of the DMA Governance Committee from within their primary area of study to develop repertoire appropriate to present for the recitals and/or recording projects. Each program has a unique process for program review and approval, and doctoral students must make certain that they are fulfilling all academic requirements in conjunction with the recital.

Scheduling

Doctoral recitals, when possible, should not be scheduled to coincide with doctoral benchmarks of candidacy, proposal review, and defense. 

Once the recital is scheduled, it is possible to arrange for rehearsal time by filling out and submitting the on-line Recital Rehearsal Space Request Form which is available at the MPAP Recital Planning Website. This form should be submitted no later than two weeks prior to the requested rehearsal time. All efforts will be made to provide rehearsal time in the performance space, but this cannot be guaranteed. Doctoral students may have additional rehearsal time in other department rehearsal rooms, subject to availability. Additional rehearsal space may be requested by emailing MPAP Space. 

Written Materials

All programs and program notes distributed at the recital, including recitals taking place off-campus, MUST be approved and printed by the department. Doctoral students may not distribute programs that have not been officially approved by department administration. 

Students must defer to the guidelines set forth by their Program Directors.

Once the recital date has been confirmed, students will receive a unique template to use for the recital program. Students must submit the program in the body of the template, as a Word document (not as a pdf or Google document) —including program page, program notes (required, and which must be original) and bio(s)—for proofing, editing and printing. 

1. First, the program must be emailed as a Word attachment to the Program Director for edits and approval at least FIVE WEEKS prior to the recital date. Once it has been approved, and no later than THREE WEEKS prior to recital date, the program should be sent, with a copy of the Program Director’s approval e-mail, to Evelyn Kong.  Name, program (i.e. Strings, Composition, Music Education, etc), and recital date should appear in the subject line of the e-mail and be sent via the student’s NYU e-mail account.  

2. After Evelyn Kong has proofread and edited the program, she will e-mail the final proof. After she has received the advisor’s “okay,” the number of copies requested will then be printed.  Students are responsible for printing their own translations.  Programs may be retrieved from the MPAP Administrative Office, 35 W. 4th St., Suite 1103. 

Under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the instructor, the student may postpone the scheduled recital. In this case, an incomplete grade may be requested after the ninth week of the term via the Incomplete Grade Agreement Form. 

Upon signing this agreement, the instructor will determine the time the student will have to complete the work, but it cannot be later than the last day of classes in the following term. If he full recital is not performed in full by the agreed upon date, the incomplete grade (I) becomes an F. F grades cannot be removed or changed. Further, incomplete grades may result in academic action by the Committee on Student Progress and failure to meet satisfactory academic progress by the Office of Financial Aid.