Courses in Performance

The Music Department offers a variety of courses in solo performance - both vocal and instrumental - by a faculty of private instructors, many of whom are members of either the Syracuse Symphony or the Catskill Symphony. A student receives either eleven half-hour lessons per term, which will earn one-quarter course credit; or eleven hour lessons, which will earn one-half course credit. Although a fee is charged for such instruction, students receiving financial aid are eligible for assistance in meeting the cost. Soloists are provided with a variety of performing opportunities, including departmental concerts, featured appearances with choral and instrumental ensembles, and half and full recitals for qualified juniors and seniors.

Want to meet the instructors? Come see some photos.

The Music Department currently offers instruction in these instruments:

Bassoon Clarinet Classical Guitar Jazz Guitar Flute Bass Harp

Horn Oboe Organ Percussion Piano Saxophone Trombone

Trumpet Tuba Viola Violin Violoncello Voice

Like all music courses offered at Hamilton, courses in performance have as their primary goal the development of musicianship in the classic tradition. Their main purpose is to develop the skills appropriate to the instrument in an environment that includes awareness of what constitutes responsible performance. Matters such as performance practice, form and analysis will be considered in the preparation of any work to be studied. Students will explore repertory from various style periods, according to their instructor's advice and their own preferences. As an aid to gaining understanding, students are urged to take courses in theory or history during their first year of instruction, and they are required to do so during the second year of instruction.

Want to learn a new instrument or develop your skills on an instrument you already play,
but not interested in performing?

Don't worry: instead of taking solo performance courses, which require the presentation of a public performance, you can take applied music courses, which do not have a public performance requirement.

One of the satisfactions that music can provide is the pleasure of sharing one's musical discoveries and accomplishments with others through public performance. For student performers, public performance also holds the promise of increasing their understanding of the role of the performer in the musical process. Recognizing the merits of both reasons, the Department of Music has instituted a variety of performance opportunities that are designed to accommodate student performers at all levels of accomplishment.

Public Performance Opportunities include: Wellin Musicales, Student Concerts, Schambach Musicales, and full or half recitals.

Each semester, there are a series of List Musicales in List 106 during the lunch hour. These are intended to provide opportunities for experienced and inexperienced performers to present short works, or parts of works, and receive feedback from faculty and other students.

Student Concerts are held once or twice each semester, normally on Sunday afternoons in Wellin Hall, and tend to draw an audience from a broader segment of the college community and from elsewhere. Auditions for these concerts are normally held at a publicized time two weeks before the event.

Those students who have appeared on at least one Student Concert may perform in a Schambach Musicale. These are presented in Schambach 201, usually on a weekend afternoon, and are shared with one or two other student performers. Schambach Musicales are particularly suitable for the presentation of lengthier works.

A full or half recital, which is presented in Wellin Hall, represents the culmination of years of musical study and maturation. The Department encourages such serious endeavors by students, whether or not they are music majors. Students who have appeared on at least two Student Concerts may present a full recital (approx. 40 minutes) or half recital (approx. 20 minutes). Under normal circumstances, only seniors present full recitals. Juniors and seniors may present half recitals. As an integral part of the full or half recital the student will prepare programs, program notes, and publicity material with the assistance of a full-time faculty member.

Hamilton College Music Department | 198 College Hill Road | Clinton, NY 13323 | (315) 859-4261 | music@hamilton.edu
Copyright © 2007 Hamilton College Music Department. All rights reserved.