Music at Hamilton
Senior Project Guidelines and Deadlines
Music concentrators fulfill the Senior Program in Music by completing either a standard senior project (MUS 452) or an honors senior project (MUS 550-551) during their senior year. Each student works on a specific topic chosen from among the areas of study listed by members of the department. More than one student may work within the same general topic.
Topics offered:
• Alex Bádue: Western art music of the 18th-20th century music; theory; musicals; Latin American music
• Charlotte Botha: vocal music; global black vocal music; choral music
• Heather Buchman: orchestral music; music and the environment; women composers
• Ryan Carter: music composition by acoustic and/or electronic means, including music produced in the recording studio; sound art; audio programming
• Lydia Hamessley: country music; folk & traditional music; music in film; early music history
• Mike Woods: jazz history; jazz arranging; African American popular music
Standard Senior Projects – One semester
Students completing a standard senior project must enroll in MUS 452 for either the fall or spring semester of their senior year. This does not require a project proposal to be submitted to the department chair, but by April 1 of their junior year (for fall projects) or November 1 of their senior year (for spring projects) students wishing to complete MUS 452 must submit their proposed topic to the full-time faculty member who is likely to advise their project. The final deadline for submitting a completed standard senior project is determined in consultation with the faculty advisor at the beginning of the semester during which the student is enrolled in MUS 452.
Examples of possible types of projects include:
• A music history or music theory paper; 20-25 pages
• A lecture/recital on a history or theory topic; 20-25 pages and a 20-minute presentation in List 106
• A short album of 15-20 minutes of original music
• A 20-minute podcast on a history or theory topic, with supporting written material
Honors Senior Projects – TWO semesters
Students who have at least a 3.67 average in their coursework that counts toward the concentration are eligible to apply to the department to complete a two-semester honors senior project. Those students who are invited by the department to complete an honors senior project must enroll in MUS 550-551 for both the fall and spring semesters of their senior year. Any music concentrator considering this possibility should, early in their junior year, seek advice from a full-time member of the music faculty who would likely advise the project if an invitation is made. By April 1 of their junior year, students must submit their application for an honors senior project to their proposed faculty advisor and the chair of the department.
Honors senior projects are chosen in areas of particular interest: composition/production, history/theory/ethnomusicology, solo performance, or jazz solo performance. Detailed requirements and deadlines are listed by area of study below.
Previous Senior Projects - both regular and honors
Music composed for a theatre production: "Music for Too Close to the Sun"
Music composed for jazz ensemble
"Exploring the Hardware Limitations of 8 Bit Video Games through MIDI Composition and Sound Design in Logic Pro"
"Sounds of Political Ideologies: A Comparative Study of National Anthems from East and Southeast Asia"
Paper on the notion of fate in symphonic music of the 19th century
Honors Senior Project Requirements
Honors in Composition/Production
Students wishing to complete original creative musical work may propose an honors senior project in the broadly defined area of music composition and audio production, where “production” is construed as the creative use of audio technologies such as those found in the recording facilities in the Kennedy Center for Theatre and the Studio Arts. There are no prescriptions for the compositional tools that an honors project in composition/production must employ. A project may involve conventionally notated composition, electroacoustic composition, studio- or laptop-produced music in any genre, the development of novel interactive musical systems, sound installations, other sonic work, or any combination of these. This list is not exhaustive. The result of such a project may involve a public performance, a commercially or freely released recording available on a physical medium or streaming platform, an installation, a software application, or other possibilities. In addition to the musical work, all students are expected to write a short paper (5-10 pages) and give a short oral presentation (c. 30 minutes) on the work. The paper and presentation may include a discussion of influences, historical perspectives, creative processes, or analysis of the musical work.
A student who wishes to undertake an honors senior project that includes conventionally notated music should take MUS 368 (Seminar in Musical Composition) before their senior year, if possible. All students completing a senior project in composition are encouraged to take this course.
A student who wishes to undertake an honors senior project that involves recording sound or electronically generating or processing sound should take MUS 270 (Introduction to Music, Sound, and Technology) and MUS 370 (Advanced Audio Production) before their senior year.
Deadlines
Junior Year
March 1: A student who wishes to compose a work for a college ensemble must provide the director of the ensemble with scores and recordings of previously composed works and a description of the proposed work. Note that this deadline precedes the April 1 deadline for the project proposal itself.
April 1: All students proposing an honors senior project must submit their application to their proposed faculty advisor and the chair of the department.
April 15: Any student wishing to have works performed in Wellin Hall must reserve a performance date with the Performing Arts Administrator.
April 15: Reserve date for oral presentation with the Performing Arts Administrator, to be scheduled no later than April 15 of the senior year.
Senior Year
April 1: Paper due.
April 15: Last date for oral presentation and performance.
The final deadline for the completed musical work will be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor.
Honors in History/Theory/Ethnomusicology
Students who wish to pursue a senior project in music history, theory, or ethnomusicology should have completed their course work in the relevant area prior to the senior year (for history: Music 220 and 221; for theory: Music 210 and 310; for ethnomusicology: Music 254).
The components of the senior program in history/theory/ethnomusicology are:
• Major Paper (35-50 pages) that includes some historical contexts, some theoretical analysis, and some discussion of performance practice or recorded performances;
• Oral Presentation at a departmental seminar of no more than 45 minutes including the question/answer session (30 min. presentation; 15 min. Q&A/discussion). The oral presentation may include the performance by the student of examples to illustrate points within the paper. However, the presentation should in no way be construed to be a recital or a half recital, and entire works or movements of works will not normally be included in the presentation.
DEADLINES
Junior Year
April 1: All students proposing an honors senior project must submit their application to their proposed faculty advisor and the chair of the department. The project proposal must include an annotated bibliography.
April 15: Reserve date for oral presentation with the Performing Arts Administrator, to be scheduled no later than April 15 of the senior year.
Senior Year
April 1: Paper due.
April 15: Last date for oral presentation.
Honors in Solo Performance
A student who wishes to perform a recital as a senior project must have performed on their instrument(s) on two Student Concerts by the end of the fall semester of their junior year. The student must also take one-hour Solo Performance in their instrument(s) during their junior year and one-hour Advanced Solo Performance in their instrument(s) during their senior year.
Recitalists who wish to perform works that involve other student musicians (excluding staff pianists) must list their collaborators on the project proposal.
The student must work with a full-time faculty member of the department when writing program notes and the paper for the senior recital.
The components of the senior program in solo performance are:
• Public Recital of 35-40 minutes of music; repertoire should include music from at least three historical periods and, for singers, include at least three languages. The studio instructor will assign a grade for the student’s work toward the recital that will comprise 1/2 of the senior project’s grade in the fall semester, and 1/3 of the senior project’s grade in the spring semester.
• Paper (approximately 10 pages), which is an interpretive analysis on a major multi-movement work or a group of shorter works to be presented on the recital that includes analysis and historical perspective directed toward a better performance. The faculty advisor will assign a grade for the paper (fall) and program notes (spring) that will comprise 1/2 of the senior project’s grade in the fall semester, and 1/3 of the senior project’s grade in the spring semester.
• Pre-recital Jury before a panel of three solo performance instructors, to take place three weeks prior to the scheduled public recital. The instructors will grade the jury, and approve or disapprove the recital and individual works on the recital. The jury grade will comprise 1/3 of the senior project’s final grade in the spring semester. Should the panel decide that a student may not perform one or more works on the recital, the grade for the senior project will be reduced. Any work to be performed from memory on the recital must be performed from memory during the jury. If the three week deadline for this jury falls at a time when the college is not in session, the jury must take place prior to the college break.
• Program Notes, in final form and handed in at the jury.
DEADLINES
Junior Year
April 1: All students proposing an honors senior project must submit their application to their proposed faculty advisor and the chair of the department. The proposal must include a preliminary list of the repertoire to be performed as well as the names of any other student who will participate.
April 15: Reserve performance date in Wellin Hall with the Performing Arts Administrator.
Senior Year
September 15: Final list of repertoire must be submitted to the department chair.
December 1: Paper due.
Eight weeks prior to recital: Draft of program copy and program notes to faculty advisor.
Three weeks prior to recital: Pre-recital jury; final and completed program copy and program notes handed in to jury.
Two weeks prior to recital: Final program copy and program notes handed in to Performing Arts Administrator.
April 15: Last date for recital.
Honors in Jazz Solo Performance
A student who wishes to perform a recital as a senior project must have performed on their instrument(s) during two Student Concerts by the end of the fall semester of their junior year. The student must also take one-hour Solo Performance in their instrument(s) during their junior year and one-hour Advanced Solo Performance in their instrument(s) during their senior year.
Recitalists who wish to perform works that involve other student musicians (excluding staff pianists and studio instructors) must list their collaborators on the project proposal.
The student must work with a full-time faculty member of the department when writing program notes and the paper for the senior recital.
The components of the senior program in jazz solo performance are:
• Public Recital; repertoire should include swing, ballad, Latin, and even-eighth selections as well as an original composition and an original arrangement. The studio instructor will assign a grade for the student’s work toward the recital that will comprise 1/2 of the senior project’s grade in the fall semester, and 1/3 of the senior project’s grade in the spring semester.
• Paper (approximately 10 pages) on influences, analysis, and historical perspective of one or more works to be presented on the recital that includes analysis and historical perspective directed toward a better performance. The faculty advisor will assign a grade for the paper (fall) and program notes (spring) that will comprise 1/2 of the senior project’s grade in the fall semester, and 1/3 of the senior project’s grade in the spring semester.
• Pre-recital Jury before a panel of three solo performance instructors, to take place three weeks prior to the scheduled public recital. The instructors will grade the jury, and approve or disapprove the recital and individual works on the recital. The jury grade will comprise 1/3 of the senior project’s final grade in the spring semester. Should the panel decide that a student may not perform one or more works on the recital, the grade for the senior project will be reduced. Any work to be performed from memory on the recital must be performed from memory during the jury. If the three week deadline for this jury falls at a time when the college is not in session, the jury must take place prior to the college break.
• Program Notes, in final form and handed in at the jury.
DEADLINES
Junior Year
April 1: All students proposing an honors senior project must submit their application to their proposed faculty advisor and the chair of the department. The proposal must include a preliminary list of the repertoire to be performed as well as the names of any other student who will participate.
April 15: Reserve performance date in Wellin Hall with the Performing Arts Administrator.
Senior Year
September 15: Final list of repertoire must be submitted to the department chair.
December 1: Paper due.
Eight weeks prior to recital: Draft of program copy and program notes to faculty advisor.
Three weeks prior to recital: Pre-recital jury; final and completed program copy and program notes handed in to jury.
Two weeks prior to recital: Final program copy and program notes handed in to Performing Arts Administrator.
April 15: Last date for recital.