Graduate Programs: Master of Music; Graduate Diploma; Artist Diploma

Master of Music degree

CIM offers several majors within the Master of Music degree:

• Performance
• Composition
• Orchestral Conducting
• Collaborative Piano
• Performance and Suzuki Pedagogy

This program provides an opportunity for the student who has acquired a solid undergraduate foundation in the major area to work intensively for continued professional growth. The degree develops advanced capacities to work independently and make effective artistic and intellectual judgments and professional decisions in specialization. Students demonstrate professional competence in specialization before peers and faculty and produce a final project or recital reviewed by faculty. The standard time to complete the Master of Music degree is two years.

Applicants must demonstrate knowledge and skills equivalent to those who have completed CIM undergraduate programs. Audition and admission examinations are evaluated on that basis and help to shape the overall construction of an individual’s program of study. The program may also include deficiency course work, the credit for which is not applicable toward fulfillment of degree requirements. Overall, individual program requirements, including those applicable to the degree and deficiency courses not, are determined by audition, admission examinations, and transcript evaluation.

Candidates must complete two academic years (four regular semesters) in residence as a full-time student at CIM.

Comprehensive Examinations

All Master of Music candidates attempt their written comprehensive examination in music theory during the semester enrolled in MUTH 407. It covers seven core areas (rudiments, voice leading, tonal analysis, form, counterpoint, and post-tonal techniques). A study guide is available to students in the semester registered for the Comprehensive exam to assist in focusing study. A score of 70% is required to pass the exam. Students who do not pass the music theory exam can retake the test the following semester. If they do not pass a second time, they can retake the exam for a third and final attempt before graduation.

All Master of Music candidates also take a written comprehensive examination in music history. The candidate must show knowledge of the principal area of study with emphasis on the interrelationship of performance, music history, and literature. The exam centers on one of two required recitals and may be taken either in the fall or spring semester of the second year of study.

The evaluating faculty determines if the candidate:

1. passes with no further examination required;
2. conditionally passes with partial written re-examination required; or
3. fails, with full re-examination required prior to graduation.

In the historical essay, which lasts one hour, the selected work should be described in its historical context. Before the exam, the student will submit to the Registrar's Office a copy of the recital program and an annotated bibliography pertaining to the repertoire in question. In the exam, the student will briefly note the circumstances under which the work was composed (if these can be determined). The student will address questions similar, but not limited, to:

• Was the work commissioned?
• Was the work written for specific performers?
• Was the work written to fulfill the terms of the composer’s employment?
• Do these circumstances help explain some of the work’s characteristics?

Furthermore, the student will place the work in the history of musical styles by addressing questions such as:

• How much does the work exist within a tradition established by the preceding generation(s) and by its contemporaries?
• To what other works (by the same composer or others) may the work most fruitfully be compared or contrasted?
• How does the work make use of (or depart from) the style and/or structure assumptions of its time and genre?

Concentrations

CIM also offers concentrations in several disciplines. Master of Music candidates are able to add:

• Eurhythmics
• Piano Pedagogy
• Early Music (in cooperation with Case Western Reserve University)

Students who are interested in one or more of the above concentrations should speak with the Registrar for further details.

Admission examination results may necessitate the addition of deficiency course work. Students demonstrating either proficiency or comparable graduate study in specified areas may elect other courses toward the fulfillment of requirements. Elective credits are restricted to non-performance offerings within the field of music; non-music electives are possible only when they are germane to the particular course of study and are approved by the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Partnerships. Students intending to seek approval for non-music electives must petition the Associate Dean in writing during the drop/add period at the beginning of each semester. Any student may be able to complete one or more semesters of off-campus internships (MUGN 450) if deemed necessary for professional and artistic growth in consultation with the faculty.

CIM purposefully limits enrollment in most areas to ensure maximum performance opportunities in preparation for professional life. This policy creates for the student a responsibility to provide performance services that may go beyond the minimum amounts indicated in this catalog's curricular requirements.

Major Requirements

Performance

Two solo recitals, projects, or equivalent are required of all Master of Music performance majors. Graduate students do not perform jury examinations, though all new graduate brass students are scheduled for a hearing in their first semester and the piano department conducts performance hearings for all piano majors at the end of every fall semester. Required recitals constitute examination.

A recital performed in fulfillment of degree requirements cannot be considered retroactively as a recital requirement for any other degree or program. Students should work closely with faculty in advance to ensure that recital content aligns appropriately with degree expectations.

Orchestral Conducting

In addition to working with the Repertory Orchestra, Orchestral Conducting students are required to assist in management of the CIM orchestral program, to attend all CIM orchestra rehearsals, to understudy when it is appropriate, to assist with sectional rehearsals as needed, and to help with the orchestra library. Students are encouraged to attend sectional rehearsals, Cleveland Orchestra rehearsals, and CIM opera music and staging rehearsals. Students present two concerts separated by at least five months. Each program must include a work for soloist with orchestra, and students are expected to do research in preparation for pre-concert commentary. Performance in ensembles is permitted only if the major instructor determines that it would be practical or necessary. Students confer with the major instructor regarding course selection in history and literature, language, music theory, analysis, and other electives.

Composition

Composition students must complete both a thesis, which may be a composition in a form approved by the major teacher, and a full-length recital or original chamber music, written subsequent to matriculation at CIM, in which the composer participates as a performer or conductor.

Graduation Requirements for the Master of Music

Applicants for graduation must:

• complete a minimum of 35 credit hours, not including deficiency course work;
• meet all academic standards and requirements (see Regulations: Academic Standing and Academic Progress);
• achieve a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.75;
• fulfill the two-year residency requirement;
• meet all performance requirements;
• successfully complete the comprehensive examinations; and
• complete all graduation requirements within three years from the data of initial enrollment.

Candidates for the Bachelor of Music degree must complete the total number of credits as prescribed for their respective programs along with:

• a minimum of 120 credits and a cumulative GPA of 2.00;
• a completed eight semesters of principal performance study;
• all fulfilled requirements pertaining to repertoire, performance, and curriculum; and
• all graduation requirements completed within six consecutive years from the date of initial enrollment.

Students should refer to their degree audits provided by the Registrar’s Office through Populi, CIM’s student-information system.

Additionally, certain majors must show further proficiencies:

• Voice majors must show proficiency, demonstrated either by passing one semester of collegiate-level study, including at the undergraduate level, or by department examination—in French, German, and Italian.
• Orchestral conducting majors must attain piano proficiency at the level of MUAP 314. Furthermore, they must show proficiency—demonstrated either by passing two semesters of collegiate-level study, including at the undergraduate level, or by department examination—in either French, German, or Italian. They must also show working knowledge—demonstrated either by passing one semester of collegiate-level study, including at the undergraduate level, or by department examination—in another of the above three languages.
• Composition majors must deposit a properly titled, duplicated, and bound copy of the Master of Music composition thesis in the CIM Library. The library copy must follow published format standards, available from the composition department.

Graduate Diploma

The Graduate Diploma program is a special graduate, non-degree course of study that addresses the needs of individuals preparing for performance careers. In this program, ongoing development of technique and musicianship is accomplished in a non-degree context, with emphasis placed on private lessons, practice, ensemble participation, and preparation for professional auditions. Candidates may pursue study in performance, composition, and orchestral conducting. Application procedures, audition repertoire, admission examinations, and admission requirements are the same as for all other graduate programs.

The program consists of three performance projects, at least two of which take the form of a full recital that can include both solo and chamber music. Other projects might include an opera role, a mock audition that would simulate professional audition conditions, or another form of presentation approved by the individual department. A recital performed in fulfillment of program requirements cannot be considered retroactively as a recital requirement for any other degree or program. Students should work closely with faculty in advance to ensure that recital content aligns appropriately with program expectations.

Candidates must complete at least two years (four semesters) in full-time residence at CIM and are required to participate routinely in ensembles as assigned. Candidates in collaborative piano are required to undertake secondary keyboard studies; piano candidates are required to complete two semesters of MURP 407 Piano Practicum. Graduate Diploma students must maintain full-time status for the duration of the program. The standard time to complete the Graduate Diploma is two years.

Artist Diploma

The Artist Diploma is a special graduate, non-degree certificate granted upon demonstration of an extraordinary level of performance skills in recognition of outstanding musical achievement. This program often functions as a terminal program of study centered on the art of performance. In some cases, it can function as a program that prepares students for further study at the doctoral level; in some cases, it is a program that can follow completion of study in CIM’s Graduate Diploma. The standard time to complete the Artist Diploma is two years. Candidates may pursue study in performance or composition.

Performance requirements for the Artist Diploma consist of the presentation of three full recitals that include solo repertoire only. A recital performed in fulfillment of program requirements cannot be considered retroactively as a recital requirement for any other degree or program. Students should work closely with faculty in advance to ensure that recital content aligns appropriately with program expectations. Candidates must complete at least four semesters in full-time residence at CIM and participate routinely in ensembles as assigned; candidates in collaborative piano are required to undertake secondary keyboard. Artist Diploma students must maintain full-time status for the normal duration of the program (four semesters) and the maximum time allotted for completion of all requirements is three consecutive years from the date of initial enrollment. It should be noted that the Artist Diploma is not an academic degree. Financial aid is not guaranteed beyond the normal duration of the program.

The Robinson Orchestral Career Fellowship, a program designed to remove all obstacles from the pursuit of an orchestral career of the highest distinction, is a special subset of the Artist Diploma with its own unique expectations, opportunities, and requirements. Students interested in the Robinson Fellowship should consult the CIM website for further details.