Entrance & Continuance

• You must be enrolled in performance studies (lessons) in the semester you apply.
• The application form for admission to the major is due in HOM 245 by October 15 for processing in fall semester and March 15 for processing in spring semester.
• Perform a level 2 jury on one’s principal instrument/voice (during regular exam period.)
• Keyboard skills will be assessed once the student has been admitted to the major.

B.A. music majors may also add an emphasis. Instructions to add an emphasis follow.

• Students must register with a member of the composition faculty before the end of the junior year, preferably earlier.
• An entrance application is due in HOM 245 before the end of the junior year, preferably earlier.

• Students must register with a member of the musicology/ethnomusicology faculty before the end of the junior year, preferably earlier.
• An entrance application is due in HOM 245 before the end of the junior year, preferably earlier.
• The due date for the musicology senior writing portfolio is May 1. Consult your portfolio adviser for details.

Open to all, the Music for Social Impact major welcomes the many musicians at St. Olaf whose strengths lie in traditions that do not necessarily rely on music notation or involve European classical instruments. This major anchors the study of music in a performance-oriented commitment to community engaged learning, asking the question, “How can we develop and deploy our musical gifts to serve the common good?”  Read more about the major in the College Catalog here.

Music for Social Impact majors will take courses including:

• Lessons and ensembles
• Music and Social Justice, Musicology, and Music Theory
• Academic Civic Engagement courses in Music
• A capstone focusing on a specific music community engagement project

The BAMSI handbook can be found here.

The application for the major can be found here.

• Students must register with a member of the theory faculty before the end of the sophomore year, preferably earlier.
• An entrance application is due in HOM 245 before the end of the junior year, preferably earlier.
• The due date for the music theory senior writing portfolio is May 1. Consult your portfolio adviser for details.

Find Repertoire Requirements in Appendix B on main page.

• B.M. Church Music majors with choral emphasis should apply during the spring semester of the first year.
• B.M. Church Music majors with organ emphasis are encouraged to apply before the end of the first year.
• An application form is due in HOM 245 by October 15 for processing in fall semester or by March 15 for processing in spring semester. Applications received after these dates will be processed in the following semester.
• Music office staff will assemble a file containing the student’s academic record of all completed music courses and written comments from all music faculty with whom the student has worked.
• Additional entrance requirements:
  • A performance on the principal instrument/voice on a Bachelor of Music Entrance/Continuance Recital(See Student Recital Schedule.)
  • An interview with members of the music faculty may be required.
• The instrument/voice area faculty must approve all entrance applications.
• Students will be informed in writing the faculty’s decision.

• Students enter as Bachelor of Arts music majors and are admitted to the program only after completing Music 223: Composition I.
• An entrance application is due in HOM 245 by October 15 for processing in fall semester or by March 15 for processing in spring semester. Applications received after these dates will be processed in the following semester.
• Music office staff will assemble a file containing the student’s academic record of all completed music courses and written comments from all music faculty with whom the student has worked.
• Additional entrance requirements:1. A portfolio of recent work in composition, submitted to Timothy Mahr.
• An interview with the Composition faculty.
• The Composition faculty must approve all entrance applications.
• Students will be informed in writing of the faculty’s decision.
• Students performing on the fall entrance recital successfully will be provisionally entered with a final decision after a checkpoint assessment in the spring of their sophomore year.

Prerequisites to Entrance into the Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Vocal & Instrumental)

Students seeking entrance into the Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree program must first be accepted into the Bachelor of Arts in Music Degree. Please refer to requirements below:

•  Entrance to the Music Major (see above)
• Appendix A: Entrance to Bachelor of Arts-Music
• GPA of 2.7 or higher
• Enrollment in EDUC 295: Foundations of Education prior to, or during the semester you plan on auditioning for the program.

Entrance to the Bachelor of Music in Music Education Degree

• Applications are processed in the fall and spring semesters of the sophomore year. Fall entrance is available only to those second-year students who are recommended both by their studio teacher and the music education program leaders. An entrance application is due in HOM 245 by 5 p.m. on October 15 or February 15 during the selected audition semester.
• Applicants must also complete a separate application for acceptance into the Education Degree through the Education Department as part of the process. Students are guided through this application process while enrolled in EDUC 295.
• Music office staff will assemble a file containing the student’s academic record of all completed music courses and written comments from all music faculty with whom the student has worked. An interview with members of the education and music education faculty are required. Following the entrance audition, the music faculty must approve all entrance applications and performances. Students will be informed in writing of the faculty’s decision.

Entrance Recital (Fall of Sophomore Year)

All applicants are required to perform in an entrance audition, on their principal instrument (voice or band/orchestral). Repertoire should not exceed 8 minutes. All applicants need collaborative pianists.  See Student Recital schedule and fill out the recital application (found in the folder on Barb’s door – CHM 101) which is due by 8 a.m. on the due date.  A student whose principal instrument is the piano must perform only on the instrument of licensure area (voice or band/orchestral instrument.)

If a student is accepted into the B.M. Music Education program in the fall semester of the second year, this is a “provisional” acceptance into the B.M. Music Education major. The student will be officially entered into the degree program at the end of their fourth semester after a successful checkpoint administered by the Music Education committee focusing on academic benchmarks and dispositional qualities. In addition, the student must have a successful mid-term examination in MUSIC 251: Conducting. Hour-long lessons (.50 credit) will begin in the fall of Junior year.

Both entrance and continuance recitals are scored using the following rubrics:
Vocal Music Education rubric
Instrumental Music Education rubric

• B.M. Performance majors are encouraged to apply before the end of the first year.
• An entrance application is due in HOM 245 by October 15 for processing in fall semester or by March 15 for processing in spring semester. Applications received after these dates will be processed in the following semester.
• Music office staff will assemble a file containing the student’s academic record of all completed music courses and written comments from all music faculty with whom the student has worked.
• Additional entrance requirements: I. A performance on the principal instrument/voice on a Bachelor of Music Entrance/Continuance Recital. Repertoire to not exceed 15 minutes. (See Student Recital Schedule posted.) 2. An interview with members of the music faculty may be required.
  • The instrument/voice area faculty must approve all entrance applications.
  • Students will be informed in writing the faculty’s decision.

• Continuance recitals typically take place during the third semester after entrance.

The suggested repertory for string performance majors can be found here.

• Students enter as B.A or B.M. music major and may apply as early as first year, spring semester.
• An entrance application is due in HOM 245 by October 15 for processing in fall semester or by March 15 for processing in spring semester. Applications received after these dates will be processed in the following semester.
• A maximum of 3 students from any class year will be admitted, and no more than 10 students from all class years may be enrolled in the program at any given time.
• Music office staff will assemble a file containing the student’s academic record of all completed music courses and written comments from all music faculty with whom the student has worked.
• Additional entrance requirements:1. Fully completed application portfolio, including signatures from faculty advisors, a proposed courses and experiences, and a draft plan for the synthesis project.

  2. A performance audition, on either a Level III jury or on a Bachelor of Music Performance Entrance/Continuance Recital. Students with voice as their primary instrument will prepare the Appendix A repertoire requirements.

  •  The relevant faculty members, especially the music and elective studies advisors, must approve all entrance applications.

  •  Students will be informed in writing of the faculty’s decision.

Students with any major are welcome to add a Musical Theater Concentration.  For more information, click here.  You must meet with Prof. Tracey Engleman before adding the concentration.