University of Illinois Bands

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much podium time do graduate students receive?

Podium opportunities are individually tailored to the needs of each student.  The ensemble offerings are comprehensive, and conducting students are constantly working with players in rehearsals, performances, and sectionals.  Students are expected to observe and participate in rehearsals, and are frequently called upon to coach sectionals or cover rehearsals.  When students are not individually assigned to specific ensembles, conducting opportunities on performances rotate with each concert cycle to allow varied experiences and to address specific needs for the education of each student.  

Graduate Conductors appear with the Wind Symphony, Wind Orchestra, Hindsley Symphonic Band, University Band and Campus Band.  Opportunities to conduct the Summer Band and athletic bands are also available.

What might assistantship duties include?

Graduate students receiving tuition waivers and assistantships are expected to work 20 hours per week. That time is typically assigned to duties according to the experiences and needs of the student and Illinois Bands. Those duties may include: assisting with concert and athletic band rehearsals and logistics, assisting with undergraduate conducting classes, work in the Band Library or Properties Office, or direct assistance to conducting faculty. Doctoral students in their second or third year may be assigned as teacher of record for Campus Band or undergraduate conducting courses.

What does the culminating experience for the degree program entail?

MM Instrumental Conducting (Band)

Students must complete at least one concert-length public performance, or its equivalency. In addition to the recital requirement, students must complete the following:

a. The student will select a conducting project to be performed in concert or recital. The student and advisor will agree on the content, size, and scope of the project, which may include a written paper. During the student’s last semester of course work, an oral examination will be administered by at least two faculty members within the area on the subject of the project and on its relationship to general aspects of the field.

b. The student will select a comprehensive examination to consist of a written and/or oral examination administered by at least two faculty members within the major area, to be taken during the student’s last semester of course work. In this examination, the student must demonstrate knowledge of the major field of study, with an emphasis on the interrelationship of performance, history, theory, style, analysis, literature, and pedagogical practice.

DMA Instrumental Conducting (Band)

Students must complete at least two concert-length public performances, or the equivalency. In addition to recital requirements, students must choose a final project option from the list below.

Option 1:

• A Dissertation (MUS 599) of ca.100-200 pp. (25,000-50,000 words) in length. This document will constitute a comprehensive scholarly investigation of a clearly defined research topic that has not been previously explored and that will arguably make a new contribution to some area within the field of music studies.

Option 2:

• A Thesis (MUS 576) of ca. 50-100 pp. (12,500 – 25,000 words) in length accompanied by a recital of music related to the thesis topic. The selected topic should 1) address repertory that has not previously been extensively performed or investigated, or 2) provide new perspectives on, or a critical inquiry into, previous studies of standard repertory and/or performance practice. In both cases the thesis should discuss the repertory and present original insights, however broad, into pertinent stylistic, historical, or analytical problems. While these insights may not necessarily result from the discovery or elucidation of new facts, they should derive from and represent the author’s synthesis of preexisting scholarship with his or her own understandings, performance experience, and analysis of the selected repertory.

Option 3:

• A Scholarly Essay (MUS 576) of ca. 30-50 pp. (7,500 – 12,500 words) in length for which the subject matter will inform two public lecture recitals on a single topic. It is expected that the essay and recitals will 1) address repertory that is little known (i.e., that has not previously been extensively performed or investigated), but that is historically or artistically significant, or 2) provide new insights into the performance practice or interpretation of standard repertory.

What experiences with athletic bands do graduate conductors receive?

more coming soon…