Courses: Music 400 (Senior Reflective Tutorial) and Music 491 (Senior Seminar)

The Senior Learning Community in Music consists of three parts:

1.      a capstone course (MU 491) in the form of a seminar, for which students do independent research and writing,

2.      an experiential component, and

3.      a reflective tutorial (MU 400) that encompasses the experiential component.

MU 491: The capstone course is a seminar that introduces students to research and writing on music. The topic varies from year to year. Recent topics have included Historical Performance Practices (fall 2005) and Analysis and Interpretation of Selected Concert Repertoire (fall 2006). In preparation for writing a research paper on some aspect of the course topic, students develop research and writing skills by producing bibliographies and writing reviews of books, articles, recordings, and editions of music. They also write sample program notes that may be incorporated into their research paper or into the concert program for any recital that they may perform as their experiential project.

MU 400: The experiential component of the RFT may be a recital or a comparable creative project such as a major original composition; a practicum with a performing arts organization; or a program of research and analysis in the field of music history or music theory.