The Bachelor of Music in Performance degree is designed for students who aspire to careers as professional musicians. Through intensive study of music in private lessons with highly-skilled professional faculty, participation in varied undergraduate-focused ensembles and frequent experiential concert opportunities, the program prepares students to enter the field as performers, ensemble conductors and music directors. Students also develop a foundation of comprehensive musicianship that prepares them for future graduate study in music, or careers as private music teachers.
Students pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Performance degree follow one of two tracks based on their primary applied area: Instrumentalist or Vocalist.
Instrumentalist Track
Auditions (Instrumentalist Track)
A successful music audition on the student's primary instrument is required for admission to the Instrumentalist track of the Bachelor of Music in Performance degree. Audition requirements and an audition application are available at www.ut.edu/music/prospective/. For assistance and additional information contact music.audition@ut.edu.
Transfer Students
Transfer students bringing in 60 or more credits who plan to audition for the Bachelor of Music in Performance degree program should demonstrate performance competency equivalent to the requirements of the Upper Division Performance Evaluation. Transfer students can obtain a list of these requirements in advance of their audition by contacting music.audition@ut.edu.
Applied Performance Requirements (Instrumentalist Track)
The Instrumentalist track of the Bachelor of Music in Performance degree has the following applied performance requirements:
- Students must take at least sixteen credits of 200-level Studio Lessons courses (MUS: 249, 250, 252-267, 271-275) on their primary instrument.
- Students must take at least twelve ensemble courses (MUS: 192, 246, 289-314). Ensemble courses may be repeated for additional credit. At least two of these courses must be different ensembles. Music scholarship students may have additional ensemble requirements.
- Students must present both a Junior and Senior Recital.
Recital/Concert Attendance
All Bachelor of Music in Performance degree candidates must pass MUS 269 Recital/Concert Attendance based on the number of semesters they are in residency at UT as a music degree candidate:
- 8+ semesters at UT = 6 semesters of passing MUS 269
- 7 semesters at UT = 5 semesters of passing MUS 269
- 6 semesters at UT = 4 semesters of passing MUS 269
- 5 semesters at UT = 3 semesters of passing MUS 269
- 4 semesters at UT = 2 semesters of passing MUS 269
- 3 semesters at UT = 1 semesters of passing MUS 269
- 2 semesters at UT = 1 semester of passing MUS 269
Minimum Grade for MUS Courses in Major
All Bachelor of Music in Performance degree candidates must receive a grade of “C” or better for any MUS course in order for it to be counted toward their music degree requirements.
Piano Proficiency Exam
All Bachelor of Music in Performance degree candidates must pass the Piano Proficiency Exam. To prepare for the Piano Proficiency Exam, students who have no prior piano study are required to enroll in MUS 110, and then MUS 111. The Piano Proficiency Exam is administered at the end of MUS 111. In the event that a student does not pass, the entire Piano Proficiency Exam may be repeated each semester until the student fulfills this skills requirement before graduation. Students who have had prior piano study may obtain a waiver for MUS 110 and MUS 111 by passing the Piano Proficiency Exam, without taking MUS 110 and MUS 111.
Upper Division Performance Evaluation
- The Upper Division Performance Evaluation is required for all Bachelor of Music in Performance degree candidates.
- The Upper Division Performance Evaluation will be made no later than the fourth semester of Studio Lessons, and occurs during the end of the semester Jury Exam.
- Transfer students bringing in 60 or more credits, who have successfully auditioned, are not required to complete an Upper Division Performance Evaluation.
- Students must achieve an average grade of "B" or better to pass the evaluation. This grade will substitute for the Jury Exam portion of the student's final Studio Lessons grade for the semester.
- Students who do not pass with an average grade of "B" or better will need to retake the Upper Division Performance Evaluation during their next end of the semester Jury Exam. Students who do not pass for the second time may not continue in the Bachelor of Music degree program, but may instead change their major to the Bachelor of Arts in Music.
- Current performance requirements for the Upper Division Performance Evaluation are listed in the UT Music Student Handbook, available in the UT Music Department Blackboard course or by contacting music@ut.edu.
Music History and Music Theory Exit Exams
All Bachelor of Music in Performance degree candidates are required to pass the Music History and Music Theory Exit Exams, prior to graduation. Students may take the Exit Exams during their penultimate semester of study, and then retake them in their final semester if necessary.
Performance
Musicianship
MUS 100 | Music Fundamentals | 3 |
MUS 110 | Piano Class I | 2 |
MUS 111 | Piano Class II | 2 |
MUS 112 | Aural Skills I | 2 |
MUS 113 | Aural Skills II | 2 |
MUS 122 | Music Theory I | 2 |
MUS 123 | Music Theory II | 2 |
MUS 210 | Concert Recording Practicum | 2 |
MUS 212 | Aural Skills III | 2 |
MUS 213 | Aural Skills IV | 2 |
MUS 215 | Basic Conducting | 2 |
MUS 222 | Music Theory III | 2 |
MUS 223 | Music Theory IV | 2 |
MUS 269 | Recital/Concert Attendance | 0 |
MUS 315 | Advanced Conducting | 2 |
MUS 323 | Arranging and Orchestration | 2 |
MUS 380 | Music History Survey I: Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance and Baroque | 3 |
MUS 381 | Music History Survey II: 18th Century Classical Period and 19th Century Romanticism | 3 |
MUS 480 | Music History Survey III: 1900 to Present Day | 3 |
Total Credit Hours: | 40 |