TO:
TO: Beth Dobkin, Provost
FROM: Mindy Thomas, Chair
Academic Senate
DATE: August 29, 2016
RE: Senate Action S-16/17-4CA
Perfa 121, Orchestration
New Permanent Course Proposal
At the August 23, 2016 meeting of the Academic Senate, the Senate accepted the
New Permanent Course Proposal for Perfa 121: Orchestration on the Consent Agenda.
This item was approved by the Undergraduate Educational Policies Committee at its
May 9, 2016 meeting by a vote of 9-0-0.
This action was assigned Senate Action # S-16/17-4CA.
.
Attachment
Cc: President James A. Donahue
Dean Sheila Hassel Hughes
Application for “Orchestration” to be Granted Permanent Status
1. Performing Arts Department
Title of Course: Perfa 121 Orchestration
Contact Hours per week: 3
Amount of Course Credit: 1
Prerequisites: Perfa 114 Music Theory and Ear-Training
2. Justification for the Course
Most music departments offer 5-6 semesters of music theory. SMC has long offered just three: Perfa 011 (Music Fundamentals), Perfa 114 (Music Theory and Ear-Training) and Perfa 117 (Form and Analysis).The latter course always has a small enrollment of 4-8 students and can be efficiently taught to cover the material of two courses in a single semester. This leaves the music theory curriculum with the educational equivalent of four courses, still thin compared to other colleges. More important, it leaves a hole in the education of those students interested in composing and arranging. Orchestration has been taught numerous times as independent studies, but interest has grown considerably and this is no longer a viable way to continue. The subject must be formalized as a class. It is one of the most practical skills a musician can learn because it provides a foundation for a wide range of professional opportunities in composing and arranging.
What is fast becoming standard for serious young musicians is facility with professional notation software. Students in Orchestration become functional using either Finale or Sibelius, the two programs most widely employed by professional composers and arrangers.
3. Objectives of the Course
No matter what instrument they play or do not play, students in Orchestration will acquire basic knowledge of the standard instruments of the orchestra. They will not learn how to play each instrument, instead they will become familiar with:
i. The ranges, transpositions, and characteristics of the instruments of the orchestra.
Working through the strings (violin, viola, cello, bass) woodwinds (piccolo, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon), brass (trumpet, French horn, trombone, tuba) and percussion (timpani, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals), students will learn what is idiomatic and non-idiomatic for each instrument. For example, what is perfectly comfortable for a violin might well be a train wreck on a trombone.
ii. Instrument blending
How each instrument blends with its respective section (strings, woodwinds, brass, etc.) and the other sections of the orchestra.
iii. Acquiring a sense of tone color
Developing a sense of what is and is not the right instrument or combination of instruments for a given musical situation, such as conveying a melody.
iv. Musical Score Preparation
Formatting and presentation of a musical score so conductors and instrumentalists can read it easily.
Saint Mary’s College and the Performing Arts Department endeavor to provide students with an excellent education that leaves them prepared for graduate studies and the real world. The music program is very proud that orchestration students at Saint Mary’s College have their final projects played by the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble with which the College is affiliated. This is an enviable, peak experience of their four years of study, only possible because of small class size. In contrast, orchestration students in almost every other college (and all large ones) hear their final projects played out of their laptop computers, an extremely diminished learning experience. After successfully completing the course students are both more equipped for graduate school and more employable.
4. Assessment
Three moderate-sized projects (woodwinds, brass, strings) plus a final full-orchestra project; four quizzes, one final exam. Pass/fail grading is not option.
5. Student Population
Orchestration is appropriate for music majors and minors only. The course has been offered experimentally twice (all the students enrolled in it as an independent study but met at the same time), with 5-6 students. If and when it becomes a permanent course it will fulfill a requirement for the major and it is expected that enrollment will increase modestly. We do not want it so large that the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra cannot spare the time to read through all the final orchestration projects.
6. Relationship to Present College Curriculum
Currently, music majors are required to take Perfa 115 Music in Performance. If and when Orchestration is granted permanent status they will have the option of taking either Perfa 115 or 121.
7. Any extraordinary implementation costs
No additional space or equipment is necessary to run this course.
8. Library Resources
Please see the separate attachment from Performing Arts Librarian Josh Rose.
9. Course Credit and Grading Options
1.0 credits; letter grade only (no pass/fail). Three 65-minute meetings weekly, with an average of 8-10 hours of homework weekly (considerably more for final projects). Format of the course is lecture/discussion.
10. Orchestration Catalog Description
Students in Orchestration will become familiar with the ranges, functioning, and basic playing techniques of strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion, i.e. the standard instruments of the orchestra. They will acquire an understanding of the basic principles of blending, doubling, and highlighting, as well as comfort writing for transposing instruments. In addition, they will learn how to prepare professional quality scores and parts. Prerequisite: Perfa 114.
11. Review of Experimental Course
As an experimental course Orchestration could only be offered as independent studies (which students took at the same time together) formal course evaluations are not available. Anecdotally, students have been uniform in their enthusiasm about what they learned. It has been a year since the class was last offered, yet just a week ago a student told me that orchestration gave him a feeling of empowerment as a musician, that he learned real skills he can take with him to the outside world.
As an experimental/independent study that offered no faculty compensation, the class met twice weekly for an hour, a total of two hours per week. This did not quite suffice. Like all full-unit courses, if and when Orchestration is approved it will meet three hours and 15 minutes weekly. The free, online textbook is a dream. Rich in content, students can both read and hear all the concepts. Moreover, they pay nothing, an act of charity from the renowned author.
Respectfully Submitted,
Dr. Martin Rokeach, Professor
Performing Arts Department
Spring 2015; Perfa 197
Orchestration
Instructor: Dr. Martin Rokeach
Office Hours: MW 11:30-1:00 and by Appt.
Phone and email: x4682; mrokeach@stmarys-ca.edu
Course Objectives
By the end of the semester you will be:
• familiar with the ranges, functioning, and basic techniques of playing the main instruments of the orchestra.
• familiar with basic principles of orchestration.
• able to competently arrange or compose for woodwinds, brass, strings and full orchestra.
• comfortable writing for transposing instruments.
• Competent working with the music notation software Finale (students may opt to work with a similar software product, Sibelius, on their own).
Free Online Textbook: Don Freund: Instrument Studies for Eyes and Ears
Required materials: music manuscript paper
Semester Schedule
Unit 1: a. A brief Introduction to Finale b. preparing your score c. transposing
d. issues transcribing piano music
Unit 2: The Woodwind Family
a. the basics b. introductory woodwind assignment c. Exam No. 1 d. Woodwind Project
Unit 3: The String Family
a. the basics b. introductory string assignment c. Exam No. 3 d. String Project
Note: if time we will spend part of one class period on the harp.
Unit 4: The Brass Family
a. the basics b. introductory brass assignment c. Exam No. 2 d. Brass Project
Unit 5: Final Project: Full Orchestra; Final Exam
Woodwind, brass and string projects will be played back on computer, but your full orchestra project will be sight read by the Contra Costa Chamber Orchestra and conducted by its music director, Timothy Smith. The CCCO has a collaborative partnership with Saint Mary’s College. Rehearsal time is valuable and always in short supply, but the orchestra will generously allot 45 minutes to read through our five student projects. The reading will take place on the evening of Wednesday April 29. Exact time will be determined as the date draws near. This is a one-time only opportunity that cannot be made up under any circumstances, and it is imperative that all students make themselves free on that date.
The four projects will entail taking short, intermediate piano pieces and orchestrating them for the instrumental family being studied. We cannot waste time finding an appropriate piece, start looking NOW. There are intermediate piano collections in every music store, and much is available online. You are all encouraged to share and discuss ideas. Some suggestions of where to look:
Works from the 19th or early 20th centuries will likely be most conducive, though some Scarlatti sonatas will work just fine.
Bartok: Rumanian Dances and Hungarian Dances
Prokofiev: Fugitive Visions
Chopin: Preludes
Beethoven: Bagatelles
Various piano works by DeFalla, Albeniz, or Granados
Shostakovich: Preludes, Three Fantastic Dances, Spanish Dance
Grading
Transposition and other short assignments: 5%
Woodwind, brass and string projects: 40%
Full Orchestra project: 25%
Exams 1-3: 15%
Final Exam: 15%
It is most convenient to own your own Finale or Sibelius software, but the College has purchased Finale 2012 and installed it on four modules in the computer lab; two Macs, two PC’s.
Three Required Concerts
1. Performing Arts Faculty Recital
Sunday March 22 at 3 pm, SMC Chapel, Free Admission
Music of Martinu, Jake Heggie and more performed by Donna Olson, Pamela Freund-Striplin,
Renee Witon and other faculty members.
2. The Saint Mary’s Chamber Musicians, directed by Martin Rokeach, Lino Rivera, Dawn Foster-Dodson
Monday May 11 at 8 pm; Wednesday May 13 at 1:15 p.m.
SMC Chapel, Free Admission
3. Your choice of any Wednesday Student Recital:
February 18, March 18, April 8
1:15 p.m., Soda Center, Free Admission
Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, that take into account the context of the course and its essential elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities, are extended through the office of Student Disability Services. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Coordinator at (925) 631-4164 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the Saint May’s website:
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Dean’s Approval”
From: Sheila Hughes [mailto:smh21@stmarys-ca.edu]
Sent: Thursday, April 21, 2016 11:23 AM
To: Kathy Porter
Cc: Martin D Rokeach ; Dana Lawton
Subject: Permanent Approval of Perfa 121: Orchestration
Hi Kathy,
I am writing to convey my approval of the proposal to make Perfa 121: Orchestration a permanent course offering. It is a well-designed course and makes an important contribution to the curriculum for the Music major. The Perfa Department chair has indicated her support and I've also heard from Denise Witzig expressing WaGS support for the course.
Marty may have already submitted the proposals to you; they are also attached to this message.
cheers,
Sheila
Sheila Hassell Hughes
Dean, School of Liberal Arts
Saint Mary's College of California
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