D.M. Composition Preliminary Examination

The preliminary examination, taken during or subsequent to the final semester of the student's course-work, is a written and oral demonstration of the student's progress during his residency (at least one academic year). The exam will consist of questions and analysis on the repertoire given in the list of works shown below. There will be two basic types of questions in the written part.

1. Take Home: Specific analytic questions on the works listed in bold face. Students should study these scores closely. Faculty will give analytical questions on 4 different works, which the student has one week to complete. Students will get these questions on a Monday and will turn in their answers the following Monday. The student is permitted to use scores but no notes or reference materials.

2. Monitored: Thursday afternoon of the exam week, 1-5 p.m in the SOM. Library. Students will be given a list of 10-15 works from the study list and will write 2-3 paragraphs on each work. They should briefly address 1) salient stylistic features of the work; 2) the large-scale formal organization; 3) scoring; and 4) significance of the work historically or in terms of the composer's oeuvre. The student is permitted to use scores but no notes or reference materials.

Oral Exam: The oral exam will consist of 1) follow up questions on the written exams; and 2) questions about any of the works on the list including score identification.