Klarinet Archive - Posting 001372.txt from 2000/10

From: rgarrett@-----.edu
Subj: Re: [kl]your post
Date: Sun, 29 Oct 2000 12:56:26 -0500

At 12:21 PM 10/29/2000 EST, you wrote:
>As Roger has already mentioned, we have a policy of allowing
>students to fulfill their major ensemble requirement in choir if they're not
>accepted in band or orchestra - no problem there. (Except that I have
always
>wondered why choirs are expected to absorb students regardless of their
vocal
>ability.)

Well, my original question just used choirs as an example, but your school
may actually use choirs as the catch-all. I don't know any details, but
there are probably some other parameters surrounding your school's
decisions regarding which ensemble they could go into.

>My question involved scholarships. Say a student auditions for us
>on euphonium and we really need euphoniums. The kid is quite good, and we
>offer a music scholarship. But when the kid gets to school, he decides he'd
>rather take voice lessons and sing in the choir than play euphonium in the
>band. Given that we are a liberal arts school, we encourage this kind of
>exploration. But we gave him a scholarship based on his euphonium ability.
>It's a general music scholarship, so he's still technically fulfilling his
>obligations to take lessons and perform in a major ensemble. Can we require
>him to do that on the instrument he auditioned on, or does he get to make
the
>choice, once he's in, as to how he's going to fulfill his obligations?

We require our liberal arts students (non-music majors) on scholarship and
receiving free lessons to participate in the assigned ensemble. The
ensemble is assigned by the conductors of the ensembles, and it is based on
his auditioned instrument. Some exceptions are made when there are too
many students in a given area (saxophone and flute for example).

The student must take lessons on the instrument for which he auditioned -
regardless of the assigned ensemble - concurrently with the assigned
ensemble. If he chooses to drop the lessons or chooses to not play in the
assigned ensemble, he loses the scholarship (which includes the lesson fee
waiver).

>How do our ensemble needs balance with his desires, or with our liberal arts
>philosophy?

Liberal arts philosophy for the non-music major is being fullfilled if the
student does what is expected of him. Transfer of the scholarship is not
related to his decision to participate in that other ensemble - it is only
related to the instrument for which he auditioned and was awarded the
scholarship. There is nothing to keep him from playing/singing in both.
The only catch is that he is being given a scholarship to fill a need. If
he chooses not to fill that need, he may still explore to his heart's
content - just without the scholarship.

Good post Sue......sorry I didn't read it more carefully the first time
around!

Sincerely,
Roger Garrett

Roger Garrett
Professor of Clarinet
Director, Symphonic Winds
Head, Recording Studio
Illinois Wesleyan University
School of Music
Bloomington, IL 61702-2900
(309) 556-3268

"A man never discloses his own character so clearly as when he describes
another's."
Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825)

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