Concert Summary

All students enrolled in Recital Attendance will submit a written Concert Summary. This Concert Summary may be submitted at any time during the semester, but must be submitted no later than the Friday before Finals at midnight. Concert Summaries will be filed in individual student confidential files and will become part of each student’s comprehensive portfolio. The concert summary must be completed on an event listed on the music performance calendar. You may not write a concert summary for a concert in which you were a participant. You may not write a concert summary for a concert which was not sponsored by the USAO Music Department.

Formatting Requirements

The concert summary must be in MLA format and should demonstrate formal writing skills. It must meet the following formatting requirements:

  • Use of a sans-serif type font, such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, or Tahoma. Times New
  • Roman is also acceptable.
  • 12 pt size font
  • Double-spaced
  • 1-inch margins
  • Approximately 300-500 words (not including title, name, date, etc.)
  • If necessary, a works cited page should be provided with in-text parenthetical citations.

Failure to format your concert summary as described above will result in a grade of NO PASS.

Content

  • You may not write about a recital or concert in which you performed. Turning in a concert summary about a recital or concert in which you performed will result an an automatic grade of NO PASS.
  • You must write about a recital or concert that is on the official music department event calendar. Turning in a concert summary about a recital or concert that is not on this official calendar will result in a grade of NO PASS.
  • This is NOT a concert critique. Students should not address the quality of the musical performance, conductors, soloists, or ensembles. Do not include subjective comments about the performance or performers.
  • This is not a time to talk about your feelings. Do not use personal pronouns such as “I”, “me,” or “my.” Writing a paper in the first person perspective will result in a grade of NO PASS.
  • The opening paragraph must state the date and place of the performance as well as the performers/ensemble involved. Failure to include this information will result in an automatic grade of NO PASS.
  • Students should bring a paper and pencil/pen to the performance they have chosen to summarize. Students should take notes on the performance and use these in their summary.
  • The summary may include:
    • Thoughts on the type of music being performed (as it relates to coursework or other musical experiences; not personal opinions).
    • Background or history on any of the pieces being performed (include citations for any research done to include this information).
    • Comments on the compositional/theoretical components of selected pieces performed.
    • Discussion of the historical periods represented on the program.
    • Discussion of stylistic elements of a piece or pieces.
    • Discussion of musical elements of a piece or pieces (melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre).
    • Discussion of formal or structural elements of a piece or pieces.
    • Discussion of communicative or aesthetic qualities of a piece or pieces.
    • Discussion of concert planning, themes, flow, or repertoire as it relates to music methods courses.
    • Discussion of use of technology on the program.
    • Discussion of text (if a vocal concert) and text setting.

Here is a link to a sample concert summary.

Here is a link to the concert summary grading rubric.