Music students put to the test

Written final exams might be nerve-racking for any student, but imagine taking
your exams out loud.

“Juries” are what students of the music department face at the end of each
semester. The students in the school have to perform in front of their teachers
for their final grades.

The juries consist of performing songs, scales and transcriptions the students
have learned during the course of the semester. Juries are used to reinforce what
the students have learned in private lessons.

“It’s hard,” said Cameron Quinn, a jazz studies major concentrating in guitar.
Music majors such as Quinn are required to perform two juries, one for their
primary instrument and another for their secondary instrument.

“My jazz juries consist of transcriptions and 15 memorized jazz tunes,” Quinn
said. “My classical (jury) is two to three pieces, scales and cadences.”

After weeks of master classes, in which the students perform in front of their
peers to get ready for their juries, students are left exposed on stage. There’s no
late-night cramming or multiple-choice questions.

All exams for these musicians are final.

“All semester you’re building up towards your juries and picking the piece you
want to play,” said Kevin Johnson, a jazz studies major concentrating in drum set.
Throughout the course of the semester, it is a student’s responsibility to make time
to prepare for the final moment. The juries are there to prepare the musicians for
their future endeavors.

“These are extremely formative years for me to develop my playing,” said Zach
Stanford, a guitar player majoring in classical performance.

At the end of the day, it is up to the professors, known as jurors, to let the
students know how well they have performed. The jurors’ grades account for 25
percent of the students’ final grades in their private lessons.

“Jurors are there to assess your performance because within the performance
we need to demonstrate our level of competency,” Johnson said.