Overview
Participation in instrumental or vocal ensembles is a major feature of degree and diploma study at Peabody, providing an experience that is essential to one's professional training. Please consult the Conservatory Catalog for the specific ensemble requirements of your degree program. These ensemble requirements must be met during the specific semesters outlined in the catalog. Students wishing to take ensembles at times other than those specified should petition the director of ensemble operations for permission to do so. Permission will generally only be granted in situations where irresolvable schedule conflicts prevent a student from taking a large ensemble during the specified semester.
All string, woodwind, brass, and percussion students are assigned to a specific large ensemble based on the results of the fall placement auditions. Once students have been assigned to a specific ensemble, they are free to re-audition for a seating change within that ensemble only. Requests to reaudition are made through the Ensemble Office and should not be made during the first two weeks of classes. To be considered for a seating change, any re-audition must happen prior to seating assignments being made for the next program.
Parts assignments for each concert are determined by the conductor of each ensemble and communicated to the Ensemble Office staff, who prepare the parts for distribution to the players. At the beginning of the school term, each player is provided with a folder containing their parts for the first concert, and a schedule for their assigned ensemble's rehearsals for the entire season. Parts for subsequent concerts are available from the Ensemble Office when the seatings are posted on the ensemble bulletin boards.
In order that the school's large ensembles be able to produce music of the highest possible caliber and to ensure that the ensemble members receive the training and discipline necessary to prepare them for careers as professional musicians, students will be expected to adhere to the following requirements:
- Be at rehearsals, in place, warmed up, and ready to play at exactly the time for which the ensemble is scheduled. Choral ensemble rehearsals will generally begin with a warm-up.
- Come to each rehearsal well prepared; no rehearsal should ever be sight-read. Students should pick up their music in advance of the first rehearsal for each concert and are expected to take their parts home to practice between rehearsals. Students who repeatedly leave their music behind following rehearsals will be seen as exhibiting a lack of commitment to the ensemble, which will be reflected in their grades. It is also expected that students who are unfamiliar with a work which is being performed will take advantage of the recordings which are kept on the ensemble reserve shelf of the Friedheim Library.
- Be responsible for music and folders. Students are expected to return all of their music at the end of each concert and will be billed for the full replacement cost of any music not returned within three days following the end of a concert. Failure to comply with this policy may influence a student’s grade in the category of cooperation and professionalism. All students are expected to return their folders at the end of the school year.
- Arrive at the check-in table, in concert dress, by no later than the call time posted for each concert. All students who are involved in a concert are expected to arrive by the posted call time or they will be marked late, regardless of whether or not they play in the first piece on the program. No student will be considered checked-in until they are in concert dress. Every student must check in at the attendance table upon arrival for a concert.
- Adhere to the official dress policy for performances.
- A non-Conservatory student taking private lessons with a Conservatory teacher may participate in a large ensemble or chamber music group as the guest of the ensemble at the invitation of the conductor or coach, if he/she passes the necessary audition for placement. No record of the student’s participation is maintained by the Registrar’s Office, and no tuition is charged. It is understood that ensemble guests participate in ensembles on a space-available/as-needed basis.
