MUC7931
Advanced Graduate Composition



Syllabus - MUC 7931, Advanced Graduate Composition - (V.1)


Composition for large instrumental, vocal, or electroacoustic resources. Required Texts:
Material Required:
Course Goal:
Grading:
Office: Office 221/Lab 147/Studio 340/Lair 231
Office Phone No.: (352) 273-3176
Office Hours: see schedule
Professor: Dr. James Paul Sain [email]
Listserv (closed): ufemu-l@lists.ufl.edu

Policies:
1) Late work is not accepted.

2) Attendance is required at all classes. Should a class be missed, it is the student's responsibility to see that the lecture notes from the missed class are obtained from a classmate and any work assigned is completed by their return (a class list will be supplied to help facilitate this policy). After three (3) class absences your grade will be lowered one grade increment for each absence after three (ie A to A-, or C to C-). Your grade will be lowered one grade increment for each UnBalanced Connection concert missed. Each missed concert or presentation will also result in a reduction in your grade by one increment.

3) Plan early for your projects...things have a way of happening at the last minute.

4) The requirements, emphasis, and timing of this course may be changed or adjusted to meet the specific needs of the class as determined by the instructor.

5) All students of The University of Florida are expected to conduct themselves in a reasonable and professional manner at all times as described in the Student Honor Code; please refer to The Code for specifics.

6) UF Software Copyright Policy: All faculty, staff and students of the University of Florida are required and expected to obey the laws and legal agreements governing software use. Failure to do so can lead to monetary damages and/or criminal penalties for the individual violator. Because such violations are also against the University policies and rules, disciplinary action will be taken as appropriate.

7) UF Counseling Services - Resources are available on-campus for students having personal problems or lacking clear career and academic goals which interfere with their academic performance.

These resources include:

     a. University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling;
     b. Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling;
     c. Sexual Assault Recovery Services (SARS), Student Health Care Center, 392-1161, sexual assault counseling;
     d. Career Resource Center, Reitz Union, 392-1601, career development assistance and counseling;
     e. University Police Department 352-392-1111 (or 9-1-1 for emergencies).

8) Students requesting classroom accommodation must first register with the Dean of Students Office in Peabody Hall. The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the Instructor when requesting accommodation.

     a. Disability Resource Center 352-392-8565.

9) Students are expected to provide professional and respectful feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing course evaluations online via GatorEvals. Guidance on how to give feedback in a professional and respectful manner is available at gatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/students/. Students will be notified when the evaluation period opens, and can complete evaluations through the email they receive from GatorEvals, in their Canvas course menu under GatorEvals, or viaufl.bluera.com/ufl/. Summaries of course evaluation results are available to students atgatorevals.aa.ufl.edu/public-results/

10) My virtual office door is always open; please feel free to send me an email so that we can discuss class issues as the need arises.

Grading Scale:


Assignments
(look here for assignment handouts as the semester progresses)



LISTENING REPORTS(3): A written critique of compositions on each listening list. These typed reports should contain ample and objective prose describing the works on the listening list. These descriptions should demonstrate an understanding of the techniques used to produce the work as well as the aesthetic of the composition.

COMPOSITIONS: Creative work to demonstrate understanding and application of principles discussed and experienced during the course of the semester as well as the aesthetics of contemporary electroacoustic art music. Those compositions completed in a timely fashion should be performed in concert via convocation, SCI Student Chapter Concert or Unbalanced Connection concert as appropriate. One copy of each composition completed during the semester will be given to the instructor; these compositions will be retained/archived. Do not hand in your only copy.

COMPOSITION JURY: Each student studying composition shall present their work before a jury of the composition faculty at the end of each semester. This presentation will be graded by each member of the jury on quality and quantity of compositional output, progress, and presentation. The jury grades will be averaged and account for 10% of the semester's grade. Therefore, a poor presentation could result in a grade reduction of up to one full letter grade.

SAFETY HINT: Always keep several back-up copies of your work CD-R media or flash media; if you have a personal Macintosh you may wish to keep one copy on your personal hard-drive. Do not use the lab's/studio's hard-drives as personal storage devices. Doing so will most likely result in the loss of your work. All drives are regularly cleaned of all unauthorized software, files, and documents. Do not reorganize any software on the platforms in either the Computer Aided Music Instruction Lab (MUB 147) or the Electroacoustic Music Studio (MUB 340). Please sign in and out each time you use the studio or lab.

HEARING SAFETY: It is very important that the students working in electroacoustic music, or with amplified acoustic instruments, be aware of the listening environment in which they are working. The studio environment can, if used improperly, subject the listeners ears to unhealthy sound pressure levels. For more information and links to web sites about hearing health click here .

- last update 24 August 2020 -