Music Appreciation Concert Report Instructions

Attending live concerts is a crucial part of Music Appreciation and writing concert reports is a way to articulate the significance of music as an art form within historical, cultural, and social contexts. Many students are fascinated by watching musicians in action, the audience’s reaction, and how the music comes to life. This course requires that you attend two live Classical music concerts – or two online Classical music concerts on YouTube – and that you write two separate concert reports. A list of acceptable YouTube concerts will be provided, but you can also submit a request for approval of an online concert of your choice. There are live concerts right here at TC and Texarkana as well! Once again, details of such concerts will be provided as the information becomes available. Here are the concert report guidelines:

1. The report must be typed, at least 2 full page long (excluding cover page), double-spaced, & 12 font size (20pts.)

2. The program (if there is one) & Concert Attendance Form must be stapled to the report (10pts.)

3. Give the specifics of concert, for example: “On Tuesday, September 15 at 7pm, I attended a Texarkana Regional Chorale performance of Handel’s Messiah in the Music Hall of the Stilwell Humanities Building at Texarkana College.” (10pts).

4. Describe what type of group or music personnel was involved, for example: “The choir was conducted by Marc-André Bougie, and the piano accompanist was Mary Scott Smith. There were over 60 choristers in the group, including four vocal soloists.” (10pts.)

5. Describe each piece or work on the program to the best of your ability, using the knowledge gained in class. Place the piece in its proper historical, cultural, and social contexts. period and style. You must also include information about the composer(s). If the concert featured many pieces, you may choose to cover only a few of them. (20pts.)

6. Discuss the atmosphere or setting of the program, for example: “The concert atmosphere was really casual. There were students there and some people from the community. Nobody was dressed up. It was right in the middle of the day so people from the college could attend. Audience members were attentive to the performance, and all of them clapped when each selection was over. There was a standing ovation at the end of the performance.” (10pts.)

7. Finally, describe your own experience, or how you liked it or did not like it, how you felt about the music or musicians, and if you would consider such an event again. (20pts.)

One report is due before mid-terms: the other, the last week of class.