Music: M.M.: Piano Performance

The piano department at California State University, Northridge offers the Master of Music degree in piano performance. Students may also choose to emphasize piano pedagogy within the performance degree. The culminating experience for the degree in piano performance is a solo recital, a concerto, chamber or lecture recital, a graduate project in abstract form or thesis, and an oral comprehensive examination. The culminating experiences for the degree in piano performance (pedagogy emphasis) is a solo or lecture recital, a thesis on a pedagogical topic, and an oral comprehensive examination.

ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MASTER OF MUSIC IN PIANO PERFORMANCE

• Potential graduate students should have completed an undergraduate degree in music or its equivalent.
• The audition program consists of the following repertoire:
  A. One Baroque work, comparable to a Bach Prelude and Fugue, Toccata, Suite or Partita
  B. One complete classical sonata
  C. One major Romantic/ Post-Romantic or Twentieth Century work
  D. One virtuoso etude
• Submit a comprehensive repertoire list of solo music performed
• Submit a brief statement discussing background and goals
• Those students unable to be present for their live incoming graduate auditions may submit a DVD of their performance in lieu of a live audition.

After admission into the program, placement tests are required in the areas of music theory/analysis and music history. Following the evaluation of all these tests, the graduate advisor may recommend remedial coursework in areas such as music theory and music history. Credit toward the degree is not permitted, as these remedial courses carry a lower-level catalog number. A limited number of 400-level courses may count as electives. Occasionally, incoming graduate students in piano performance will be required to schedule a senior recital, if such a recital was not mandatory during their undergraduate studies. A senior recital would occur if the undergraduate degree is in another field.