Revised: September 14, 2015

EXPLANATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS AFFECTING THE EVALUATION OF MUSIC CANDIDATES

The following explanations and interpretations will help clarify factors concerning the assessment of the candidate in the categories of research, scholarship, and performance. Appendix II offers specific examples of significant activities in the academic area, Appendix III provides examples of activities pertaining to the applied area, and Appendix IV provides examples of activities related to ensemble directors.

1. In the academic area of music, the professional activities of classroom teachers, primarily Music History, Music Theory, Music Education and Piano Pedagogy, are comparable to those of classroom teachers in other schools and colleges at the University of South Carolina. Candidates in these areas normally develop national reputations through publishing. In many cases, however, these candidates also gain recognition through performance and/or workshop presentations.

2. Music Education faculty will engage in scholarship, teaching, and service activities as outlined in Appendix II Examples of Activity in the AcademicArea. In terms of Research and Scholarship, candidates will establish expertise in specific areas, and in the discipline in general, by engaging in high level publications including books, book chapters, refereed journal articles, scholarly editions of music, and monographs. Candidates will also show their engagement in the field through consistent participation in additional scholarly activities including unrefereed publications, academic conferences and meetings, professional conferences and meetings, invited lectures, guest conducting, invited papers/presentations, and refereed papers/presentations.

3. Piano Pedagogy faculty are active in maintaining established traditions in piano teaching, examining and implementing current thought and practice, and in developing and disseminating new areas of pedagogical research and practices in support and furtherance of the oral and written tradition of piano teaching, including many overlapping activities listed in the ensemble, applied and academic area appendices in the School of Music Tenure and Promotion Criteria. The role of the piano pedagogue in the field of study is often varied and piano pedagogy faculty may be active in one or both areas of music research and music performance including varied forms of qualitative, quantitative and other music research, historical inquiry, educational music composition, and appropriate publication of either books, articles, or instructional materials for all levels of students in various educational settings. Piano Pedagogy faculty may also be active in a wide variety of performance situations on the concert stage orin the recording studio. All of these areas of inquiry and productivity are considered complementary and valuable in the field of study.

4. Music History faculty will engage in scholarship, teaching and service activities as outlined in Appendix II Examples of Activity in the Academic Area. In terms of Research and Scholarship, candidates will establish expertise in specific areas, and in the discipline in general, by engaging in high level publications including books, book chapters, refereed journal articles, scholarly editions of music, and monographs. Candidates will also show their engagement in the field through consistent participation in additional scholarly activities including unrefereed publications, scholarly, academic and professional conferences and meetings, and invited lectures and presentations.

5. Music Theory faculty are expected to engage in the types of professional activities listed in Appendix II Examples of Activities in the Academic Area. Scholarship may take a variety of forms depending on the candidate's area of specialization. Examples may include books, book chapters, textbooks, refereed journal articles, scholarly editions, and monographs. In certain areas of specialization, quantitative or pedagogical research may be the norm. In those instances, scholarship should be consistent with professional standards within the discipline of music theory. Candidates will also show their engagement in the field through consistent participation in additional scholarly activities including unrefereed publications, scholarly, academic and professional conferences and meetings, and invited lectures and presentations. It is expected that a consistent stream of high-quality scholarly activities will lead toward and/or result in a national reputation.

6. Music Composition faculty are expected to engage in the types of professional activities listed in Appendix II Examples of Activities in the Academic Area. Scholarship usually takes the form of original musical compositions as well as performances and recordings of original work. Some candidates may also maintain a specialty in a related field, such as computer music or music theory, in which case the scholarship may also include books, book chapters, textbooks, refereed journal articles, scholarly editions, and monographs. It is expected that a consistent stream of high quality compositions as well as performances, recordings, and/or scholarly activities will lead toward/or result in a national reputation.

7. Applied teachers are those music faculty who teach an instrument or voice in a one-on-one instructional setting. All of the students they teach in this manner comprise their studio or class. Studio is also used to refer to the applied teacher’s office where the actual teaching takes place. Ensemble directors are those music faculty who direct the larger ensembles within the School of Music, including orchestra, opera, chorus, and band.

8. The work of applied teachers and ensemble directors often requires activities that differ from the work of many other university faculty. Applied teachers are usually expected to perform, although it is unlikely that a candidate’s national reputation will develop exclusively through performance. There is usually little opportunity for applied faculty members to develop extensive solo careers that are national in scope after committing to a full-time faculty teaching position. Invitations for professional activities may vary according to the nature of the applied faculty member’s or ensemble director’s appointment. Therefore, the national reputation of an applied teacher or ensemble director will usually develop through a combination of activities.

9. Applied voice faculty engage in activity frequently associated with related fields. During their musical training and throughout their career, many singers develop talents as teachers, conductors, artistic directors, managers and stage directors. While a long singing career is the goal of every professional singer, the aging process affects the quality of the singing voice to a greater degree than it affects the performance ability of instrumentalists. This reality leads to the cultivation of complementary skills in preparation for a time when vocal performance is no longer the major element of creative activity. In addition, due to teaching obligations, a professional opera singer who becomes a full-time university faculty member will generally be unable to accommodate the three-to-five week absence that opera productions involve. These factors influence faculty choices in pursuing creative activity. A significant record of research may include activities that are associated with the ensemble as well as the applied area (see Appendix IV).

10. Ensemble conductors rehearse and present performances of music with their groups. While a significant portion of this activity is considered a teaching contribution and indicated as such in Appendix IV Examples of Activities in the Ensemble Area of the School of Music’s Tenure and Promotion Criteria, the selection of music, the study of the music outside of rehearsal, and the public performance of the ensemble are examples of Research/Scholarship and Performance Activity. The quality of the ensemble performances (relative to the performing skills of the participating students) is a measure of the quality of the research and performance skill and attainments of the conductor of the ensemble.

11. With respect to ensemble conductors, it should be noted that while the Directors of Bands, Orchestras and Choral Studies, respectively, may each receive invitations to conduct high school All-State ensembles in other states, it is unlikely that the Associate or Assistant Band, Orchestral or Choral Directors will receive such invitations. However, it is reasonable to expect that those persons will be invited for guest conducting opportunities in other states of the region. Further, assistant or associate directors may not have the opportunity to present their ensembles at regional and national conferences. Their work may emphasize research, writing, editing, adjudicating, writing marching band drill, guest conducting and clinic presentations, and represent the achievement of items described as such from the relevant appendix IV lists.

12. When the School’s Athletic Band Director is in a tenure-track position, it is expected that this candidate will have a large time commitment to the Marching Band in the Fall semester and fulfilling these duties will therefore take precedence over guest conducting, clinical, drill writing for outside groups, or adjudication activities. Invitations for the marching band to perform in exhibition may be viewed as evidence of ensemble’s high performance quality.

13. The term significant indicates that the faculty of the University of South Carolina School of Music deems an activity or accomplishment of sufficient importance to substantially and positively affect a candidate’s record in a quest for promotion and/or tenure.

14. Letters from external referees, which are required as part of the candidate’s tenure and promotion file, should be submitted by prominent scholar/teachers in the area of scholarship/research, and by prominent performers or artist/teachers in the area of performance. Some candidates who teach in more than one area may have referees in each. These letters are important indicators of quality and reputation.

15. Candidates are encouraged to use their own ingenuity and creativity in indicating the national significance of their accomplishments in the areas of publication, composition, performance, conducting, teaching, presentations, awards, grants, adjudication, and recording.

16. Publications resulting from the doctoral dissertation will be weighed as evidence of research/scholarship but of themselves will not be considered sufficient material for promotion and/or tenure. Clear indications must be evident that significant, independent scholarship going beyond the scope of the dissertation has been undertaken.

17. Candidates will document the nature of their contribution in the case of co- authored works. Evidence of significant independent scholarship must be demonstrated by the candidate in these instances.

18. In some cases, a music candidate will have to choose a place in his/her file for an ambiguous activity that may fit the criteria of more than one of the three categories of teaching, research/performance, and service. Although an activity may not be included in two different areas, the candidate may choose to direct the reader to other sections of the file containing additional pertinent activities that would also fit into the category under consideration.

19. When judging a candidate’s musical performing ability, music faculty at the University of South Carolina form their opinions by witnessing “live” performances over a number of years and in various musical settings, including collaborative performances with the candidate. Outside referees who evaluate only recorded performances may be influenced either positively or negatively by such factors as recording studio digital tape editing and enhancement or the technical or acoustical playback quality of the recordings as reproduced on the referee’s specific sound equipment. Candidates are therefore encouraged, when preparing recordings for referees, to provide an assortment of performance situations, including live performances that would be duly indicated in the labeling. The candidate is responsible for providing to the referees the highest possible quality in recordings of his/her performances.

Appendices II, III, and IV offer familiar examples of national/international activities as well as activities which are not national in scope but are considered significant for purposes of tenure and promotion. These appendices are not intended to be in any specific order or priority, and are not to be considered exhaustive. The candidate may document other significant activities not contained in these appendices. A candidate is not expected to demonstrate evidence of excellence relating to all of the examples in the appendices.