Bard Conservatory guide to preparing printed programs
Students giving recitals or concerts prepare their own programs, following uniform guidelines, which are submitted to the concert manager for editing and revision. The standards below are largely adapted from Writing about Music: A Style Sheet from the editors of 19th- Century Music, ed. D. Kern Holoman (University of California Press, 1988), with the alteration or addition of Bard Conservatory-specific information.
The Printed Program for Concerts and Recitals:
The heading of the concert or recital program should list the presenter, the performing group, and the solo artists.
Example:
Bard College Conservatory of Music
Bard Conservatory Early Music Ensemble
Harold Gomberg, director
with
Ralph Gomberg, oboe
The program should give the time, date, and venue of the performance. Make certain to include the year, as this information is required by the visa/tax authorities; without the inclusion of the year, moreover, the concert program is virtually worthless as a historical document.
Example:
Sunday, 26 October 1986
Church of St. Martin, Episcopal
Hawthorn Lane, Davis
8:00 p.m.
Note: Recitals that begin at noon should give the time as “noon,” not “12 p.m.”
The standard listing of a work in a concert program gives a formal title with key and index identifier, the composer’s full name, and the composer’s dates. Movements follow, indented. If all movements of a work are performed in order, movements do not need to be numbered; otherwise number the movements being performed according to their original positions. Foreign words may be italicized. Composers’ dates may appear on the line below the name. For a living composer, give only the year of birth: (b. 1992).
Example:
Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Ouverture
Air
Gavotte I – Gavotte II
Bourree
Gigue
Four Dance-Episodes from Rodeo Aaron Copland (1900-1990)
Buckaroo Holiday
Corral Nocturne
Saturday Night Waltz
Hoe Down
For a movement identified by both a title and a tempo indication, use a colon after the title.
Example:
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
For a movement embracing a major change of tempo, as in a movement with a slow introduction and a succeeding Allegro, separate the two with a semicolon or a dash.
Example:
Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso; Allegro con spirito OR
Allegro non troppo e molto maestoso — Allegro con spirito
It is, however, cumbersome to list a multitude of tempo changes.
It is appropriate to translate movement titles that might not otherwise be understood, particularly if they are not translated elsewhere in the program.
Example:
Concerto For Orchestra Bela Bartok (1881-1945)
Introduzione
Gioco delle Coppie (“Game of Pairs”)
Elegia
Intermezzo interrotto
Finale
For first performances, it is customary to give the date of composition and indicate “First performance’, “West Coast premiere’, etc.
OTHER
If more than one work by the same composer is on the program, give the full name and dates only the first time; subsequent pieces should normally be marked by the composer’s last name only.
For works that are arrangements of other works, give the name of the original composer in the right hand column. Give the name of the arranger either under the title or under the name of the original composer, whatever saves space.
Example:
Partita in D Minor for keyboard, BWV 976 J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
Arr. For marimba by T.J. Maxx
Sonata in D Minor for violin, BWV 956 J.S. Bach (1685-1750)
III. Gavotte arr. By T.J. Maxx
VI. Gigue
Concerto in B Minor, op. 76 Hector Cabanilles (b. 1947)
for flute and orchestra, arr. B. Rocher
Glenn Gould, piano
OPERA and ORATORIO
Excerpts from operas and oratorios should be listed by the text that is first sung, whether a recitative or aria. In the case of both, give the first line of recitative followed by the opening words of the aria. Identify the source opera in italics. Act and scene numbers may be given with the translation.
Example: aria alone Asile hereditaire
from Guillaume Tell
Preceded by its recit. Guillaume est dans les fers – Asile hereditaire
from Guillaume Tell
TEXTS and TRANSLATIONS
See here for details: Texts and Translations guidelines
LISTING PERFORMERS
For solo recitals, normally the name of the principal soloist appears on the front cover. If the same pianist partner or members of a small ensemble appear in most of the pieces, their names may also appear on the front cover.
Members of an ensemble “assisting” a soloist may also be listed in a column on the inside of the front cover. The last name may line up with the last line on the facing page, or the list may begin one-third down the left-hand page.
If several different performers appear in single pieces only, it is best to give their names centered, following the entry for each piece, possibly preceded by “with.” The name of the soloist is not repeated.
Names of performers are usually followed by the names of the instruments, rather than “-ist” formations: “Kevin Kostner, horn” not “Kevin Kostner, hornist.”
PROGRAM NOTES
Program notes should not read as reference entries, although they should include the circumstances of composition and first performance of the work, its scoring if not obvious, and, if useful, brief information on its publication. Otherwise, your notes may take the opportunity to guide your listeners toward your interpretation of the work. Avoid facts and anecdotes that are irrelevant to the work on the program and avoid analytical terminology. For arias, give the dramatic circumstances in which the aria is sung. Musical examples in program notes are uncommon. Try to suggest to the audience two or three particular things to listen for, in an attempt to engage their ears. Program notes can effectively be quite brief.
If your program has a theme or is in other ways integrated, notes do not need to follow the format of unrelated sets of notes for separate pieces. You can write an essay on the program as a whole.
Resource: Conservatory Guide to Printed Programs
Use full building name on posters and all PR for concerts in CPS:
László Z. Bitó ‘60 Conservatory Building
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CONCERT PROGRAM EXAMPLES:
Here are concert program samples,
Sample Degree Recital Program Degree Recital Program.docx
Sample Program with Notes Recital Program 5.6.2023
Non-Degree Recital Program Example Sample Program
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CONCERT BIOS:
All Conservatory students must have a current short (150-200 word) concert biography and a headshot on file. We maintain a file of all bios for use in programs and publicity, and we rely upon you to send updated versions to us periodically. Same with headshots.
Here is a sample bio:
Pianist ..(name)…. from …xx…, England, is in his first year at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where he studies piano with….xx. His second major is…
In 2018 ..xx.. won the top prize at the 14th Young Artists’ Piano Competition in Tokyo and second place in the 10th International Competition for Young Pianists in Ettlingen, Germany. Last year he participated in summer music festivals in ….
…xx… gave his first concerto performance at age 13 in the UK, followed by recitals in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Opera City, and London’s Wigmore Hall, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Southbank Centre. His teachers have included Pascal Devoyon in Berlin and Tessa Nicholson in the UK.
Feel free to adapt this model. We may need to edit your drafts/submissions as needed.
Bio Full Example:
Harry Houdinter began studying piano at the age of five and started formal vocal training in high school with Elliott Forbes. He has studied with Frances Young at UCI since 2006 and is the recipient of the Livia Lowenstein Scholarship. In 2007 he was awarded the Cavalli Prize of the Vezelay International Countertenor Competition. Next year he will study as the Schola Cantorum in Basle, Switzerland.
Submit your bio to Mary-Liz O’Neill [email protected]