The Program

Program Requirements

Level I: Private Lessons.

Level II: Musicianship. Chamber Ensemble or Intermediate String Orchestra. Private Lessons.

Level III: Advanced Musicianship. Harmony or Counterpoint. Chamber Ensemble or Concert Symphony Orchestra. Private Lessons.

Course Descriptions

All courses at SFIM fall under five basic categories: Musicianship, Theory, Music History, Performance, and Electives. Courses are broken down into smaller class sizes at the faculty’s discretion in order to accommodate different age groups and students with past experience in a course.

Musicianship
Through these courses, students develop facility in reading music and understanding of the basic building blocks of music theory: keys, rhythm, clefs, and musical vocabulary. A thorough study of these essentials allows for ear-training, sight-singing, and dictation to be practiced in the upper level Musicianship classes.

• Beginning Musicianship (Level I Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
  
• Intermediate Musicianship (Level II Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
• Advanced Musicianship (Level III Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
  

Theory
Deep understanding of music theory is essential to creating beautiful performances. Theory courses follow a higher education format and utilize standard college level texts to expand on the fundamentals learned in Musicianship.

• Harmony (Level II Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
  
• Counterpoint (Level III Vocalists and Instrumentalists)

Music History
This musicological journey is based primarily on listening and teaches young musicians to understand the sounds of  different historical eras. Students learn to identify stylistic characteristics of different composers. 

• Listening to Music (Level II and Level III Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
  

Performance
Large performance ensembles are given the opportunity to work with teachers in sectionals as well as rehearse in full ensemble with the conductor. Smaller chamber groups hold short rehearsals without their coach in addition to their supervised rehearsals at which they learn about balancing sound, blending tone, leading a group, making artistic decisions as a group, and rehearsal techniques.

• Chamber Ensemble (Level I, II, and III Strings and Pianists)
  
• Intermediate String Orchestra (Level II Strings)
• Intermediate Wind Ensemble (Level II Winds and Brass)
• Concert Symphony Orchestra (Level III Instrumentalists)
  
• Mixed Chorus (Level I Vocalists)
• Madrigal Singers (Level II Vocalists)
• Concert Chorus (Level III Vocalists)
• Private Lessons (Level I, II, and III Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
  

Electives
These courses are not required of SFIM students, but exposure to these important topics is highly recommended, as they enrich a student’s musical studies deeply and provides great advantages to understanding the required program material.

• Non-Western Musical Forms (Level II and III Vocalists and Instrumentalists)
  In this class we integrate improvisational methods and cross-cultural forms and practices representing prominent Non-Western forms such as North Indian and Persian Classical music, Javanese Gamelon, Chinese music after the Tang Dynasty, Japanese Hogaku and others.
• Commonality of Instrumental and Vocal Technique  (Level II and III Vocalists and Instrumentalists)   In this class we study technical and musical approaches that all instrumentalists and vocalists share in common. Thought processes, problem solving, and practice and rehearsal techniques are discussed and demonstrated.

Placement Audition Information

If you are completely new to playing an instrument and are interested in beginning the SFIM program of study, you will be automatically enrolled in Level I courses. If you have previous experience studying music, we ask that you take a placement audition to determine where you are in the SFIM curriculum. The placement audition consists of both a written theory exam and a live performance for a panel of teachers. All auditioning students should prepare a 5-10 minute solo piece (or segment of a solo piece). The audition may also include sight-reading and scales depending on the student’s abilities and level of comfort.