Graduate students will perform at a level consistant with the common standards of Graduate School as specified by the National Association of Schools of Music (performance skills are contained in the NASM Handbook).

Students will perform standard literature for their instrument/voice The music selections will be appropriate to the masters degree level and performance practices at the professional level.

Graduate students must pass a pre-recital hearing indicating the music  required for their recital has been prepared to a professional performance-ready level. Students  will present at least one graduate recital which indicates they have attained the appropriate level of mastery of their instrument/voice at a level which must be  consistent with the national standards  of the National Association of Schools of Music(NASM). Subsequently, the "recital-ready" student performs his Recital and is reviewed by at least three faculty members

Masters of Music Recital Review and Pre-Recital Hearing Performance Standards:
     The application of performance standards used for each instrument or voice will vary  widely based upon composers, periods and styles; nevertheless, the following standard performance qualities are checked by all faculty and assessed in the specific context of the particular performance piece :
   Intonation,
   rhythmic accuracy and
   tone quality 
Students must sing/play in turn, with the proper/appropriate intonation and tone quality and within the prescribed rhythmic patters for the  periods and composers and styles of their performance pieces
     This can be difficult to correctly assess for anyone other than the  faculty who are the private teachers of the performer. This is one of the hardest areas of music to assess because often the individual teachers are the only ones making the ultimate assessment/judgement about student readiness to perform their recital.
For the Recital Review, at least three faculty members evaluate the student performance as passing or failing and provide detailed feedback

The ideal is for each student to pass the pre-recital hearing at the first attempt; however, due to the rigorous application of indicator standards that are common to the SHSU Masters Music Program faculty,  a high, yet realistically attainable criterion is that  Students should pass the pre-recital hearing with no more than three (3) attempts. 100% of students will pass the pre-recital hearing within three attempts and be judged "recital ready"
ALL students will pass their subsequent Recital review

The Criterion was met and exceeded. There were 15 graduate recitals presented. Of the 15, 9 were recital-ready after the 1st attempt, 4 after the second attempt, and 2 required three attempts before being allowed to perform the formal recital.
     All of the graduate vocal and instrumental recitals given this year have been excellent, indicating that faculty held students to high performance standards in pre-recital hearings .They have been performing with the appropriate tone, rhythmic accuracy and styles required by the varied periods of music they perform.
     All of the students who gave recitals were given feedback from faculty who attended the recital (at least three faculty required). All of the students passed their recital requirements.

We will continue to assess the quality of student recitals to ensure the quality of performance continues to improve. The Student Assessment process will be improved by providing each student with  a written critique, after each pre-recital hearing in order to specifically focus their performance improvement effectiveness, which may reduce the number of pre-recital hearing trials required to be judged recitall-ready. .  A written copy of their Recital Review feedback will also be provided to students