Detailed description and registration/audition instructions for large and small ensembles:
Small Ensemble Options 2024_25
Large Ensemble Options 2024_25
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- All B.Mus. and L.Mus. students are required to complete ensembles to fulfill the program requirements. Ensembles are courses with MUEN subject codes. The ensemble requirements for music programs consists of large ensembles, small ensembles, or a mixture of both. Students should refer to their program requirements and their Program Audit (PA) to review the type and the number of ensembles they may take to fulfill the program requirements. The Program Audit (PA) is the most accurate source to review your program’s ensemble requirements as it includes transfer credits a student receives for their admitted program.
- Ensembles are only offered in the fall and winter semesters.
- In most cases, B.Mus. students who begin the program at McGill as U1 are exempt from one year of ensemble requirements. See Transfer Credits FAQ for more information.
- Most large ensembles are open to all undergraduate students enrolled in a bachelor program, including students from a faculty other than Music. Students from a faculty other Music are still required to pass an audition and receive permission from the home faculty’s program advisor before registering.
- Most ensembles require an audition for ensemble placement in order to register. Most auditions take place once a year, usually during the last week of August.
Audition dates and repertoires are found on the Ensemble website. - All students enrolled in an MUEN course must abide by the Ensemble Policy and Regulations.
- All students in B.Mus. Performance and L.Mus. should register for a large ensemble and a small ensemble each semester in the first three years of their studies.
- Students in B.Mus. Faculty, B.Mus. Composition, B.Mus. History, B.Mus. Theory and B.Mus./B.Ed. are not obliged to enroll in a large ensemble for every semester of studies. They must, however, ensure they will complete the required large ensemble requirements for their program before graduation.
- MUEN courses excessive of the program’s ensemble requirements can be used as complementary performance or music/free electives up to the maximum MUEN allocation for complementary performance and free electives.
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PROGRAMS |
MINIMUM PASSING GRADE |
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Licentiate in Music:
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A- (80 – 84%) |
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Bachelor of Music:
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B- (65 – 69%) |
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Bachelor of Music:
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C (55 – 59%) |
Students who do not obtain the minimum passing grade for MUEN courses will be put on academic probation. Failure to abide by the probationary terms may result in a compulsory program withdrawal for not meeting the program’s academic expectations.
Registration Instruction
For most ensembles, students must audition in the beginning of the academic year for ensemble placements. This applies to both small and large ensembles. For descriptions of our perennial ensembles and all audition schedules, visit the Ensembles webpage. Students can register for the same MUEN course multiple times in different semesters while earning credits towards their program. Credits earned and final grades for repeated MUEN courses are factored into the total credits for a degree and CGPA.
Students cannot register for the same MUEN course twice in the same semester.
Large ensemble assignments are done for the full year, Fall and Winter semesters, through one audition at the beginning of the academic year.
*Students from an undergraduate program other than Music are most welcome to audition for the large ensemble even though they are not in the priority programs/instruments for the specific MUEN course. Large ensemble placements are assigned based on the performance strength in an audition, the instrument needs for the faculty’s annual concert series and the ensemble requirements for the student’s admitted program.
Small ensemble assignments are done twice a year, based on the audition/placement process that takes place at the beginning of the Fall term. The Course Registration Number (CRN) for small ensembles changes each semester. Students must register for their small ensembles using the proper CRN based on the information communicated to them by the relevant Ensemble Coordinator at the beginning of each semester. Students must ensure they register for small ensembles using the correct CRNs before the add/drop deadline.
*Most small ensembles are open to BMus Performance and LMus students only. A few small ensembles are open to all undergraduate students. Consult the Ensemble Lists for more information.
Ensemble Syllabus & Absence Policy
As a member of an ensemble, you are obliged to abide by the attendance and rehearsal policies for the ensemble to which you are assigned. These policies are stipulated on the course outline you will receive at the beginning of the semester.
For the following ensembles:
- McGill Symphony Orchestra, including MGSO Opera Orchestra (MUEN 597)
- Contemporary Music Ensemble (MUEN 594)
- McGill Wind Orchestra (MUEN 590)
- University Chorus/Schulich Singers (MUEN 593)
- Beethoven Orchestra (MUEN 567)
You can access the ensemble syllabus and courses (and for some ensemble rosters and schedules) at this website:
This website is password protected. Only assigned members in the ensemble will receive a password to access the website. The password is shared annually in an email you will receive from the Ensemble Office.
Students must submit an Absence Request Form via the password protected website if they miss a rehearsal in one of the ensembles mentioned above, including the Jazz Vocal Workshop (MUEN 563) and the String Quartet Seminar (MUEN 565).
