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General Information

Course ID (CB01A and CB01B)
MUSI D031.
Course Title (CB02)
Chamber Orchestra
Course Credit Status
Credit - Degree Applicable
Effective Term
Fall 2021
Course Description
This course includes the study, preparation, and performance of orchestral literature for chamber orchestra, with an emphasis on both early and late 18th-century performance practice and the application of that practice, rhetoric, and sensibility into the music of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries.
Faculty Requirements
Course Family
Not Applicable

Course Justification

This course is UC and CSU transferable. It belongs on the A.A. Music degree. This course provides training in symphonic music written primarily for orchestral stringed instruments.

Foothill Equivalency

Does the course have a Foothill equivalent?
No
Foothill Course ID

Course Philosophy

Formerly Statement

Course Development Options

Basic Skill Status (CB08)
Course is not a basic skills course.
Grade Options
  • Letter Grade
  • Pass/No Pass
Repeat Limit
5

Transferability & Gen. Ed. Options

Transferability
Transferable to both UC and CSU
C-IDArea(s)StatusDetails
MUSMusicApprovedC-ID MUS 180

Units and Hours

Summary

Minimum Credit Units
2.0
Maximum Credit Units
2.0

Weekly Student Hours

TypeIn ClassOut of Class
Lecture Hours1.02.0
Laboratory Hours3.00.0

Course Student Hours

Course Duration (Weeks)
12.0
Hours per unit divisor
36.0
Course In-Class (Contact) Hours
Lecture
12.0
Laboratory
36.0
Total
48.0
Course Out-of-Class Hours
Lecture
24.0
Laboratory
0.0
NA
0.0
Total
24.0

Prerequisite(s)

Enrollment subject to audition; and ability to play an orchestral instrument and read music at sight.

Corequisite(s)

Advisory(ies)

Limitation(s) on Enrollment

Entrance Skill(s)

(Student must audition or meet course prerequisite(s).)

General Course Statement(s)

Methods of Instruction

Collaborative learning and small group exercises

Lecture/demonstration with student application

Assignments

  1. Daily practice of passages from selected repertoire.
  2. Preparation for performances, on and off campus
  3. Technique studies for each applied instrument.

Methods of Evaluation

  1. Classroom participation and responsiveness during rehearsals.
  2. Final performance of full orchestra presenting the repertoire rehearsed, evaluated for accuracy, ensemble blend, stage presence, and overall improvement.
  3. Completion of final solo performance including evaluation of students demonstrating correct intonation, phrasing, balance, dynamics, and tone quality on his or her instrument.

Essential Student Materials/Essential College Facilities

Essential Student Materials: 
  • Access to instrument, either owned or rented (some instruments may be available for borrowing)
Essential College Facilities:
  • Adequate rehearsal hall with facilities for recording,
  • Music stands, chairs and conductor's podium,
  • Grand piano and basic percussion including timpani,
  • Adequate and varied music library
  • Facilities and funds for instrumental repair and maintenance,
  • Quarterly access to concert hall on campus for public performance,
  • Basic supply of college owned instruments of good quality

Examples of Primary Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisherDate/EditionISBN
Scores and parts drawn from the college instrumental library.

Examples of Supporting Texts and References

AuthorTitlePublisher
None.

Learning Outcomes and Objectives

Course Objectives

  • Apply training in the disciplines and methods of performance in a group
  • Participate in artistic performance techniques of works for chamber orchestra
  • Develop the ability to sight read music in addition to the concert repertoire.
  • Demonstrate successful group performance, and attain its rewards

CSLOs

  • Sight read, rehearse, and publicly perform selected repertoire from the Chamber Orchestra literature found in various time periods from the Baroque Era to the present.

  • Participate in the art of performing in an ensemble by demonstrating correct intonation, phrasing, balance, dynamics, and tone quality on his or her instrument.

Outline

  1. Apply training in the disciplines and methods of performance in a group
    1. Repertoire changes with each term and is selected to develop student's precision of technique, awareness of good intonation and sense of ensemble.
    2. The importance of listening to other parts.
    3. Understanding conducting gestures and patterns.
    4. Learning to coordinate listening and following the conductor.
    5. Develop good intonation by tuning difficult chords and tuning to other instruments.
  2. Participate in artistic performance techniques of works for chamber orchestra
    1. Interpreting and learning of the style of each composer studied during the course.
    2. Practice scales in keys related to passages in selected repertoire.
    3. Develop bowings and breathing relevant to phrasing and artistic interpretation.
  3. Develop the ability to sight read music in addition to the concert repertoire.
    1. Reading of new works and passages on a regular basis during rehearsals.
    2. Home practice on sight reading exercises and etudes.
  4. Demonstrate successful group performance, and attain its rewards
    1. Recognition by peers, the school and the community.
    2. The personal satisfaction of having assisted in the creation of an artistic achievement and educative experience of comprehending great musical art through personal re-creation.

Lab Topics

  1. Students will rehearse selected repertoire.
  2. Students will practice correct phrasing of musical passages.
  3. Students will practice achieving balance and good intonation within the ensemble
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