900-1,000+ words 

Under normal circumstances, each member of the class would be expected to attend a concert presented in a theatre or concert hall this month and produce a brief critical essay of that concert; however, since there are no concerts happening, this assignment will be done over YouTube. I have provided a list of concerts below you may watch, but if you want to watch another one, send me a link for approval and watch away! As long as it has something to do with our class, it’s fair game.

Reports will be graded mainly on thorough reporting of the event and appropriate use of musical terminology as well as creativity and appropriate college-level writing style, grammar/syntax, etc.

When going to the concert, remember to:

1. Take notes during the concert (you can write on the program). If you don’t do this immediately, it will be hard to remember the details later. It’s probably not possible to comment on every element of each musical work, but note at least one or two musical characteristics of each work that you find most interesting. Please also highlight good and poor moments of individual pieces/movements of works where applicable. You must mention the final piece of the concert in your report.
2. You must watch the whole thing!

Suggested outline:

1. In your first paragraph, pay attention to the “five Ws” (who, what, where, when, and why). Note the environment, the performers, and the audience. Would it be neat to be there in person? Be a good reporter and add any detail relevant to your overall experience. Do not include a plot summary (if applicable). This is about your experience.
2. Provide some in-depth historical background in your review about at least one composer/piece performed on the concert of your choice. In what era was the piece written? What were the composer’s objectives in writing this music? Can you hear evidence of the composer’s place in the historical pendulum? Was there a political motivation that you know of?
   1. This will require a bibliography with at least two sources. Warning: you will have to do background research into the music itself and the composer! There are numerous internet sources – some accurate, and some not, depending on exactly what you’re looking for. Wikipedia MAY NOT be a source, but your textbook can.
   2. You will need to footnote and cite these sources correctly with inline citations. (You may use any format you are familiar with.) Use the following to help:
      1. http://www.citationmachine.net/, http://www.easybib.com/, http://www.bibme.org/
      2. http://qcc.libguides.com/content.php?pid=170032&sid=1566844
3. In your last paragraph(s), write about your overall feelings after having attended the concert. Was it worth your time? Did you learn something new about the music played? Did the concert give you new ideas about music or performance? Be honest!

NB: If you are required to submit the paper again and do so without making appropriate revisions, you will automatically lose 20 points from your first grade.

Verdi, La traviata (or another complete version):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0co8HH0G0xI

Grading:

1. Content/Substance (50%):              An “A” paper gives a complete and thoughtful description of the event and of the music performed during the concert, supported by specific examples.

2. Terminology (20%):                         An “A” paper uses musical terminology correctly.

3. Organization (15%):                         An “A” paper has an introduction, main body and a conclusion. It groups related ideas into paragraphs. Each paragraph contains at least three sentences.

4. Clarity of language (15%):               In an ”A” paper, words are spelled correctly and capitalized where necessary; each sentence has a subject and a verb that agree with one another; there are no run-on sentences; and necessary punctuation marks are in the right places.