During this last week of classes, students are preparing for finals, going to their final lectures, and trying to study everything they have learned all year—and Eastman School of Music students are performing in their juries. These are all or nothing. You need to pass these to continue attendance at a music conservatory, and from what I hear, they are very challenging. Between playing different songs, memorizing translations, preparing translations in random romantic languages, and more, I could not imagine the stress and hard work that Eastman students put into these.
For River Campus students (as I mentioned in a previous blog post), juries are still important, but not as intense or vital. They are important in order to continue lessons the following semester and important for your grade, but you won't get kicked out of the University of Rochester for doing poorly. Besides, most students who take lessons are not even music majors. I happen to be doing a double major in music and molecular genetics, so these juries are still very important to me, since I need the credit.
I had my jury this week, and although I was really nervous up to that point, I think I did very well. A lot of work goes into preparing for these. A lot of time practicing all the small things—pronunciation, diction, and other vocal techniques—really paid off. My voice teacher is amazing, and I will most likely have him again next semester, which would make me ecstatic. I have learned so much this year. I would recommend Eastman lessons to anyone interested and skilled in this art. Just the experience itself is amazing. But anyway, now that juries are over with, it is time to crack down for finals. For me, finals will take a lot more "practicing," but again, it will all pay off. Good luck to everyone with their finals, no matter where you are!