Travis Taylor | Lariat Photo Editor
By Rae Jefferson
Staff Writer
The Glennis McCrary Music Building, which frequently houses the sweet harmonies of vocal and instrumental performances, welcomes a new sound this week – the snores of music students.
Sign ups for music major recitals began this week, with students of various music concentrations flocking to Glennis McCrary Music Building to secure a desired timeslot. The students have resorted to sleeping overnight in the building to do this.
Recitals are part of the degree programs for undergraduate music performance and music education, as well as for graduate students.
Katy senior Spencer Morris said approximately 10 other students joined him Wednesday night as he waited for a meeting on Thursday morning with the faculty member in charge of recital sign ups.
Recitals are the pinnacle of every music major’s academic career, Morris said.
“It’s the culmination of everything that we’ve learned,” he said. “We’re putting all of it together and perform it for family, friends and faculty members.”
Corpus Christi junior Teddi Pinson, a vocal performance major, said getting a desired timeslot can be difficult.
“This is my first year to do this, but I’ve heard that it’s a challenge,” she said. “There are only so many recital halls, and everyone is trying to get a good slot.”
The most popular sign up times fall on weekend dates about two-thirds into the semester, Morris said.
“Everyone wants a day where their friends and family can come and see them,” he said.
Pinson said she had plans to sleep in Glennis McCrary Music Building Thursday night, with hopes of signing up this morning.
Morris said Wednesday night’s group formed a tentative schedule for the morning. As students arrived, they added their names to the end of a running list, which would determine the order in which they met with the person in charge of sign ups.
“We kept track of who came when and then used that order to sign up in the morning,” he said.
Students slept on the floor in the building’s main lobby, or in smaller rooms near the lobby’s entrance, Morris said.
“There was a little room off to the side where you could turn off all the lights,” he said. “I went to bed at about midnight, but other people stayed up later than that.”
The Lariat reached out to the School of Music for a comment, but was unable to schedule an interview.
Graduate students are permitted to sign up first, followed by senior performance majors. Senior education majors and junior performance majors then sign up concurrently.
Morris said students following the music performance degree plan are required to perform in two recitals, one during both their junior and senior years of college. The music education degree only requires students to perform in one recital their senior year.
Morris, a music education major, said his decision to spend the night at Glennis McCrary Music Building paid off “more or less.”
“I didn’t get the time I was hoping for, but I did get the day I wanted,” he said.
Henderson junior Ben Holmes, an instrumental music major, said although he is not signing up this year, he will likely sleep in Glennis McCrary Music Building when he signs up next year.
“I might spend the night just for the experience,” he said. “It’s almost like a tradition now.”
Pinson agreed that this process has taken on a more sentimental tone for music majors.
“It definitely helps you reserve your spot, but it’s something I’ve heard about since freshman year, and it seems like a rite of passage now,” she said.
