The BYU-Idaho Department of Music will host a student recital on Monday, Oct. 28, welcoming evaluators from the National Association of Schools of Music to renew the department’s accreditation.
Having the NASM’s accreditation is beneficial for students majoring in music because it allows their level of technique and expertise to be nationally recognized. It also broadens their opportunities for master’s degrees.
Students representing each program in the Department of Music will perform. The event will take place from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Ruth H. Barrus Concert Hall in the Eliza R. Snow Building. The recital is free and open to the public.
“I hope lots of students from the Department of Music will come, but I hope other people from campus will come as well because this is a good, broad representation of what we do here,” said Bryce Mecham, the department chair. “I hope our evaluators get to see the kind of support we have around campus.”
According to David Olsen, music faculty and event organizer, students from each performance area, such as strings, woodwinds, percussion, brass, jazz and voice, will perform at the recital. They will demonstrate the program’s different levels of expertise.
“We chose students that are a good representation of the work that we do here,” Mecham said. “I don’t expect perfection, but I know a lot of these students and I know they will do a good job representing us.”
The NASM, founded in 1924, is an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges and universities. According to their webpage, there are approximately 639 institutional members accredited with them.
The organization evaluates BYU-I’s music program every 10 years. According to Mecham, it makes sure higher music education programs are meeting the standards and providing what’s necessary for students to become successful.
After the evaluation period, the NASM’s evaluators will submit a report to their committee. They will evaluate whether BYU-I’s music program complies with the Association’s standards. If the program gets approved, the committee will renew the department’s accreditation.
Along with their approval, NASM may provide the university’s music department a document called “accommodations,” to inform them of their strengths and weakness.
“If there are things that need to be improved, we welcome those,” Mecham said. “We are trying to do our best every day, but we know we are not perfect.”
