Orientation Week is mandatory for all students,
since there are a few tests that must be taken before registration, and other
information to be given about UCT libraries, etc. This orientation will
take place in two parts, both of which are mandatory.
Upper Campus
orientation
You have two choices for this:
1) If you live in the Cape Town area, you can
choose to do the early orientation which runs from Monday 27 January 2014 to
Wednesday, 29 January 2014. Be at Beattie LT at 9:00 a.m. on the first
day, and you will receive all the rest of the information you need for the
following 3 days. (You will see sessions scheduled for Friday 30 January,
but these are for non-music majors, so you do not need to go to them.)
2) If you will be living in res, you will do the
second upper campus orientation session, which runs from Tuesday, 4 February
2014 to Thursday 6 February 2013. Be at Jameson Hall at 9 a.m. on the
first day, and you will receive all the rest of the information you need for
the following 3 days. (You will see sessions scheduled for Friday
7 February, but these are for non-music majors, so instead of doing these,
come down to the College of Music to start the next step.)
SA College of Music
Orientation
Everyone must do this section of the orientation,
because there are some small tests that need to be done before registration,
and you will also need to attend curriculum advice sessions. This begins
at 10:00 a.m. on Friday 7 February 2014. Just come to the front foyer
area of the SA College of Music, and your orientation assistants will guide you
from there.
More auditions
There are two sets of auditions you need to know
about before you come to orientation: Secondary Piano auditions, and
auditions for second instrument/vocal studies (allowed for Music Education
degrees only).
Secondary Piano: Non-keyboard majors will take a Secondary Piano
course, and since there are many students taking the course, we divide the
students into classes of similar ability. This means that most students
will have to play for the piano faculty during Orientation Week for a
placement.
If you have no experience with piano whatsoever,
you will not have to audition, but will be put in a beginner class.
If you have some experience with piano, but are in
between Grades 1-4 (e.g. Unisa, ABRSM, Trinity), you must play for the piano
faculty. Please prepare 2 pieces plus scales from whatever level you are
at.
Exemption from Secondary Piano: You can get an exemption from this course if you
play the piano at minimum Grade 5 level. If you have taken a recent
Unisa, ABRSM (Royal Schools), or Trinity Guildhall College piano exam, please
bring your exam certificate with you to Orientation Week. In addition,
you must audition during Orientation Week. Please prepare 2 pieces and
scales.
If you are given an exemption, you might have to
take another course to make up the credits, and you can discuss this with your
advisor during Orientation Week.
Second instrument or voice lessons: Taking more than one practical lesson at SACM is
only allowed in certain circumstances. To start with, you must be at Grade 5
level already in order to qualify. Auditions will be required during
orientation; please prepare 2 pieces and Grade 5 scales. If you are a Music
Education candidate, you may take your second instrument as the second teaching
subject if you pass the audition. If you do not have a second instrument
at Grade 5 level, you must take a campus subject as your second teaching
subject, and you must start that subject in the first year. Non-Music
Education candidates who meet the Grade 5 requirement are subject to budget and
teacher availability constraints, and if allowed to take lessons, will be
required to participate in ensembles if the Course Convenor deems it necessary.
