Recital Request Guidelines

Summary Overview 

Reservations & Priority

  • Priority scheduling (Autumn Weeks 1–5): capstone recitals, senior music major recitals, faculty solo recitals, senior music minor recitals, studio and coached chamber recitals, course recitals, joint junior recitals.
  • Week 6 onward: all remaining slots open to any faculty-sponsored request, first-come, first-served
  • Reservations require the student's lesson instructor or chamber coach to submit the Request Form.

Scheduling Order & Eligibility

  • Week before Autumn Quarter: Small ensembles with dedicated course numbers and courses with performance requirements.
  • After Week 5, Autumn through June: Informal event scheduling; all other performance requests

Recital Times & Placeholders

  • Available: Weeks 1 - 10, plus finals week, Autumn, Winter, and Spring Quarters
  • Standard start times (CRH & BRH): Fri 7:30 p.m.; Sat/Sun 11:00 a.m. (informal only), 2:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. 
  • Available time slots can be viewed in this shared document. Open dates are released in week six of Autumn.
  • Deadline: no new requests after Friday, Week 1, of Spring Quarter.

Durations & Access

  • Each recital gets 3 hours 30 minutes of venue time.
  • Dress rehearsals: one per formal recital, up to 2 hours in the performance venue.
  • Priority reservations must book the dress rehearsal when making the recital request.
  • All other reservations must book it at least one month before the recital date.
  • Events (formal and informal) in Autumn Quarter may be confirmed before the end of priority scheduling.

Informal Performance Events

  • Venue, Piano provided. Recording, AV, and production support is not provided.
  • Dress rehearsals subject to venue availability.
  • Sponsoring faculty must be present for the full performance.
  • Events can use any standard start time subject to availability.
  • Freshmen, sophomores, and graduate students are ineligible for formal recitals but may request informal performances via their advisor or faculty sponsor. 
  • Program creation is the responsibility of the performer(s)/ensemble.

Noon Recitals

  • Noon recital reservations will remain unchanged for the 2026-27 academic year. 
  • These recitals are considered informal and follow the guidelines for those events.

Detailed Explanation: 

1. Reservations and Priority Scheduling

During Autumn Quarter Weeks 1–5, scheduling priority is given to senior music majors, senior music minors, capstone students, and faculty. All eligible parties will receive advance notice and repeated reminders throughout the priority scheduling period to ensure full awareness of the priority window. From Week 6 onward, all remaining slots are open to any faculty-sponsored request on a first-come, first-served basis with no priority weighting.

Reservations require the student’s lesson instructor or chamber music coach to submit the Recital Request Form. Faculty members wishing to sponsor outside this capacity are encouraged to use the informal performance request process.

Schedule and eligibility: 

  1. Week Prior to Autumn Quarter Scheduling – Small Ensembles With Dedicated Course Numbers and Courses With Performance Requirements:
    • Examples of ensembles with dedicated course numbers (not included in the large ensemble scheduling process). 
      • Cello Choir, Flute Choir, Stanford New Ensemble, Old-time Music Ensemble, Chamber Music Showcases, Jazz Combos Presentations.
  2. Priority scheduling (Weeks 1 - 5, Autumn Quarter):
    • Note: all of the groups below will be eligible to register during weeks 1 - 5. Priority is not given to any particular group. 
    • Capstone recitals
    • Senior music major recitals
    • Faculty solo recitals
    • Senior music minor recitals
    • Studio, course-related, and (coached) chamber recitals 
      • This includes courses with a recital component (e.g., 65, 73). 
    • Joint junior recitals
  3. Informal event scheduling (After week 5, Autumn through to June)
    • Non-coached chamber recitals
    • Student-led ensemble performances (no advisor)
    • Graduate student recitals
    • Sophomore recitals
    • Freshman Recitals 

Additional use of Campbell - Once the priority booking period has concluded, the recital times will be opened up for other reservations. If an instructor would like to reserve Campbell for a non-recital-related event (i.e., a lesson or masterclass), that reservation is still possible, depending on availability of the hall in 25Live. 

2. Recital Times & Placeholders

Recitals are available in the following quarters and weeks:

Autumn, Winter, Spring*: Weeks 1 - 10, plus finals week.

*All degree recitals (senior and capstone) with graduation implications must be completed by June 1 to allow time for adjudication ahead of graduation. 

Standard start times apply to both Campbell Recital Hall and Braun Rehearsal Hall: Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays and Sundays at 11:00 a.m. (reserved for informal events), 2:30 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. All recitals must start at these times.

Placeholder system: All recital slots are held as placeholders in the calendar and tracked via this shareable document (not 25Live). 

All placeholders are held through Autumn Quarter, Week 5; unclaimed slots for the remainder of the academic year will be released in Week 6 of Autumn Quarter.Deadline: No new requests will be accepted after Friday of Week 1 of Spring Quarter.

3. Durations & Access

Each recital is allotted 3 hours and 30 minutes of venue time.

Example:  1 p.m. setup, 2 p.m. doors open, 2:30 p.m. recital starts, 4 p.m. recital concludes, 4:30 p.m. stage strike/load-out complete.

Dress rehearsals: Each formal recital may have a single dress rehearsal of up to 2 hours in the performance venue. Priority reservations must include the dress rehearsal booking at the time of the recital request. All other reservations must book the dress rehearsal at least one month before the recital date. Events (formal and informal) in Autumn quarter may be confirmed before the end of priority scheduling based on production planning and staffing availability. 

4. Informal Performance Events

All events not covered by the priority scheduling window are considered informal performance events. To request one, the faculty sponsor submits the Recital Request Form. Both venues have pianos available, though recording, AV, and production support are not provided for informal performance events. Dress rehearsals are subject to venue availability. The sponsoring faculty member must be present for the duration of the performance. 

Informal performance events may be scheduled at any standard start time, including the 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday/Sunday slots, subject to venue availability. Eligibility rules for formal recitals (see Section 1) apply year-round and are not limited to the priority scheduling window.

Freshmen, sophomores, and graduate students are not eligible for formal recitals but are welcome to request a performance through the informal performance request process via their advisor or faculty sponsor.

Informal events will be publicized on the Music Department events website. Program creation is the responsibility of the performer(s)/ensemble. 

Note: Informal performances are not eligible to request equipment moves to the venue (e.g., moving percussion equipment from Bing to Campbell).

4.5 Noon Recitals

Noon recitals will continue to be reserved separately, as they have been for the past few years. These recitals are considered informal performance events and will remain ineligible for Production support.

5. Cancellations

If you need to cancel, notify musicproduction [at] lists.stanford.edu (musicproduction[at]lists[dot]stanford[dot]edu) as soon as you know. Event staffing is assigned 30 days before a performance, and vendor and preparatory costs are committed at that time. If you cancel within 30 days, those expenses have already been incurred, and in rare cases some may be passed on to the sponsoring program.Date changes: You can change a confirmed date only in exceptional circumstances, such as illness, a family emergency, or venue closure. Changes are not guaranteed, and depend on both production staff and hall availability. 

6. Recordings

All formal recitals will be recorded by default by the Department of Music production team. Informal recitals are not included in this process. Performers presenting informal recitals are welcome to record their events themselves. 

7. Performances during the Priority Scheduling Period

Because performances in the first 5 weeks of the academic year are very rare, if a formal or informal recital is requested during the priority scheduling period, it will be considered based on production staffing and space availability.

 

FAQ Responses

Q: Where do faculty-sponsored non-recital events land? 
A: These are not considered recitals and are scheduled via the Performance Committee (for live performance) or via Adriana (for lecturer presentations). 

Q: I am a sophomore and want to have a joint recital with another sophomore? Is this considered an informal performance?
A: Yes. All recitals by sophomores, freshmen, and graduate students are categorized as informal performances. 

Q: Can I book more than one dress rehearsal?
A: No. Each performance is only allotted a single 2-hour reservation for its dress rehearsal. 

Q: I’m a freshman/sophomore/grad student. Can I get a recital slot at all?
A: Yes, once priority scheduling has ended, you are eligible for an informal recital and can have your advisor submit the request on your behalf. 

Q: When exactly do unclaimed slots open up, and does that date change by quarter?
A: Unclaimed spots open up in Week 6 of Autumn Quarter for the rest of the year. 

Q: When do I need to book my dress rehearsal? 
A: Priority reservations book it at the same time as the recital request; everyone else has to book at least one month out. 

Q: What if I miss the booking window for a recital or dress rehearsal?A: Scheduling after the deadline is subject to venue and staffing availability. 

Q: Faculty: I want to sponsor a recital for a student who isn’t in my studio. Do I submit the Request Form?
A:  Yes, but as an informal recital. The form is tied to the student’s lesson instructor or chamber coach. Faculty sponsoring outside that relationship are routed to the informal process instead.

Q: Can I get recording or AV support for my recital?
A: Formal recitals are recorded by the Department of Music, and the recording will be made available to the performers after the event. Informal recitals may be recorded by the performers, but will not be recorded by the Department of Music production team.

Q: I’m doing a senior or capstone recital. When’s my hard deadline to complete my recital?
A: Senior music major recitals and capstone recitals must be completed by June 1 to allow time for adjudication ahead of graduation. 

Q: Can my dress rehearsal be on the same day as my recital?
A: Yes. Provided the room is available.

Back to Top