For some individuals, music is a hobby, but it is a lifestyle for music majors.

“All music majors have to pass four achievement levels in order to graduate,” senior Courtney West said.

The music majors at Baker University spend hours in the practice rooms in the basement of Owens Musical Arts Building. All these hours of rehearsal lead up to one final event in the music program: the senior recital.

Each achievement level has requirements, with level four being a senior recital.

Not only do students practice the musicality of the pieces they have chosen to perform, but students also do research about each piece.

Professor of Music Trilla Lyerla recommends a minimum of one to two hours of rehearsal a day, if not double that.

While preparing for a recital, some students have to memorize pieces, and often have to learn a couple lessons: coping with stress and time management.

“I don’t really cope, I live with the stress,” junior Michael Turnbo said.

Both lessons are vital to the success of a recital.

Turnbo rehearses for about three hours a day, twice a week, for two or three weeks prior to his recital.

West said the vocal senior recital must be 35 to 45 minutes long, with literature from various historical periods.

This means students are required to have literature from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods in English, Italian, German and French. The types of songs range from arias, song cycles, art songs and musical theater.

Along with a recital, the students must write a paper that gives historical backgrounds, composer and lyrist’s information and musical aspects of each piece. It is also required that the student provide detailed program notes that give an introduction to each song, as well as translations of each foreign language piece.

The student will also turn in his or her final portfolio, which the entire music faculty reviews the day of the faculty preview.

Lyerla said the purpose of the faculty review and the other requirements are to ensure the student is showing his or her progress made at Baker.

Another requirement is the approval of the recital date.

Turnbo said most music majors schedule their recitals a semester in advance because the date has to also be approved by Departmental Assistant Angela Robb to ensure other events or performances have been scheduled for that day.

Before the performance takes place, the performance has to have approval from professors.

“Practicing is a chance to be with the music you love,” Lyerla said.