Sydney Barger
Contributing Writer
Writing an Independent Study (I.S.) during a pandemic is difficult, especially when you have to write two. As a double major in Music (B.A.) and German Studies, I was required to write a 50-page German thesis, a 10-page program and perform a 45-minute recital in order to complete both degrees. I expected this to be difficult as a junior, but then COVID-19 hit me like a brick. I could not perform my junior recital at the end of the Spring 2020 semester and was already nervous about completing next year’s senior recital. I was told at the end of the semester that I needed to complete this recital the following semester while also preparing for my senior recital. Completing my Junior I.S. alone was an overly complicated process, as both my flute professor and I were given little instruction on the recording procedure other than renting cameras from I.T. This was partially due to Scheide receiving new recording equipment and not having a recording crew at the beginning of Fall 2020. Initially, I was expected to record my recital as soon as I returned to campus, which did not happen, causing me to reach out to the department for further instruction. I had to extend the deadline for turning in my Junior I.S. to accommodate for these changes. On top of that, the recording process itself was frustrating and confusing. I was told by the department that I could complete my recital recording with only my professor and accompanist in the recital hall. Since my professor was remote, I had to record each take on my own, running on and off stage between pieces to push the record button. I also had to call I.T. during my recital as the camera’s microphone did not have great audio quality. Even then, the audio quality was still not the same as most music department recordings. This process was stressful and frustrating during an already challenging performance.
My Junior I.S. in music pushed starting my Senior I.S. over by a few weeks, which, in hindsight, was more stressful as I had no advisor to write my program notes for Senior I.S.. I realized the weekend before the final I.S. deadline that I needed a full-time professor in the department to assist writing this program. I spent a whole weekend trying to write the program notes while not knowing how to write them. I panicked and emailed the department about this issue. I am thankful it was resolved quickly, and that I was granted an extension on this I.S., but this meant that I would have to complete the paper the same week I would be recording my senior recital. Completing both I.S. projects had given me less time to focus on practicing for my recital.
As for my German I.S., I received a Copeland Grant the summer before my senior year to complete my research in archives in Washington, D.C., which I was unable to do as many of them were closed. My research was limited as very few documents of my topic are digitized, which made I.S. a much more difficult process. With the added stress of writing my program for music Senior I.S., I had to extend my turn-in deadline for this project by another week.
Having to balance ensembles, student activities, work and three full classes on top of two Independent Studies has proved to be extremely difficult, especially with no fall or spring break. I feel that if I had a break away from classes to write, I could complete my I.S. projects and notice these mistakes much earlier in the semester.
