To succeed as a violinist, private study with a quality instructor is a must. At the University of Cincinnati, according to its website, "All performance majors receive weekly lessons..." The Oberlin College website states, "Through private lessons, faculty members offer rigorous instruction tailored to the needs of each student." In addition to weekly lessons, students must spend many hours each day practicing on their own, so that they can reveal technical and interpretative progress from one lesson to the next. It is best to investigate before entering a degree program the reputations of the violin instructors, as well as their accessibility. It does not matter how vaunted the reputation of a certain teacher or professor if that instructor is never available to students because of performing obligations. In addition, most degree programs offer master classes (usually not private) with well-known artists on a regular basis.
A professional violinist must be skilled at playing in groups. According to its website, "The UC College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) provides a complete and varied orchestral education to its students, from large orchestral performances to smaller groups focusing on specific periods and on contemporary music." Oberlin's violin degree candidates "...are required to take six semesters of chamber music with a faculty coach," in addition to Advanced Quartet and orchestral skills instruction. At the Manhattan School of Music, according to the degree sequence plan posted on the website, students must take courses in orchestral repertoire, large performing ensembles and chamber music. These courses require hours of rehearsal with large and small ensembles, as well as regular performances, which may be open to the public.
According to the University of Cincinnati website, "The performance major culminates in the senior year with the presentation of a recital, required..." Oberlin University students also must perform a final recital to complete the degree program. The final recital for a violin degree is equivalent to the final baccalaureate exam in a non-music degree program. Typically, the recital is performed before a jury of faculty members, who grade the performance based on factors such as technique, musicianship and interpretation. The years of lessons, practice and rehearsal will ideally pay off in the form of good to excellent recital results.