Piano Accompanist Info - Music Resources

Accompanying Services Information, Procedures & Guidelines

Karina Bruk, Coordinator of Accompanying Services: bruk@mgsa.rutgers.edu

Spring 2026 Accompanying services starting date: Tuesday, February 17

Types of Accompanying Services

There are three (3) types of accompanying services:

Staff Accompanists: pianists hired by the department

DA Accompanists: graduate pianists receiving working awards

Studio Accompanying for Credit Accompanists: graduate and undergraduate pianists taking Studio Accompanying (07:701:451 or 08:703:505) as a required course for their respective degrees (the instrumentalist or vocalist’s teacher will grade the accompanists work)

Please refer to the specific procedures listed below. For any questions, please contact the Coordinator of Accompanying Services, Karina Bruk, at bruk@mgsa.rutgers.edu.

For Students

Accompanying requests should be submitted only by the primary lesson instructors (not students). Requests for a particular accompanist will be considered but cannot be guaranteed.
Instructors are asked to submit accompanying requests for their studios by the deadline emailed by Dr. Bruk.
Upon completion of the assignments, two (2) rosters will be sent out to students and faculty: one by professors’ name and one by the accompanist’s name. Each roster will contain the email addresses of the pianists.

Students are responsible for contacting their assigned pianists immediately and providing scores by the deadlines outlined in the Guidelines for Accompaniment Assignments (PDF).

Staff Accompanying Alternating Weeks, Spring 2026 (PDF)

Accompanying Routes

Standard Route: Alternating weeks based on a permanently set schedule of each student for the semester. A faculty member should request pianists by filling out an Accompanist Request form by the deadline. A pianist will be assigned by the Accompanying Coordinator to each student who has a regularly scheduled day/time of lesson for the semester.

Alternate Route: Independent hiring. For all whose lessons may shift in day/time. Staff pianists (from the roster below) may be independently contacted by an instructor to accompany their students. An “Alternate Route” log must be filled out by the instructor and signed by all parties (instructor, student, and pianist) and submitted to the Coordinator (Karina Bruk) by the end of the semester. See the Alternate Route Accompanying Log (PDF).

Recital and/or additional rehearsal fees: Whether a pianist is scheduled via Standard or Alternate Route, recitals and/or any additional rehearsal hours are not covered by the department. Payments for services rendered are provided directly by the student to the pianist. A “Recital/Extra Rehearsal” log must be filled out by the student and signed by all parties (student, instructor, and pianist) and submitted to the Coordinator (Karina Bruk) by the end of the semester. See the Recital / Extra Rehearsal Log (PDF).