Editorial Guidelines
The University of Texas also has their own style guide which we do consult for abbreviations, capitalizations, and academic titles. We have also developed our nomenclature for programs from sources such as the New York Philharmonic.
Academic Degrees and Majors
Spell out and use the lowercase: bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctor’s degree or doctorate. You can receive a doctorate OR your doctor’s degree, but NOT your doctoral degree. To abbreviate degrees, use periods after all the letters: B.A., M.S., Ph.D., M.S.I.A., B.F.A. (with the exception of MBA). This is an archaic standard that unfortunately the University dictates.
Right: He received a master’s degree in engineering.
Right: She received her master of science degree in engineering.
Right: She has an M.S. degree in technical writing.
Use lowercase for majors with the exception of languages, which are proper nouns.
Right: Her major is physics.
Right: He’s an English major.
The University of Texas at Austin
The correct reference is to use “The University of Texas at Austin” the first time you refer to the title of the university in text. Note that ‘The’ should be capitalized Upon second reference and thereafter, use “the university,” lowercase.
Academic Departments
Capitalize the names of departments except when used in a person’s title.
Right: She is a senior in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Use lowercase for the word “department” when it stands alone.
Right: She’s been with the department for three years.
Capitalize the field when it is used to mean the department. Use lowercase for the field when it is used in a general sense.
Right: She’s a professor in the Department of Physics.
Right: She’s a professor in the Physics Department.
Italicization
The rules for italicization in classical music are often times somewhat arbitrary and obtuse, and can be especially confusing with newer works that blur lines between generic titles and more specific titles. With the advent of modern desktop publishing many styling rules are helpful for body text, but are not necessary in a program list, and so we have abandoned them to simplify things.
The general rule in a program listing is not to italicize any titles, except in a few cases:
Italicize any programmatic title or nickname that is added to a generic title.
Right: Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat Major, Op. 73, Emperor
Wrong: Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
Italicize any large work when a single selection from the large work is being performed.
Right: Largo al factotum from Il barbiere di Siviglia
All other titles should not be italicized, and nothing should be marked in quotations marks on program listings.
Right: Franz Schubert Abenständchen an Lina
Wrong: Franz Schubert “Abenständchen an Lina”
Wrong: Franz Schubert Abenständchen an Lina
Wrong: Ludwig van Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 5 in E Flat Major, Op. 73, “Emperor”
The rules for body text in program notes are much different. There are three rules for italicizations that we have adopted at the Butler School for body text.
- Do not italicize any generic titles.
Right: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Wrong: Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
2. Do italicize titles in different languages, but do not italicize names or characters. Put titles of opera scenes in quotations.
Right: La Bohème
Right: She played Mimì and Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème
Right: “Largo al factotum” from Il barbiere di Siviglia
3. Do italicize any titles that are programmatic in a symphony and overture titles.
Right: Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection
Right: Ravel’s Boléro
Right: Brahms’ Tragic Overture, Op. 81
Right: Overture to Coriolan, Op. 62
Capitalization
English (headline style capitalization): Capitalize the first word and all subsequent words except articles, conjunctions and prepositions (unless they begin or end a title or subtitle).
Right: Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 15, No. 3
French, Italian, and Spanish: Capitalize the first word and all proper nouns.
Right: La Bohème
Right: Il barbiere di Siviglia
Elements in program to describe composer dates, transcriptions and arrangements should be abbreviated and set in lowercase.
Right: b. 1965
Right: arr. John Doe
Right: trans. Jane Roe
Wrong: Arranged John Doe
Composer Names
Composer names in program listings should be spelled out completely, with two exceptions. Bach and Mozart may be shortened to two initials, last names, as it has become a de facto standard.
Right: J.S. Bach
Right: W.A. Mozart
Right: Ludwig van Beethoven
Movements
Do not italicize any movements (and do not number if performed completely and in order).
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
Allegro con brio
Andante con moto
Scherzo. Allegro
Allegro
If movements are (1) not performed completely or (2) not performed in order, number the movements.
Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67
I. Allegro con brio
IV. Allegro
Thematic Catalog Abbreviations
Opus numbers should be styled as Op. Most other thematic catalog citations used in the titles of works comprise a capital letter followed by a period, a space, and a number. E.g.: K. 475, D. 950. The exceptions are: BWV (Bach) RV (Vivaldi) TWV (Telemmann) WoO (Werke ohne Opus, numerous composers, including Beethoven and Brahms) E.g., BWV 565, RV 269, TWV 55:C3, WoO 45
Dates
When program notes are not present, the composer should be set in non-bold typeface directly below the composer name and not contain parentheses.
Right: Johannes Brahms
1833 – 1897
Right: Philip Glass
b. 1937
Wrong: Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Wrong: Philip Glass
(1937)
Dates of compositions should appear next to the work, set in non-bold and inside parentheses.
Right: Klavierstücke, Op. 119 (1893)
Diacritical Marks
All names and non-English words should receive careful attention for the correct placement of diacritical marks (or diacritics): Á à Â ä Å å Æ æ á ç É È é è Í Ì í ì î ñ ó Ò ò ö ø ß Ú ú ù ü
Hyphens and Dashes
It’s important to use the correct dashes in their correct setting —hyphens and dashes look similar, but they’re not interchangeable. The hyphen (-) is the smallest of these marks. It has three uses.
- A hyphen appears at the end of a line when a word breaks onto the next line.
- Some multipart words are spelled with a hyphen (topsy-turvy, cost-effective). But a prefix is not typically followed with a hyphen (nonprofit, not non-profit).
- A hyphen is used in phrasal adjectives (high-school grades) to ensure clarity.
Dashes come in two sizes — the en dash and the em dash. The em dash (—) is typically about as wide as a capital H. The en dash (–) is about half as wide. Do not substitute -- or --- for real dashes.
The En Dash: It indicates a range of values (1880 –1912, pages 330–39, Exhibits A – E). If you open with from, pair it with to instead of an en dash (from 1880 to 1912, not from 1880 – 1912).
The Em Dash: The em dash is used to make a break between parts of a sentence. Use it when a comma is too weak, but a colon, semicolon, or pair of parentheses is too strong. The em dash puts a nice pause in the text — and it is underused in professional writing.