Graduate Music Audition Requirements

Artist Diploma

By invitation only.

Artist Diploma candidates are expected to have established a music career and have demonstrated success through professional concert performances, reviews, orchestral employment, competitions, and future engagements or projects.

To be considered, prospective applicants must send their C.V. (curriculum vitae) to achapman@berklee.edu for review by November 1. Candidates who are invited to apply for the Artist Diploma will be sent further instructions to submit an application and pre-screen portfolio in the form of a comprehensive press kit.

Based on review of the pre-screen, applicants who are invited to an on-campus audition must prepare a recital-length program of contrasting material that demonstrates a high level of musical and technical artistry and is a representative sampling of differing stylistic periods and of the applicant's style as an artist. Applicants who are not granted admission to the Artist Diploma program will be considered for admission to another graduate program.
 

Brass

horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, tuba

No pre-screen required.

Instrumental auditions must be performed without accompaniment.

Prepare two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire and three (3) orchestral excerpts. For your solo repertoire, you may choose from the suggested pieces below or make your own choices at a similar level of difficulty. We ask that you play the listed excerpts. In addition, please prepare all major and minor (natural, melodic, and harmonic) scales and arpeggios and be prepared to sight-read.

If you are submitting a recorded audition, please make sure that there is no accompaniment, and that the recording has not been edited and does not contain reverb. Recorded auditions should also include one major and three minor scales (one each: natural, melodic, and harmonic) and corresponding arpeggios. Each piece or selection may be uploaded as a separate video file with the title in English or the original language in the file name.

Trumpet

Suggested Repertoire:

• Haydn: Concerto
• Hindemith: Sonata

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Beethoven: Leonore (No. 2 and No. 3)
• Stravinsky: Petrushka (Ballerina’s Dance)
• Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

French Horn

Suggested Repertoire:

• Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 2, 3, or 4
• Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1 or 2
• Glière: Horn Concerto

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Strauss: Opening solo from Till Eulenspiegel
• Brahms: Symphony No. 3, 3rd Movement (Poco allegretto) solo, Horn 1, m. 98-110
• Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5, 1st Movement, Horn 1, Rehearsal 17-21

Trombone

Suggested Repertoire:

• Martin: Ballade
• Milhaud: Concertino d’Hiver
• Tomasi: Concerto

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Mozart: Tuba Mirum
• Ravel: Bolero
• Berlioz: Hungarian March

Bass Trombone

Suggested Repertoire

• Ewazen: Concerto
• T. R. George: Concerto

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Beethoven: Symphony No. 9
• Strauss: Ein Heldenleben
• Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries

Tuba

Suggested Repertoire:

• Hindemith: Sonata
• Vaughan Williams: Concerto

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries
• Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5
• Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique

Choral Conducting

Please note: We are not accepting applications for this program for 2021–2022 enrollment.

Pre-screen required.

Applicants must submit pre-screening materials online by the December application deadline. Read more about the audition process below.

The pre-screen video and supporting materials must contain the following:

• A 15–20 minute video recording of footage comprising rehearsal and performance.
  • Note: The video should be from the perspective of the choir and show the conductor's face. The video should be of good quality and the conductor's instructions should be audible and clear. A successful applicant should provide video that shows rehearsal technique as well as performance conducting. Rehearsals should be run in English or subtitles provided if the choir's native language is not English. Video clips need not include an entire musical selection.
• A performance resume or curriculum vitae.
• Two letters of recommendation from artists/teachers who can most fully discuss your potential in the field of choral conducting.
• A written self-assessment of piano skills, vocal skills, and experience with languages and sung diction (Latin, German, French, Italian, Spanish, etc.).
  • Note: The self-assessment should include the career path the applicant hopes to undertake and how a master's degree in choral conducting fits into that plan.
• A brief but complete analysis of a short common practice period choral work, equivalent to a movement from a Brahms motet or Bach cantata.
  • Note: The analysis should include a chart of the work's form, harmonic language, key areas, etc.

Applicants may be invited to audition and interview at Boston Conservatory at Berklee based on an evaluation of the materials submitted above, as well as submission of a complete application.

During auditions, applicants will be asked to do the following.

Rehearse with a Boston Conservatory at Berklee choral ensemble, during which the applicant should expect to:

• Conduct a brief warm-up.
• Conduct a complete work or movement from a larger work, as assigned by the head of choral studies, with which the ensemble is familiar.
• Introduce a work or an excerpt from a larger work of the applicant’s choosing, in consultation with the head of choral studies.

Interview with choral faculty, during which the applicant will:

• Sing a prepared solo at the level of an Italian art song (a pianist will be provided).
• Demonstrate piano skills by playing a prepared piece of your choosing at the level of a two-part Bach Invention.
• Sight-read at the piano at the level of a Bach choral in open score.
• Sight-read both tonal and atonal exercises from Modus Novus and other sources.
• Aurally identify intervals, scales, triads, and harmonic progressions.
• Read brief excerpts in Latin, German, French, Spanish, and Italian for correct pronunciation.
• Conduct assigned repertoire for the conservatory choral ensemble rehearsal with a pianist.

Applicants will also be invited to observe classes and rehearsals, as well as interact with current graduate and undergraduate students.

Collaborative Piano

No pre-screen required.

On-Campus Auditions:

Applicants should prepare the following for a live audition. For auditions in Boston, you will be provided with a violinist and singers for your live audition, as well as a rehearsal period before the audition.

• Solo piano work or movement, less than 10 minutes in length. Memorization is required.
• Songs (all prepared in high keys):
  • Franz Schubert, “Ganymed”
  • Clara Schumann: "Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen"
  • Samuel Barber, “St. Ita’s Vision” (from Hermit Songs)
• Prepare the following:
  • Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, op. 12 (first movement only)
  • Adolphus Hailstork Sanctum for clarinet and piano or viola and piano
• Sight-reading

Online Auditions:

Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to prepare the repertoire above with an instrumentalist and vocalist for the online audition. Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, applicants may perform the audition without a collaborator. For 2021, Boston Conservatory will accept repertoire outside of the requirements above. Please contact bcb@berklee.edu if you would like to request a substitution to the repertoire. 

Only if you are unable to participate in the online audition may you request to audition entirely by video recording. Submissions of previous performances may be permitted.

Composition

Pre-screen required.

Applicants to the graduate programs in composition should submit a portfolio of between two and four recent works (no more) which were written in the last two years, at least one of which must be for large ensemble (over 10 players).

• Scores should be legibly notated (by hand or by computer).
• Recordings of your work are encouraged.
• Be sure that there is an accompanying score for each submitted recording.
• Write a short essay describing your musical influences and enthusiasms. Reference three modern concert works that have made an impact on you, and say why. The three works chosen should be from different time periods within the years spanning from roughly 1900 to the present day.

All of the above pre-screen materials must be submitted online. Based on your portfolio, applicants may be invited to interview on campus or online. Applicants will meet with a faculty panel to ask and answer questions about their process, influences, and professional goals.

Applicants do not need to bring any additional materials (such as score copies) to the interview; the interview will not include a test or request for a live performance.

Contemporary Classical Music Performance

flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, tuba, percussion*, harp, piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, voice

No pre-screen required.

Instrumental auditions should be performed without piano accompaniment, with the exception of strings and voice. String auditions may be accompanied, however it is not required and an accompanist will not be provided. Voice applicants will have a staff pianist provided for accompaniment for auditions in Boston, or you may choose to bring your own accompanist. Practice rooms are available the day of your audition.

*Percussion applicants should prepare audition repertoire as indicated below in the section Percussion Audition—Contemporary Classical Music Performance.

All other instruments (including voice) should prepare three complete works that reflect technical, rhythmic, and musical proficiency in the following areas:

• One standard work composed before 1900 that demonstrates technical and musical proficiency.
• One 20th-century work, in traditional notation, from the standard repertoire, such as Berio’s Sequenzas, Carter, Boulez, Schoenberg, Berg, Ligeti, Stravinsky, etc.
• One work composed since 2000. This work may be written by the performer, by a student or colleague, or by an established composer, and may incorporate improvisation.

Works with electronics are discouraged due to limited technical assistance and set-up time in the audition room. However speakers and an 1/8 inch auxiliary cable can be provided for pre-recorded playback. 

Please provide at least two copies of the scores for the audition panel. Photocopies are permitted.

Percussion Audition—Contemporary Classical Music Performance

Percussionists applying for the Contemporary Classical Music Performance program should prepare the repertoire required for a standard graduate percussion audition, with a multi-percussion solo recording in place of orchestral excerpts (details below, no excerpts required). Works with electronics are discouraged due to limited technical assistance and set-up time in the audition room. However speakers and an 1/8 inch auxiliary cable can be provided for pre-recorded playback.

Please provide at least two copies of the scores for the audition panel. Photocopies are permitted.

You are encouraged to program creatively so as to represent your skills and also demonstrate something unique about yourself as a musician. Graduate percussion applicants must demonstrate proficiency on the instruments below and may be asked to sight-read.

Snare Drum

Perform both of the following, totaling about four minutes:

• Concert etude (suggested composers: Delécluse, Cirone, or Aleo)
• Rudimental solo (suggested composers: Pratt, Tompkins, or Wilcoxon)

Mallets (xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone)

Perform both of the following, totaling at least four minutes:

• Two-mallet solo: A work of your choice; be creative! Some suggestions are Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, or Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, or selections from the MassChap 2010 Xylophone Collection.
• Four-mallet solo: For suggestions, see Recommended Solos.

Note: For two-mallet and/or four-mallet solos, creative adaptations of any other composers' works are most welcome. In general, pieces with tempo fluctuations and a variety of rhythms and characters are preferred over perpetual motion pieces.

Timpani

Perform the following, totaling about three minutes:

• Solo piece about three minutes in duration. Suggested composers: Woud, Hochrainer, Firth, Delécluse, Lepak, Macarez, Carter.

Multi-Percussion

Please submit a recording of a multi-percussion solo or other contemporary solo on an instrument not otherwise represented above. Please upload a video recording (in lieu of a live performance of this work) on your preferred online platform and provide this link to the faculty prior to your audition date. Any questions can be directed to the Admissions Office.

 

Harp

No pre-screen required.

Instrumental auditions must be performed without accompaniment. Candidates auditioning in Boston may use Conservatory harps to practice and audition during the day of the audition only. To arrange use of a Conservatory harp, please contact the Conservatory music division via email at bcbmusic@berklee.edu. Available harps include a new Lyon-Healy (style 100), Salvi (Daphne), and Camac (Atlantide Prestige). Applicants may also choose to bring their own harp.

Applicants should prepare the following repertoire for a live or recorded audition:

Choose one etude:

• Bochsa: Fifty Studies, Op. 34, Book II (Hasselmans edition), No. 41 (F Major)
• Pozzoli: Studies of Moderate Difficulty, No. 14

Choose two of the following pieces, or play two compositions of similar or higher degree of difficulty. If playing a piece not on the list below, please contact the department coordinator at bcbmusic@berklee.edu for repertoire approval.

• Handel: Concerto in B-flat (any edition)
• Debussy: Danses Sacres et Profanes
• Ravel: Introduction et Allegro
• Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299
• Hindemith: Harp Sonata
• Salzedo: Variations on a Theme by Haydn

Choose two of the following orchestra excerpts:

• Donizetti: Solo and cadenza (in D major) from Lucia di Lammermoor
• Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
• Ravel: Cadenza from Tzigane
• Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
• Wagner: Magic Fire Music
• Strauss: Don Juan

Marimba

No pre-screen required.

Auditions should be performed without accompaniment (although playback of electronics on CD or MP3 player is acceptable).

On marimba, perform three works of contrasting styles totaling a minimum of 20 minutes. At least two of these must utilize four mallets. Adaptations are welcome, but one or two works must have been composed since 1970. You are encouraged to program creatively so as to represent your skills well and also demonstrate something unique about yourself as a musician.

View Recommended Solos

Applicants may be asked to sight read.

Music Education

No pre-screen required.

• Complete an online interview with the chair of the Music Education Department, Cecil Adderley, and the managing director of the Berklee Institute for Arts Education and Special Needs, Rhoda Bernard.
• Perform a live audition (applicants may submit recorded auditions by special request). The audition should consist of five minutes of music of your choice to demonstrate your musicianship. Please note that any style of music can be performed at the audition. A piano accompanist will be provided for auditions in Boston. If you would like to rehearse with the accompanist, please arrive 30 minutes early for your appointment.
• International applicants must provide a TOEFL score of 80 or higher by March 1 in order to interview.

Opera

Pre-screen required.

All opera applicants require the submission of a pre-screen video recording by the December application deadline. You will receive instructions on how to register and submit pre-screen videos upon submitting the application.

This pre-screen recording must be accompanied and include three contrasting pieces that are representative of the audition requirements listed below. Videos can have prerecorded or live piano accompaniment. Use of digital or app-based piano tracks is acceptable. Orchestral accompaniments are not acceptable. This does not have to be the same repertoire you plan to sing for your audition.

• All works are to be performed from memory.
• Three arias in contrasting style and language
  • An aria from an oratorio is optional
• Three art songs
  • One in English (not in translation)
  • Two in languages of your choice

Applicants are encouraged to select a contemporary work from the mid-20th to 21st century to satisfy one of the above requirements.

Recordings may not be edited for either audio or video enhancement.

If invited for a live audition, the live audition requirements are the same as the pre-screen requirements. Following the audition, each applicant will also have a short interview and debrief with current voice department students. For on-campus auditions in Boston, a professional staff pianist will be provided for voice auditions, but you may choose to bring your own accompanist. Practice rooms will be available the day of your audition.

Note: For 2021, a recorded video audition may be accepted for opera applicants in the event that a live audition cannot be accommodated due to the online format. Applicants are strongly recommended to participate in a live audition, but may contact bcb@berklee.edu to request to audition by recording.

Orchestral Conducting

Please note: We are not accepting applications for this program for 2021–2022 enrollment.

Pre-screen and live audition required.

All orchestral conducting applicants must submit a pre-screen recording by the December application deadline. Pre-screen material must include the following:

• A résumé highlighting the applicant’s performing, conducting, and educational experience
• A repertoire list of compositions conducted in performance and/or rehearsal
• Two artistic letters of recommendation from teachers or faculty who have observed the applicant conducting
• A 15-minute video of the applicant conducting a working rehearsal (including stopping, speaking, and starting) of any instrumental ensemble or repertoire. The recording camera should be facing the conductor, and the video should demonstrate verbal communication skills. The 15-minute video may include more than one rehearsal or repertoire. Due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, submissions of previous performances may be permitted.
• A 15-minute audio recording of the applicant performing recently prepared repertoire on the applicant’s primary instrument/voice

Applicants will not be invited to the live audition until all the above have been submitted. Applicants may be invited to a live audition and interview based on an evaluation of the materials submitted above, as well as submission of a complete application. The live audition will consist of an interview with Bruce Hangen and proficiency assessments in orchestration, music history, score recognition, repertoire, and standard foreign musical terminology.

Percussion

No pre-screen required.

Auditions should be performed without accompaniment (although playback of electronics on CD or MP3 player is acceptable).

• Graduate applicants must demonstrate proficiency in the areas described below.
• In addition, graduate applicants must prepare two (2) standard orchestral excerpts each for snare drum, timpani, and xylophone.
• Graduate applicants may be asked to sight read on the instruments below.
• Graduate applicants to the Contemporary Classical Music program should follow those repertoire guidelines.
• You are encouraged to program creatively so as to represent your skills well and also demonstrate something unique about yourself as a musician.

Snare Drum

Perform both of the following, totaling about four minutes:

• Concert etude. Suggested composers: Delécluse, Cirone, Aleo, Peters.
• Rudimental solo. Suggested composers: Pratt, Tompkins, Wilcoxon.

Mallets (xylophone, marimba, and vibraphone)

Perform both of the following, totaling at least four minutes:

• Two-mallet solo. A work of your choice; be creative! Some suggestions are Bach Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin, or Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, or selections from the MassChap 2010 Xylophone Collection.
• Four-mallet solo. For suggestions, see Recommended Solos.

Note: For two-mallet and/or four-mallet solo, creative adaptations of any other composers' works are most welcome. In general, pieces with tempo fluctuations and a variety of rhythms and characters are preferred over perpetual motion pieces.

Timpani

Perform the following, totaling about three minutes:

• Solo piece, about three minutes in duration. Suggested composers: Woud, Hochrainer, Firth, Delécluse, Lepak, Macarez, Carter.

Piano

No pre-screen required.

For the audition, applicants should prepare all of the following. Multi-movement works must be prepared in their entirety. All works are to be performed from memory. Incomplete audition requirements will not be accepted.

• A prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier or another work by Bach that includes a fugue
• A complete sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert
• A major work for solo piano from the romantic era (including Rachmaninoff)
• A solo piano piece from the 20th or 21st century
• One virtuosic etude, such as those by Chopin, Liszt, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Ligeti.

Strings

violin, viola, cello, double bass

No pre-screen required.

• An etude or short virtuosic work that best demonstrates your ability to shift freely around the whole range of the instrument with good control of bowing articulation
• Two movements of unaccompanied Bach (bass players may substitute with another work of their choice)
• A complete first or last movement of a standard concerto
• A work of the applicant’s choice (a 20th-century work is recommended)
• Preparation of a melodic and a harmonic minor scale of your choice in three to four octaves, performed with a minimum of four notes slurred per bow, plus the corresponding arpeggios (the arpeggio cycle of Flesch or Galamian is preferred and should be performed three notes slurred to a bow)
• There may be brief sight-reading at the live audition.
• Piano accompaniment is permitted, but not required.
• Memorization is encouraged but not required.

It is not required that you perform your audition with piano accompaniment, and the Conservatory cannot provide an accompanist for you. But for those who would like to work with a pianist, please contact the chair of instrumental music, Matthew Marsit, to ask for a list of local collaborative pianists for hire. You must schedule and hire the accompanist if you need one. A piano will be available for warm-up and in the audition room for auditions in Boston.

Voice

Pre-screen required.

All voice applicants require the submission of a pre-screen recording (video required) by the December application deadline. You will receive instructions on how to register and submit pre-screen videos upon submitting the application.

This pre-screen recording must be accompanied and include three contrasting pieces that are representative of the audition requirements below. Videos can have prerecorded or live piano accompaniment. Use of digital or app-based piano tracks is acceptable. Orchestral accompaniments are not acceptable. This does not have to be the same repertoire you plan to sing for your audition.

• All works are to be performed from memory.
• Three art songs
  • One in English (not in translation)
  • Two in languages of your choice
• One aria from an opera or oratorio

Applicants are encouraged to select a contemporary work from the mid-20th to 21st century to satisfy one of the above requirements. As part of our mission to promote diversity and inclusion in all that we do at the Conservatory, we recommend that at least one of your selections be written by an underrepresented composer (works by women, BIPOC, Asian, or Latinx composers, or other underrepresented groups).

Recordings may not be edited for either audio or video enhancement.

If invited for a live audition, the audition requirements are the same as the pre-screen requirements. Following the audition, each applicant will also have a short interview and debrief with current voice department students. For on-campus auditions in Boston, a professional staff pianist will be provided, but you may choose to bring your own accompanist. Practice rooms will be available the day of your audition.

Musical Theater Vocal Pedagogy (M.F.A.)

No pre-screen required.

Please prepare for the audition based on the requirements listed below.

Audition Requirements:

• Two musical theater song selections
  • Must include one Golden Age selection
  • An English art song or aria (optional)
• Two contemporary musical theater selections
  • For treble or female-identifying voices, one piece must demonstrate mix/belt/chest access
• One short monologue from the standard repertoire (1950s forward)
• All works are to be performed from memory.

Piano Skills:

• Please also prepare and present the piano accompaniment of either an Italian art song or musical theater selection (comping is acceptable). You may sing along if you wish.

Applicants will sing two selections requested by the committee in addition to the prepared monologue. Please be prepared to perform musical theater pieces in their full form as well as 32 bar cuts.

At the live audition each applicant will perform for Head of Vocal Pedagogy Kevin Wilson and members of the Conservatory's voice faculty. Following the audition, each applicant will also have a short interview and debrief with current voice department students. For on-campus auditions in Boston, a professional staff pianist will be provided, but you may choose to bring your own accompanist. Practice rooms will be available the day of your audition.

Note: For 2021, a recorded video audition may be accepted for vocal pedagogy applicants in the event that a live audition cannot be accommodated due to the online format. Applicants are strongly recommended to participate in a live audition, but may contact bcb@berklee.edu to request to audition by recording.

Vocal Pedagogy (M.M.)

No pre-screen required.

Please prepare for the audition based on the requirements listed below.

Audition Requirements:

• Three art songs
  • One in English (not in translation)
  • Two in languages of your choice
• One of the following:
  • An aria from an opera or oratorio
  • A selection from the classical or contemporary theater genre
• All works are to be performed from memory.
• Applicants are encouraged to select a contemporary work from the mid-20th to 21st century to satisfy one of the above requirements.

Piano Skills:

• Please prepare and present the piano accompaniment of either an Italian art song or musical theater selection (comping is acceptable). You may sing along if you wish.

Each applicant will perform for Head of Vocal Pedagogy Kevin Wilson and other members of the Conservatory voice faculty. Following the audition, each applicant will also have a short interview and debrief with current voice department students. For on-campus auditions in Boston, a professional staff pianist will be provided for voice auditions, but you may choose to bring your own accompanist. Practice rooms will be available the day of your audition.

Note: For 2021, a recorded video audition may be accepted for vocal pedagogy applicants in the event that a live audition cannot be accommodated due to the online format. Applicants are strongly recommended to participate in a live audition, but may contact bcb@berklee.edu to request to audition by recording.

Woodwinds

flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, bassoon

No pre-screen required.

Flute

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire (e.g., Prokofiev sonata, Poulenc sonata, Mozart concerto)

Choice of two excerpts:

• Beethoven, Leonore Overture No. 3—measures 328-360
• Brahms, Symphony No. 4, last movement—measures 93-105
• Mendelssohn, "Scherzo" from Midsummer Night's Dream—two measures before letter P to the end
• Debussy, Prélude à l’après midi d’un faune—opening four-bar solo, continue at rehearsal #2

Optional Piccolo

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire (e.g., Vivaldi Piccolo concerto)
• Two orchestral excerpts (e.g., Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, Rossini: Semiramide Overture)

Oboe

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart concerto, Vaughan Williams concerto, Ferling etudes, Barrett etude)
• Two orchestral excerpts (e.g., Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Beethoven: 3rd Symphony, Rossini: La scala di seta Overture)

Optional English Horn

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire (e.g., Donizetti concertino)
• Two orchestral excerpts (e.g., Berlioz: Roman Carnival Overture; Dvôrák: New World Symphony, Largo; Debussy: Nocturnes, Fêtes)

Clarinet

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart concerto, Weber: either concerto)
• Two orchestral excerpts (e.g., Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scherzo; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, Beethoven: Symphony No. 6, second movement)

Bassoon

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart concerto)
• Two orchestral excerpts (e.g., Beethoven: 4th Symphony, Strauss: Don Juan, Stravinsky: Rite of Spring)

Saxophone

• Two movements of contrasting nature from the solo repertoire
• Two contrasting Ferling etudes (one fast, one slow)

Note: If you are submitting a recorded audition, please make sure that there is no accompaniment and that the recording has not been edited and does not contain reverb. Each work or movement should be uploaded as a separate video with the file names in English or the original language.

Woodwinds with Auxiliary Instrument Specialization

No pre-screen required.

Students interested in applying for graduate-level programs in woodwinds now have the option of formally declaring an auxiliary instrument specialization. The core curriculum for these specializations is nearly identical in structure to other graduate-level programs in woodwinds. Accepted students who declare auxiliary instrument specializations will note the specialized work in the applied area (private lessons, juries, and recitals), large ensembles (with casting priority on the specialized instrument), and the possibility of chamber music assignments. Applicants who wish to be considered for the specializations should adhere to the specific audition requirements below.

Flute with Piccolo Specialization

Flute

• Two contrasting movements of your choice from the standard solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart Concerti, Prokofiev Sonata, Poulenc Sonata, Bach Sonatas or Partita)

Piccolo

• Any Vivaldi piccolo concerto: one slow and one fast movement
• Four orchestral excerpts
  • Your choice of opera overture by Rossini (e.g., La gazza ladra, La scala di seta Overture, Semiramide Overture)
  • Your choice of Shostakovich Symphony 6, 8, or 10
  • Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4
  • Berlioz, "Dance of the Sprites," from Damnation of Faust

Oboe with English Horn Specialization

Oboe

• Two contrasting movements of your choice from the standard solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart Concerto, Vaughan Williams Concerto, Strauss Concerto)

English Horn

One of the following solo works:

• J.S. Bach, Cantata #1, aria "Wie schön leuchtet"
• Donizetti, Concertino for English horn

Three orchestral excerpts:

• Berlioz, Roman Carnival Overture: all the passages from the Andante Sostenuto section
• Debussy, Nocturnes Movt. 2 (Fêtes): the first passage and figures 2-4 and 14-18
• Rodrigo, Concierto de Aranjuez: Adagio

Clarinet with Bass Clarinet Specialization

Clarinet

• Two contrasting movements of your choice from the standard solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart Concerto, Weber Concerti, Nielsen Concerto)

Bass Clarinet

• One movement of a J. S. Bach cello suite (original or transposed keys)
• One contemporary solo piece of your choice (e.g., Elliott Carter: "Steep Steps"; Loevendie: "Duo"; Isang Yun: "Monologue")

Your choice of two of the following orchestral excerpts:

• Ravel, La Valse
• Stravinsky, Rite of Spring
• Grand Canyon Suite
• Shostakovich, Violin Concerto
• Ravel, Daphnis and Chloé, Suite No.2

Bassoon with Contrabassoon Specialization

Bassoon

• Two contrasting movements of your choice from the standard solo repertoire (e.g., Mozart Concerto, Weber Concerto, Tansman Sonata)

Contrabassoon

Complete orchestral parts for the following works:

• Ravel, Mother Goose Suite
• Ravel, Piano Concerto for the Left Hand
• Brahms, Symphony No. 1
• Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5

Multiple Woodwinds

All multiple woodwind applicants should demonstrate ability on at least three different woodwind family instruments (i.e. no multi-clarinets, no multi-saxes). For the applicant’s primary instrument, the applicant should prepare two contrasting movements from the standard repertoire. For every other instrument presented, prepare a work(s) that demonstrates current levels of technical and musical proficiency of at least 5 minutes in duration per instrument.

Applicants who are interested in auditioning for the multiple woodwind program will first need to schedule an audition for their primary instrument, then reach out to the Office of Admissions to schedule auditions for their other instruments.

If unable to attend a live audition, applicants may submit a recorded audition. Please make sure that on the recording there is no accompaniment and that the recording has not been edited and does not contain reverb.