Requirements

Review the requirements for your area of study below.

Note that for all Brass applicants:

• There is no prescreening requirement.
• Works with piano are not required to be performed with a pianist or piano recording. 
• Repertoire does not need to be memorized.

Horn

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2022

Applicants will submit a final audition self-recording in an audiovisual format and attend a virtual interview with members of the faculty. There will be no performance in the virtual interview.

 

Undergraduate

• Major, minor, and chromatic scales
• First movement (complete with cadenza, if applicable), Mozart's Concerto No. 2, 3, or 4
• First movement (complete), Strauss' Concerto No. 1
• Three orchestral excerpts. Select one excerpt from each option.
  • Excerpt 1 Options
    • Brahms' Symphony No. 3, mvmt 3, 1st horn (measures 98-110 / F to 12 after F)
    • Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, mvmt 2, 1st horn (measures 9-28)
    • Saint-Saëns' Symphony No. 3, slow movement, 3rd horn (reh Q to reh S)
  • Excerpt 2 Options
    • Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel, 1st horn (beginning to 1)
    • Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, mvmt 1, 1st horn (reh 17-21)
    • Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Eroica", mvmt 3, 2nd horn (measures 171 - 205)
  • Excerpt 3 Options
    • Wagner's Götterdämmerung (short call)
    • Schumann's Symphony No. 3, mvmt 1, 1st horn, (measures 363-390)
    • Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, mvmt 4, 1st horn (17 after reh 10 to reh 11)
• Sight-reading (if applicable)

 

Graduate and Postgraduate

• Major, minor, and chromatic scales
• Strauss' Concerto No. 1 or comparable work
• A 20th-century work for solo horn. We recommend performing a work by a female composer and/or person from a historically underrepresented ethnic/racial background.
• Five orchestral excerpts. Select one excerpt from each option.
  • Excerpt 1 Options
    • Mendelssohn's Midsummer's Night Dream, Nocturne (measures 1-34)
    • Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, mvmt 2, 1st horn (measures 9-28)
    • Brahms' Symphony No. 1, mvmt 2, 1st horn (measures 90-105)
  • Excerpt 2 Options
    • Franck's Symphony in d minor, mvmt 2, 1st horn (measures 29-48)
    • Schumann's Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish", mvmt 4, 1st horn (measures 1-8)
    • Ravel's Pavane, 1st horn (measures 1-11)
  • Excerpt 3 Options
    • Strauss's Ein Heldenleben, 2nd horn (4 after reh 3 to 2 after reh 5)
    • Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, mvmt 1, 1st horn (reh 17-21)
    • Strauss's Don Quixote, Var. VII, 2nd horn (reh 57 to 5 after reh 58)
  • Excerpt 4 Options
    • Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, mvmt 3, 4th horn (measures 83-121)
    • Mahler's Symphony No. 1, mvmt 3, 2nd horn (4 after reh 13 to reh 15)
    • Strauss's Don Quixote, Var. VIII, 4th horn (5 before reh 59 to 8 after reh 62)
  • Excerpt 5 Options
    • Wagner's Götterdämmerung (short call)
    • Bach's Mass in b minor, Quoniam (measures 1-13)
    • Strauss' Ein Heldenleben, 1st horn (beginning to reh 2)
• Sight-reading (if applicable)

Trumpet

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2022

Applicants will submit a final audition self-recording in an audiovisual format.

 

Undergraduate Freshmen

• Charlier Étude No. 2 (beginning to the last measure of line 7)
• One technical etude (Arban, Bitsch, Bousquet, Brandt, etc)
• Adagio from Aleksandra Pakhmutova's Concerto for Trumpet (two before 16 to six after 17)*
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 Offstage call
  • Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition Opening solo
• Optional: If there is an additional solo work you would like to perform, please list it in your final audition repertoire.

 

Undergraduate Transfers

• Charlier Étude No. 2 (beginning to the last measure of line 7)
• One technical etude (Arban, Bitsch, Bousquet, Brandt, etc)
• Adagio from Aleksandra Pakhmutova's Concerto for Trumpet (two before 16 to six after 17)*
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 Offstage call
  • Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition Opening solo
  • Respighi's Pines of Rome Offstage solo
  • Mahler's Symphony No 5 Opening solo
  • Stravinsky's Petrouchka (1947 version) Ballerina Dance (1 bar before Reh. 134 to Reh. 139)
• Optional: If there is an additional solo work you would like to perform, please list it in your final audition repertoire.

 

Graduate and Postgraduate

• Charlier Étude No. 2 (beginning to the last measure of line 7)
• One technical etude (Arban, Bitsch, Bousquet, Brandt, etc)
• First movement exposition of Haydn or Hummel Concerto
• Adagio from Aleksandra Pakhmutova's Concerto for Trumpet (two before 16 to six after 17)*
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3 Offstage call
  • Mussorgsky/Ravel's Pictures at an Exhibition Opening solo
  • Respighi's Pines of Rome Offstage solo
  • Mahler's Symphony No 5 Opening solo
  • Stravinsky's Petrouchka (1947 version) Ballerina Dance (1 bar before Reh. 134 to Reh. 139)

*Excerpt is provided within the application on the Audition Details tab. Select trumpet as your instrument area for access.

Trombone

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2022

Applicants will submit a final audition self-recording in an audiovisual format.

 

Undergraduate

• One Solo of choice with contrasting sections
• Two contrasting études of choice (one lyrical and one technical)
• Major scales (We recommend 3 major scales of 2 or 3 octaves, with at least one in a sharp key. They may be played as eighth notes at a tempo of 120.)

 

Graduate and Postgraduate

• One of the following solos: Ballade by Frank Martin; Concertino, mvt. 1 by Ferdinand David; Sonate by Paul Hindemith
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Berlioz's Hungarian March (second trombone, Reh 3 to 2nd measure of Reh 5)
  • Mahler's Symphony No. 3 (first trombone, first and second solos)
  • Mozart's "Tuba Mirum" from Requiem
  • Ravel's Bolero (Reh 10 solo)
  • Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 3 (first trombone, mvt 1, Reh Q to R)
  • Strauss' Ein Heldenleben (second trombone, Reh 60-66)
  • Tower's Fanfare for an Uncommon Woman (first trombone, bar 45-80)*
  • Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries (second trombone, B major section)

*Excerpt is provided within the application on the Audition Details tab. Select trombone as your instrument area for access.

Bass Trombone

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2022

Applicants will submit a final audition self-recording in an audiovisual format.

 

Undergraduate

• Études from J. Rochut Melodious Études, Book 1
• One Solo of choice with contrasting sections
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4
  • Brahms' Symphony No. 1
  • Schubert's Symphony in C Major
  • Berlioz's Hungarian March
• Sight-reading

 

Graduate and Postgraduate

• One solo (Sarabande from Bach Cello Suite No. 5, or piece of student’s choice) with contrasting sections
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Haydn's The Creation, No. 26
  • Kodály's Háry János Suite, fourth movement
  • Rossini's Overture to La gazza ladra
  • Schumann's Symphony No. 3, fourth movement
  • Strauss's Ein Heldenleben
  • Wagner's Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla
  • Wagner's Overture to Tannhäuser

Tuba

UPDATED JANUARY 7, 2022

Applicants will submit a final audition self-recording in an audiovisual format and attend a virtual interview with members of the admission committee. There will be no performance in the virtual interview.

 

Undergraduate

• One étude
• A legato study (such as Rochut)
• Solo literature
• Orchestral excerpts (transfer students only, incoming freshmen excluded)

 

Graduate and Postgraduate

• One solo (Vaughan Williams Concerto for Bass Tuba: first movement, or piece of student’s choice)
• Orchestral excerpts:
  • Berlioz's Rakóczy March
  • Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique
  • Hindemith's Symphonic Metamorphosis
  • Stravinsky's Petrushka
  • Wagner's Overture to Die Meistersinger or Ride of the Valkyries

For audition dates, please visit Auditions.