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

There are two audition format options. Applicants may select to audition live at SFCM (COVID-19 vaccination required) or 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)
    • Tschaikovsky'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

There are two audition format options. Applicants may select to audition live at SFCM (COVID-19 vaccination required) or 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 7)*
• 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 7)*
• 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 7)*
• 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

There are two audition format options. Applicants may select to audition live at SFCM (COVID-19 vaccination required) or 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

There are two audition format options. Applicants may select to audition live at SFCM (COVID-19 vaccination required) or 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

There are two audition format options. Applicants may select to audition live at SFCM (COVID-19 vaccination required) or 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.