String Auditions
Dates
Spring 2024
Auditions for Spring semester entry are arranged individually the week of November 13 following the application deadline.
Fall 2024
Auditions for Fall semester entry are as follows and subject to change. Students are reminded not to book travel until scheduling an audition slot through the application status portal, which will be available after the release of audition slots in December.
- Violin: January 29; February 5, 19, 26
- Viola: January 29 and February 4
- Cello: February 11, 12, and 13
- Double Bass: January 22, February 5 and 12
- Harp: February 5
Requirements
Review the requirements for your area of study below. If you have questions about your repertoire selections within these requirements, please first consult with your current private teacher or other mentor.
For violin, viola, and cello applicants:
- There is a prescreening requirement.
- Instrumental final auditions will be performed unaccompanied.
For double bass and harp applicants:
- There is no prescreening requirement.
- Instrumental final auditions will be performed unaccompanied.
Repertoire must be performed from memory.
Prescreening - All Programs
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach partita or sonata
Final Audition - Undergraduate
- Two movements of a Bach solo violin partita or sonata (one slow movement and one fast)
- Two études, one must be a Paganini Caprice or similar work
- One movement of a standard concerto
- One composition of the applicant’s choice (Mozart preferred if the standard concerto previously listed is not a Mozart concerto)
Final Audition - Graduate and Postgraduate
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach solo sonata or partita
- One Paganini Caprice
- One complete Romantic or contemporary concerto
- One movement of a Mozart concerto
Final Audition - PSC Concertmaster Track Only
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach solo sonata or partita
- One Paganini Caprice
- One complete Romantic or contemporary concerto
- One movement of a Mozart concerto
- Orchestral excerpts:
- R. Strauss, Don Juan (page 1)
- Mozart Symphony No. 39, Finale (4th mvt) through bar #78
Repertoire does not need to be memorized.
Prescreening - All Programs
- One movement of a standard viola concerto
- Two movements of either a Bach suite for solo cello or a Bach sonata or partita for solo violin, one slow movement and one fast
Final Audition - Undergraduate
- Two movements of either a Bach suite for solo cello or a Bach sonata or partita for solo violin, one slow movement and one fast
- One movement of a standard concerto (with cadenza)
- One movement of a sonata for viola and piano
Final Audition - Graduate and Postgraduate
- Two movements of either a Bach suite for solo cello or a Bach sonata or partita for solo violin, one slow movement and one fast
- One movement of a standard concerto (with cadenza)
- Two contrasting movements from a sonata for viola and piano
- One work composed by a woman and/or person from a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group
Repertoire does not need to be memorized.
Prescreening - All Programs
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach suite
Final Audition - Undergraduate
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach suite
- One étude
Final Audition - Graduate and Postgraduate
Either the concerto or the sonata listed below should be from the 20th or 21st century.
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach suite
- One movement of a sonata OR a solo contemporary piece written after 1950.
Repertoire does not need to be memorized.
Undergraduate
We encourage applicants to select at least one work by a woman and/or person from a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group to fulfill at least one of the requirements below.
- Two major and two minor scales in two octaves, or an étude of your choice
- One movement of a baroque or classical sonata, concerto, or one-movement piece
- One movement or a one-movement piece from the Romantic or Contemporary repertoire.
Graduate and Postgraduate
We encourage applicants to select at least one work by a woman and/or person from a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group to fulfill at least one of the requirements listed below.
- One concerto or virtuoso piece
- Two contrasting movements from either a sonata or multi-movement work from the romantic or contemporary repertoire, or two contrasting movements of a Bach cello suite.
Repertoire does not need to be memorized.
Undergraduate
- One étude for harp of intermediate difficulty (Bach/Grandjany, N.C. Bochsa, Dizzi, Godefroid, Posse, Salzedo, Schmidt)
- Two compositions of intermediate difficulty from different periods, including one work composed by a woman and/or person from a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group.
Graduate and Postgraduate
- Ravel's Introduction et Allegro, Handel's Concerto in B-flat (entire work), or one fast movement of a major harp concerto
- Two compositions of advanced difficulty from different periods, including one work composed after 1950, and one work by a woman and/or person from a historically underrepresented racial/ethnic group.
- Two contrasting orchestral excerpts
