String and piano applicants will be scheduled for a chamber music audition in May. Chamber music audition times will be shared after the student auditions. Students will be asked to perform 1 piece, sight read, and complete a short interview with a chamber music coordinator. Chamber music auditions are for placement purposes only and do not guarantee placement into a chamber music ensemble. Students applying for the Young Person's Program (ages 6-8) will not need to take a chamber music audition.

Submit two compositions representative of the applicants current work as a PDF (Portable Document Format). Recordings may be submitted as supplemental materials, however recordings are not required to be considered for admission. Composition portfolios are due by April 6, 2024. Please submit your composition portfolio to the Pre-College Office at cerpbyyrtr@fspz.rqhude.mcfs@egellocerp .

Jazz applicants will be required to perform the following pieces along with a backing track:

• Billie’s Bounce by Charlie Parker
• Piece of your choice from the following list: http://www.jazzstandards.com/compositions/index.htm
  • For the 2nd piece, drummers must select a piece with a latin or afro-cuban beat.

For each piece, applicants should perform in the following structure:

• chorus I - melody
• chorus II - improvised
• chorus III - improvised
• chorus IV - melody (embellished)

Backing tracks can be found on Youtube and Spotify, or through an online platform such as iReal and The Major 7. If applicants need additional resources for backing tracks, please contact the Pre-College office at cerpbyyrtr@fspz.rqhude.mcfs@egellocerp .

Percussion applicants will be required to perform 1 mallet piece and 1 snare drum piece. A timpani piece is optional.

Pianists should audition with 2 contrasting pieces of the applicant’s choice demonstrating their current proficiency level. The list below is a guide to the minimum repertoire level requirements acceptable for piano entrance auditions. These are suggested pieces. Reasonable substitutions or more advanced pieces are welcome.

Age 9 and younger

• Scales: 2 octaves major and harmonic minor up to 3 sharps and flats

Select 2 contrasting pieces from the following categories

• Baroque: Bach Kleine Preludium (one of the small Preludes)
• Classical: A movement from any classical sonatina
• Romantic: A work by a 19th century composer such as but not limited to
  • Tchaikovsky Album for the Young Op. 39 (one selection)
  • Schumann Album for the Young (one selection)
  • Chopin ""An Introduction to Chopin"" Alfred/Palmer edition (one selection)
  • Grieg Lyric Pieces
• A work by a 20th or 21st century composer such as but not limited to
  • Kabalevsky Children's Pieces Op 27 (one selection)
  • Bartók for Children

Age 10 - 13

• Scales: 4 octaves all major and minor scales up to 4 sharps and flats
• Baroque: two or three part invention (sinfonia) by Bach
• Classical: a movement from a sonata by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn
• Romantic: A Romantic work by Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, or Liszt.
• A work by a 20th or 21st-century composer.

Age 14 and older

• Scales: 4 octaves all major and minor scales
• A complete work by Bach, excluding all inventions
• A movement from a sonata from a classical era composer such as Haydn, Mozart, Schubert or Beethoven (excluding Op. 49 and Op. 79)
• A substantial Romantic work by composers such as Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, or Liszt.
• A work by a 20th or a 21st-century composer

Submit two works: one musical score that demonstrates original musical thought and the fundamentals of compositional technique and one self-produced recording of an original work (can be made using any combination of acoustic and virtual instruments).

Violinists should audition with 2 contrasting pieces of the applicant’s choice demonstrating their current proficiency level. The list below is a guide to the minimum repertoire level requirements acceptable for violin entrance auditions. These are suggested pieces. Reasonable substitutions or more advanced pieces are welcome.

Age 10 and younger

• Violin Concerto in A minor, RV 356 by Antonio Vivaldi
• Violin Concertino in D major, Op. 15 by Ferdinand Küchler
• Student Concerto No. 1, 2, or 3 by Freidrich Seitz
• A piece from 8 Humoresques, Op. 101 by Antonín Dvořák
• Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 35 by Oskar Rieding

Age 10 - 13

• Romance for Violin and Orchestra, No. 2, Op. 50 by Ludwig van Beethoven
• Violin Concerto No. 9 in A-minor, Op. 104 by Charles-Auguste de Bériot
• Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Jean-Baptiste Accolay
• Violin Concerto No. 4 in G major by Joseph Haydn
• Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 by J.S. Bach
• Violin Concerto No. 1 in G major, Op. 34 by Oskar Rieding
• Violin Concerto in G minor, RV 317 by Antonio Vivaldi

Age 14 and older

• Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch
• Violin Concerto No. 4 or 5 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 48 by Dmitri Kabalevsky
• A movement from 6 Violin Sonatas and Partitas by J.S. Bach

Two contrasting pieces of the applicant's own choice demonstrating current level of proficiency. Vocalists are required to audition with piano accompaniment.

If applicants need an accompanist, please contact the Pre-College Office at cerpbyyrtr@fspz.rqhude.mcfs@egellocerp .

Financial aid is awarded based on the joint criteria of demonstrated financial need and merit. Financial aid applications for all students are due by Monday, April 15, 2024.