Graduate Auditions & Interviews

Pre-screen video required. 

In-person auditions required.

For both the MM and DMA prescreening:

For the prescreening video, please record two contrasting collaborative piano works with partners. These prescreening performances are not necessarily restricted to the audition repertoire. Please contact Timothy Lovelace with questions regarding prescreening and audition repertoire.

Collaborative piano & coaching (MM)

Applicants who pass the screening will be invited to perform a live audition on campus. You will be assigned partners and rehearsal times as part of the live audition process. A personal interview may be conducted by the faculty as part of the audition. For further information, contact Timothy Lovelace. The repertoire for the live audition is as follows:

Mozart Sonata for Piano and Violin in E Minor, K. 304 (either movement)

Brahms Von ewiger Liebe (original key)

Libby Larsen Lift Me Into Heaven Slowly (original key)

Sight-reading from instrumental and/or vocal repertoire

Collaborative piano & coaching (DMA)

Applicants who pass the screening will be invited to perform a live audition on campus. You will be assigned partners and rehearsal times as part of the live audition process. A personal interview may be conducted by the faculty as part of the audition. All applicants must bring a copy of their complete collaborative piano repertoire (vocal and instrumental) to their auditions. For further information, contact Timothy Lovelace. The repertoire for the live audition is as follows:

Mozart Sonata for Piano and Violin in E Minor, K. 304 (either movement)

Brahms Von ewiger Liebe (original key)

Libby Larsen Lift Me Into Heaven Slowly (original key)

Bizet Act II Quintet (“Nous avons un tête une affaire”) from Carmen

Sight-reading from instrumental and/or vocal repertoire

Pre-Screen Video Submission Guidelines

• Pre-screening videos must be submitted by the application deadline via the Digital Uploads section on your application to the University of Minnesota.
• Videos must be made within the past 12-18 months.
• Each selection must be performed from beginning to end in one take. No editing is allowed.
• Videos must be accompanied by information indicating the candidate’s name, degree objective, state of residence, and titles of selections with the composer’s names. Please include an arranger or transcriber, where appropriate.
• Video content may contain material taken from either a rehearsal or a performance; it is recommended to have excerpts of both.
• All videos must be recorded from the front so that the face, hands, gestures, and posture are clearly visible. Do not submit a video filmed from behind the conductor.
• The recommended duration of the combined video submissions (rehearsal and performance) is 15-20 minutes. Performance videos of compositions longer than 20 minutes are acceptable.

Audition Requirements - MM

Typically, a live conducting audition and interview with the faculty directors in the area of study is required. Live auditions and interviews are by invitation only. Candidates will be invited to audition and interview by the conducting faculty, based on their evaluation of application materials.

Audition Requirements - DMA

Typically, a live conducting audition and interview with the faculty directors in the area of study are required. Live auditions and interviews are by invitation only. Candidates will be invited to audition and interview by the conducting faculty, based on their evaluation of application materials. 

All applicants invited to audition are expected to attend on their scheduled date and time, and are expected to have the entire audition repertoire prepared. While faculty may not hear entire works, they may ask you to perform any part of a required work.

MM, DMA

1. Choose from one of the following concertos, and prepare first and second movement of the chosen piece: (Cadenzas optional)
   • Mozart Bassoon Concerto
   • Weber Bassoon Concerto in F
   • Hummel Bassoon Concerto
2. One or two movements from a romantic or modern sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety)
   • Three orchestral excerpts from the following list:
   • Beethoven, Symphony No. 4 (4th movement solos)
   • Mozart, The Marriage of Figaro (measures 101-171)
   • Ravel, Bolero (solo)
   • Rimsky-Korsakov, Scheherazade, Mvt 2, solo and cadenzas
   • Shostakovich, Symphony No. 9 (solo from Mvts. 4-5)
   • Stravinsky, Firebird (Berceuse solo)
   • Stravinsky, The Rite of Spring, opening solos
   • Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 4, second movement solo

In-person auditions offered, video auditions are accepted. 

Graduate Performance Major Degree program

In-person auditions are offered, video auditions are accepted. 

MM Audition Requirements

• Mozart Concerto in G or D Major
• Two contrasting works of your choice
• Three Orchestral Excerpts

DMA Audition Requirements

• Mozart Concerto in G or D Major
• Bach Sonata
• Two contrasting works of your choice
• Three Orchestral Excerpts

An accompanist is neither required nor provided.

In-person auditions are offered, video auditions are accepted but in-person auditions are preferred. 

MM and DMA Audition Requirements

1. Two contrasting etudes (one slow, one fast).
2. One complete solo work from the standard repertoire (such as a work by Creston, Milhaud, Heiden, Desenclos, Eccles, Glazunov, Ibert, Maurice, Bozza, Tomasi, etc).
3. An accompanist is neither required nor provided.

MM and DMA Audition requirements 

In-person auditions only. 

Audition Requirements

1.  Required Solo Repertoire: (suggested 4 total)
   • Any Mozart Horn Concerto (mvt 1 only).
   • Richard Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1 or 2 (mvt. 1 only).
   • Two additional solo pieces selected from contrasting eras. Examples include: a single movement from a concerto or sonata, Twentieth-Century works and/or unaccompanied solo pieces.
2. Orchestral Excerpts: (suggested 8 total)
   • Standard orchestral excerpts from different eras demonstrating both high and low horn abilities.
   • A list of at least eight contrasting excerpts is required.

In-person auditions offered.

Trumpet Audition Requirements

• 2 etudes - one from Charlier and one from Bitsch, contrasting in style or comparable.
• Standard concerto or sonata of candidate's choice.
• Honegger Intrada or comparable. 
• 4 contrasting standard orchestral excerpts. 
• 1 piccolo trumpet orchestral excerpt (Examples include, but are not limited to Bach and Handel). 
• Sightreading. 

In-person auditions offered, video auditions accepted but in-person auditions are strongly encouraged. Questions? Contact Christian Howard.

Audition Requirements

MM and DMA auditions must include:

• Two contrasting solo works and three to four contrasting orchestral excerpts
  • Piano accompaniment not required on the audition
  • Memorization is not required

Questions? Contact Christian Howard. 

In-person auditions offered, video auditions accepted but in-person auditions are strongly encouraged.  

All audition repertoire must be confirmed via email by the appropriate faculty member at least one month before the recorded audition is submitted. All prospective low brass students are encouraged to contact the appropriate faculty member to arrange a lesson in the months prior to the audition. There is no charge for the lesson.

Audition Requirements

MM-performance auditions must include the following pieces:

Movements or sections from two significant solo works. Accompaniment is not required.

Three to four standard orchestral excerpts

Memorization not required

In-person auditions offered, video auditions accepted but in-person auditions are strongly encouraged.  

All audition repertoire must be confirmed via email by the appropriate faculty member at least one month before the recorded audition is submitted. All prospective low brass students are encouraged to contact the appropriate faculty member to arrange a lesson in the months prior to the audition. There is no charge for the lesson.

Questions? Contact Steven Campbell

Audition Requirements

MM-performance auditions must include the following pieces:

• Movements or sections from two significant solo works. Accompaniment is not required.
• Three to four standard orchestral excerpts
• Memorization not required

In-person and video auditions are accepted. 

Please refer to this list of repertoire and contact Professor Fernando Meza to confirm your selections before you begin recording.

Be prepared to perform on snare drum (both rudimental and concert styles), mallet instruments (xylophone, marimba, or vibraphone), and timpani if available.

If timpani are not available to perform your repertoire of choice, please perform one of the two drum etudes with any drums at your disposal (i.e., 2 snare drums with snares off, 2 tom-toms, etc), or even two practice pads. This will be aimed at displaying your technical understanding of playing timpani.

In addition, if no timpani are available, please also enclose a recorded version of yourself singing intervals (Google document with requirements), after obtaining a reference pitch of A=440 from either a tuning fork or a keyboard instrument. No other reference pitches allowed, and only one A at the start of the sequence of intervals. Audition on any other instrument (drum set, hand drums, ethnic percussion, etc.) is encouraged but not required.

You may provide a video with any other material you would want the auditioning committee to consider with your application (i.e. multiple-percussion, concerto features, jazz band performances, etc).

A prescreening video must be submitted with an application for the MM or DMA in Piano Performance by December 1, 2026. The prescreening video must include the 1st mvt of a classical sonata by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart or Clementi, and one other work by a different composer from the 19th, 20th or 21st century.

Complete in-person auditions offered and complete video auditions accepted based on prescreening results.

MM Audition Requirements

Prepare the following repertoire to be performed from memory:

• a Bach prelude and fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier or several substantial movements from a Bach suite or partita
• a complete major sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
• a representative work from the 19th century*
• a representative work from the 20th century*

*At least one of these should be technically and interpretively demanding and at least 10 minutes in length.

DMA Audition Requirements

Prepare a full recital from which the audition committee may select works to be performed. All works must be memorized. The repertoire must include:

• a complete major work by Bach or a prelude and fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier
• a complete major sonata or set of variations by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
• a representative work from the 19th* century
• a representative work from the 20th* century

*At least one of these should be a technically and interpretively demanding major work at least 15 minutes in length.

Please contact Professor Paul Shaw ([email protected]) with audition repertoire questions.

In-person auditions offered and video auditions accepted. 

MM Requirements

• Applicants should perform a thirty-minute program consisting of at least three compositions for organ of contrasting styles and from different historical periods and/or national schools.
  • One of these should be a major work of J.S. Bach, and at least one should be from the 19th or 20th-century repertoires.
  • It is recommended that the prepared compositions be of a level of difficulty commensurate with the applicant's own level of ability and experience.
  • Memorization is recommended but not required.
• In addition, applicants may be asked to play stanzas of a hymn in a style suitable for congregational singing, harmonize a given hymn tune, improvise, and sight-read a choral score or other open score using one or more C clefs.
• A repertoire list must be submitted as an attachment to the application for admission.
• Applicants are encouraged to submit a recording of their playing of a service in addition to the above requirements. 

DMA Requirements

• The applicant should prepare a program of forty-five minutes’ duration consisting of compositions for organ of contrasting styles and from different historical periods and/or national schools.
  • One work must be a major work of J. S. Bach, and the audition program must include works representing the 17th century, as well as the 19th-and 20th-century repertoires. In addition, the audition repertoire should illustrate the applicant’s ability to perform music that is interpretatively as well as technically demanding.
  • Memorization is recommended but not required.
  • A repertoire list must be submitted to the committee at the time of the audition.
• Applicants must also submit a sample of their written work (e.g., a research or term paper written for a history or theory course) at the time of their audition.

In-person auditions offered and video auditions accepted. 

MM and DMA Audition Requirements

Prepare three major contrasting pieces or movements from the following materials or from similar works of comparable level:

• J.Dowland (Fantasias), S.L.Weiss (Sonatas/Suites), J.S.Bach (Lute suites, Partitas, Sonatas)
• F.Sor (Advanced studies, variations), M.Giuliani, F.Tarrega (loger works)
• Works by: Turina, Rodrigo, Torroba, Ponce, Barrios, Brouwer, Villa-Lobos, Martin, Britten, Takemitsu, Rautavaara, etc.

In-person auditions offered and video auditions accepted. 

MM Audition Requirements

Prepare from memory the following:

• Two contrasting sonatas: i.e., Krumpholz, Dussek, Parry, C.P.E. Bach, Hindemith, Houdy, Tailleferre, Glanville-Hicks, etc.
• One etude by Bach/Grandjany, Bochsa, Pozzoli or Lariviere
• One work from the 19th or 20th centuries: i.e., by Faure, Andres, Salzedo, Flagello, etc.
• Download a list of suggested repertoire.

DMA Audition Requirements

All works except orchestral excerpts must be performed from memory:

• Three contrasting solo works; a concerto, sonata, or other major work, the level of Houdy Sonata, Faure Impromptu, JS Bach/Grandjany Fugue, CPE Bach Sonata, or Britten Suite.
• Two orchestral excerpts or cadenzas.
• Candidates must submit a previous degree recital program and a list of previously studied major repertoire.

Pre-screen videos are required for violin and viola applicants.

In-person auditions offered and video auditions are permitted upon request, but in-person auditions are strongly encouraged. 

We encourage live auditions in order for applicants to fully experience the School of Music through interactions with faculty and the touring of our facilities as well as getting a general sense of the vibrant Twin Cities arts and cultural scene. If an applicant's intent is to attend a live audition (if invited), then the applicant's repertoire should be presented in the pre-screening video. Those who know in advance that they will not be able to attend one of the invited live auditions should submit their repertoire in full for the pre-screening process which, in turn, will be used in lieu of a live audition. 

Violin:

• First movement of a major concerto
• A movement of unaccompanied Bach
• A short piece in a contrasting style

Viola:

Prepare three works (two of the three should be memorized) which must include:

• A movement of a major concerto -- preferably by Bartok, Hindemith or Walton. First movements of concertos by Hoffmeister, Rolla, Stamitz, Vanhal, and Zelter are acceptable but should include a cadenza.
• A movement from any Bach solo suite (transcribed from cello) or sonata/partita (transcribed from violin)
• A piece contrasting in style to the other two such as a sonata/suite movement or short accompanied or solo work. If a classical concerto is chosen from the aforementioned works, the contrasting piece should be from the Romantic period or 20th/21st century.

Please note: An accompanist is neither required nor provided.

Cello:

• First movement of a major concerto
• A movement of unaccompanied Bach
• A short piece in a contrasting style
   

Double Bass:

• 2-3 contrasting selections of your choice.
• Jazz tunes and other styles of music are options. In that case: Play head, solo, and walk (or appropriate bass line).
• Improvisation is an option.
• Submitting prescreening videos is highly recommended but not required.

Pre-screening videos required.

In-person auditions offered and video auditions are accepted.

If an applicant's intent is to attend a live audition (if invited), then the applicant’s repertoire should be presented in the pre-screening video. Those who know in advance that they will not be able to attend one of the invited live auditions should submit their repertoire in full for the pre-screening process which, in turn, will be used in lieu of a live audition.

MM and DMA Audition Information

Auditions for all graduate voice applicants should include the following repertoire, all performed from memory:

• Four selections from the classical vocal repertoire. One selection may be an opera or oratorio aria and one selection must be in English. Repertoire should demonstrate facility in various languages and periods of classical vocal composition and we always welcome works by composers from under-represented backgrounds. Vocal selections can be accompanied by piano, chamber ensemble, or orchestra. Accompaniment with electronic piano or CD will be permitted  for pre-screening and video auditions only. No amplification microphone is permitted.
• Two selections, read and spoken aloud, from the excerpts provided.
• At the beginning of the video, each applicant must clearly state:
  • name
  • voice type
  • degree objective
  • state, province, or country of residence
  • grade point average
  • titles of selections with composers' names
• Applicants will be notified whether or not you have received an audition