Music Auditions: All prospective undergraduate students and artist certificate students, as well as graduate students majoring in Performance, Performance and Pedagogy, and Conducting, must complete an audition to be considered for admission to the Division of Music. This audition process is separate from the admissions requirements of the University and allows the music faculty to evaluate your artistic accomplishments to date, as well as your potential for success in our programs. It includes a performance audition in the applied area and also brief assessments in music theory, aural skills and sight-reading.

To access a comprehensive music theory review Web site, click here.

If you wish to audition for the Division of Music, you must choose one of the available music audition dates.

Dallas Music Audition Dates*
November 22, 2008
January 24, 2009
February 7, 2009
February 21, 2009
February 28, 2009

*Reservations are required for all auditions and are accepted after October 1, 2008.

For questions about music auditions contact:
Alan Wagner - Assistant Director for Student Affairs
214.768.3745
wagnera@smu.edu.

To request an audition reservation, submit the following form, or contact:
Joe Hoselton
214.768.2628
meadowsrecruitment@smu.edu.

Note: While we prefer that a prospective applicant audition in person, a video or audio recording may be submitted if a live audition is not possible. Please contact us at wagnera@smu.edu for specific instructions.

Each performance area has their own requirements for your audition. Please scroll through the list below to find the required repertoire for your instrument or voice.

Required Audition Repertoire

Jump to... Violin Viola Cello String Bass Harp Guitar Flute Oboe Clarinet Saxophone Bassoon Horn Trumpet Trombone Tuba Keyboard Percussion Timpani Snare Drum Piano Organ Harpsichord Voice Composition

VIOLIN
Undergraduate and Graduate:

1. Three pieces of different styles. One piece may be a caprice or etude.

VIOLA
Undergraduate:

1. Rode #2 (dotted quarter=55)
2. Kreutzer #14 (quarter=65)
3. Either one movement of a Bach suite OR one movement of a standard sonata or concerto (excluding Telemann)

Graduate and Artist Certificate:

1. Two contrasting movements of either a Bach suite or a standard sonata or concerto (excluding Telemann)
2. Four to six orchestral excerpts

CELLO
Undergraduate:

1. One etude of Popper, Piatti, Duport or equivalent work
2. Two movements from a Bach suite
3. One movement of a standard concerto

Graduate:

1. One unaccompanied piece (excluding etudes)
2. One standard concerto (all movements)

Artist Certificate:

1. Recital Program of your choice

STRING BASS
Undergraduate:

1. Two contrasting movements from a concerto or sonata -or- two contrasting etudes
2. Two orchestral excerpts

Graduate and Artist Certificate

1. One standard concerto
2. Four orchestral excerpts

HARP
Undergraduate:

1. Scales-Hands separately, 1 1/2 octaves
2. Any etude from Method for the Harp by Carlos Salzedo
3. One of the following:
• Cadenza from "Waltz of the Flowers" from The Nutcracker ballet
• Cadenza and last movement from Capriccio Espagnol by Rimsky-Korsakov
4. Solo of the candidate's choice

Graduate and Artist Certificate:

All of the above, plus

1. The first movement of the Handel Harp Concerto in B flat
2. Danse Sacre by Debussy

GUITAR
Undergraduate:

1. One movement from a Bach suite
2. Two Sor studies (Edited by Segovia)
3. Three Ponce preludes
4. Three Brouwer etudes (Book III or IV)
5. Two Villa-Lobos preludes

Graduate and Artist Certificate:

1. Two movements from a Bach suite
2. A theme and variations or sonata/Allegro movement by Sor or Giuliani
3. Two Villa-Lobos etudes
4. A contemporary work by a composer like Martin, Brouwer, Henze, etc.

FLUTE
Undergraduate:

1. 1st movement of the Mozart Concerto in G Major
2. A second piece of your choice that contrasts stylistically with the Mozart concerto
3. All major and minor scales

Graduate:

1. First movement of either the Mozart Concerto in G or D Major
2. A second piece of your choice that contrasts stylistically with the Mozart Concerto, preferably a French Conservatory piece
3. Two movements of any Bach sonata

OBOE
Undergraduate:

1. Any movements of a standard repertoire sonata or concerto
2. Barret Etude #16
3. Barret Etude #3

Graduate:

1. First movement of the Mozart Concerto
2. Ferling Etude #1
3. Ferling Etude #2

CLARINET
Undergraduate and Graduate:

1. Major and minor (harmonic & melodic) scales
2. One etude (applicant's choice) from the Rose 32 Etudes
3. Concertino by C.M. Von Weber
4. Concerto by W.A. Mozart

SAXOPHONE
Undergraduate and Graduate:

1. Any major concerto or mvts. 1 & 2 or mvts. 2 & 3 of the Creston Saxophone Sonata
2. Major and minor scales

BASSOON
Undergraduate:

1. Any movement from a standard concerto or recital piece that will demonstrate the candidate’s technical proficiency
2. Any slow movement from a standard concerto (candidate may substitute any slow study from Milde Concert Studies or study #21 from Weissenborn Daily Studies)

Graduate, Transfer, and Artist Certificate:

1. Mozart Bassoon Concerto – 2nd mvt. and the exposition of the 1st mvt.
2. One mvt. of any other standard concerto or recital piece
3. Five orchestral excerpts of the candidate’s choice

HORN
Undergraduate:

1. One of the following:
• 1st movement of one of the Mozart Horn Concerti (1-4)
• 1st movement of the Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1
• 1st movement of a Beethoven sonata
• 1st movement of the Hindemith Sonata
2. Two contrasting etudes (such as Kopprasch, Kling, or Maxine Alphonse)
3. All major and melodic minor scales
4. Two to four contrasting orchestral excerpts

Graduate:

1. 1st movement of either 2nd or 4th Mozart Horn Concerto
2. 1st movement of the Strauss Horn Concerto No. 1
3. All major and melodic minor scales
4. Four to six contrasting orchestral excerpts

TRUMPET
Undergraduate:

1. One of the following:
• 1st or 3rd movement of the Haydn Concerto
• 1st or 3rd movement of the Hummel Concerto
• 1st or 3rd movement of the Kennan Sonata
2. Two contrasting etudes from the following: Arban - Characteristic Etudes or Brandt - 34 Studies
3. Two to four orchestral excerpts
4. All major and minor scales

Graduate:

1. One of the following:
• 1st movement of the Haydn Concerto
• 1st or 3rd movement of the Tomasi Concerto
• 1st movement of the Stevens Sonata
2. Two contrasting etudes from the following: Charlier - 36 Etudes or Bitsch - 20 Etudes
3. Four-six orchestral excerpts

TROMBONE
Undergraduate and Graduate:

1. Solo of choice
2. Two contrasting etudes (i.e. one melodic, one technical)
3. Two orchestral excerpts
4. Major scales and arpeggios

TUBA
Undergraduate and Graduate:

1. All major scales
2. Two contrasting etudes from either Blazevich: Book I, Kopprasch or Bordogni (Rochut)
3. One of the following:
• Hindemith Tuba Sonata
• 1st movement of the Vaughn Williams Concerto
4. Three to five contrasting orchestral excerpts of applicant's choice

PERCUSSION - audition on all of the following:
KEYBOARD PERCUSSION
Undergraduate:

1. All major and minor scales and arpeggios (two octaves)
2. One two-mallet etude or solo
3. One four-mallet etude or solo

Graduate:

1. All of the above PLUS three to five standard orchestral excerpts

TIMPANI
Undergraduate:

1. Any etude by Goodman, Hochrainer, or Delecluse using three or four drums

Graduate:

1. The above requirement PLUS three to five standard orchestral excerpts

SNARE DRUM
Undergraduate:

1. One etude from 14 Modern Contest Solos by John S. Pratt
2. One etude by Cirone, Delecluse or comparable

Graduate:

1. All of the above PLUS three to five standard orchestral excerpts

PIANO
Audition repertoire should include music from three stylistic periods. The following list is designed to help prospective pianists select appropriate repertoire.

• Baroque: A Bach prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Volume One or Two, a two-part or three-part invention, a French or English suite or partita, or two or three Scarlatti sonatas.
• Classical: A sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven.
• Romantic: A composition by Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, or Rachmaninoff.
• Impressionistic: A work by Debussy or Ravel.
• Contemporary: A composition by Bartok, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Kabelevsky, Copland, Persichetti, Dello Joio, Gershwin, or any other recognized twentieth-century composer.

ORGAN
Auditions for entering first year organ majors should include a representative selection of repertoire from various periods illustrating the candidate's level of preparation and expertise at the instrument. All freshman organ majors must also audition in piano.

Transfer and graduate students should include a Baroque piece, a major Bach work, a piece in the romantic style, and a contemporary piece, preferably one demonstrating technical dexterity. Graduate candidates must play a portion or all of their audition from memory.

All auditioning organ students must include a complete repertoire list, specification of the organ on which the audition was taped, when applicable, and a listing of the dates when each work was begun. Bring these to the audition or submit them with the tape. A short sight-reading exercise will be administered at the audition.

HARPSICHORD
Graduate harpsichord audition requirements include a major Bach work, another work from the Baroque period (preferably a suite by Louis Couperin or a work by Froberger) and a work selected by the auditioning candidate.

VOICE
Undergraduate:
Applicants must perform two songs from memory:

1. One art song in English
2. One aria or art song in a language other than English

Graduate:
Applicants should prepare:

1. An aria from an opera or oratorio
2. Two art songs in languages other than English
3. One contemporary art song

Applicants should also submit a copy of a program from their senior recital or equivalent performance.

COMPOSITION
Students intending to major in composition must submit examples of original compositions in the form of scores and/or pre-recorded submissions of midi recordings or live performances (please do not send your only copy). Undergraduate composition applicants must also perform an audition with the above mentioned requirement and may include an original composition in their audition performance.