Piano Audition Requirement
PRELIMINARY RECORDING
All undergraduate (BM, DP) and graduate (MM, GD) applicants requesting an in-person audition must submit a preliminary audition recording with the following repertoire. For DMA applicants, preliminary recording requirements are the same as in-person auditions. For Artist Diploma applicants, preliminary recording requirements may be found at Artist Diploma Applicants.
A CD is strongly preferred but standard cassette tape is acceptable. DVDs are not acceptable for piano applicants. Preliminary recordings are due with all other application materials on December 1. Please refer to the Recording Guidelines section for more details.
Undergraduate and graduate preliminary repertoire:
- First movement of a Classical Sonata (e.g., Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, or Schubert)
- Substantial Romantic work (e.g. Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn, or others)
IN-PERSON AUDITION*
Applicants are required to attend an in-person audition if invited to do so after review of the preliminary recording. Applicants selected for an in-person audition should prepare the following repertoire according to their desired degree program.
Undergraduate:
- A Bach prelude and fugue, or a complete Bach suite or partita
- A complete Classical sonata
- A substantial Romantic work
- A 20th-century or 21st-century work
- A fast etude
All works must be performed by memory with the possible exception of those in a contemporary idiom.
M.M./G.D.: Prepare the equivalent of a recital program of major works representing the four historical periods (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th/21st centuries).
You must also perform a fast etude. Multimovement works must be prepared in their entirety. All works must be performed by memory with the possible exception of those in a contemporary idiom.
D.M.A. applicants must prepare a recital-length audition of stylistically diverse, musically and pianistically challenging works. All works must be memorized, with the possible exception of those in a contemporary idiom.
* Piano applicants residing outside of the United States, Canada and Mexico who are not applying to the Artist Diploma or DMA programs may be considered for admission based on the submission of an audition CD/tape (no DVDs.) Taped auditions should include all movements of all pieces for the in-person audition repertoire above. Please visit the Recording Guidelines section for more information. Given the competitive nature of our program, we recommend that applicants attend a live audition if possible.