Auditions

How to Audition

Please complete an online Audition Request Form.

Audition Dates

Our next audition days are: March 8, 2024 and May 16-22, 2024. We will conduct additional auditions by appointment throughout the year.

General requirements

  • All applicants who live within a 250-mile radius or more from Brooklyn College must audition in person.
  • Auditions for the Advanced Certificate in Music Education are video only.
  • For any special requests due to extenuating circumstances, please e-mail us
  • See instrument specific requirements below.

Video Submissions

Submit your audition videos via our Audition Request Form. Links can be shared in the Audition Submission box designated for this purpose as instructed. Upload links from YouTube only. Make sure the videos can be viewed by:

  1. Ensuring that they are visible.
  2. Selecting “Made for kids” when you are rendering the video.

In the description, include your name, voice part or instrument, degree program, previous education, and titles and composers of repertoire. Multiple links are acceptable.

For those who would usually audition with an accompanist, you may perform a cappella or with a track. Vocalists must perform with accompaniment! (A prerecorded accompaniment track is acceptable.)

We thank you for your understanding in this matter, and we apologize for any inconvenience.

Video Audition Submissions

  • Applicants’ videos must meet all audition requirements for their instrument. Consult those requirements via the links below.
  • Applicants should submit one link to youtube.com that contains the necessary audition repertoire, though multiple links are acceptable.
  • Each video should be labeled with the applicant’s name, degree program, and title/composer of the audition repertoire.

Audition Requirements

Brass

Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted by works of comparable length and technical difficulty.

French Horn

  • Scales, all keys: major, minor, chromatic, through two octaves
  • A technical study (Etudes Novelles Melodiques et Progressives, volumes 3–6, by Maxime-Alphonse)
  • One work from the standard repertory (a movement from a concerto by Mozart, from the Sonata by Beethoven)
  • One work from the 20th century (two contrasting movements from the Hindemith Sonata)
  • Sight reading

Trombone

  • Scales, all keys: major, minor, chromatic, through two octaves
  • A technical study (Melodious Etudes, Bk. 1, by J. Robchut)
  • One work from the standard repertory (a concerto movement by Rimsky-Korsakov)
  • One work from the 20th century (two contrasting movements from the Hindemith Sonata)
  • Sight reading

Trumpet

  • Scales, all keys: major, minor, chromatic, through two octaves
  • A technical study (Studies in Classical and Modern Style by Longinotti)
  • One work from the standard repertory (a concerto movement by Haydn, Hummel)
  • One work from the 20th century (two contrasting movements from the Hindemith Sonata)
  • Sight reading

Tuba

  • Scales, all keys: major, minor, chromatic, through two octaves
  • A technical study (Seventy B-flat Tuba Studies by V. Blazhevich)
  • One work from the standard repertory (Serenade No. 12 by Persichetti)
  • Sight reading

Guitar

Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted with works of comparable length and technical difficulty.

  • Two major works in contrasting styles (e.g., a Baroque suite and Romantic sonata)
  • A concert etude (such as by Villa-Lobos)
  • A work from the 20th century (Henze, Brouwer, Krenek, etc.)
  • Sight reading

Harp

Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted with works of comparable length and technical difficulty.

  • Two major works in contrasting styles (e.g., a Baroque suite and Romantic sonata)
  • A concert etude (such as by Villa-Lobos)
  • A work from the 20th century (Henze, Brouwer, Krenek, etc.)
  • Sight reading

Percussion

Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted by works of comparable length and technical difficulty. Proficiency in each of the following three areas is expected.

Mallets

  • Scales, all keys: major, minor, chromatic, through two octaves
  • A technical study (Modern School of Xylophone by M. Goldenberg)
  • One solo work (such as the first or third movement from Violin Concerto in A minor by J.S. Bach)
  • Sight reading

Snare Drum

  • A technical study (Etudes in Modern School for Snare Drum by M. Goldenberg)
  • Excerpt passages from the standard symphonic repertory (Third Symphony by William Schuman)
  • Sight reading

Timpani

  • Singing of all intervals and tuning the drums in 4ths, 5ths, and octaves
  • Technical studies (two each of the two-drum and three-drum exercises from Modern Method for Timpani by S. Goodman)
  • Excerpt passages from any Beethoven symphony
  • Sight reading

Piano / Organ

Music performance applicants must perform all works by memory, although exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis with departmental approval. All other applicants must perform at least one piece by memory.

(Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted by works of comparable length and technical difficulty.)

Piano

M. Mus. and Advanced Certificate in music performance applicants
  • A Prelude and Fugue or a larger work by J.S. Bach
  • A complete Classical-era sonata
  • A substantial work from the Romantic period
  • A substantial work from the Impressionist or early Modernist eras to the present day
  • An étude or other short work of virtuosity
  • Sight reading
Advanced Diploma in music performance applicants
  • A Prelude and Fugue or a larger work by J.S. Bach
  • A complete Classical-era sonata
  • A substantial work from the Romantic period
  • A substantial work from the Impressionist or early Modernist eras to the present day
  • Two études or other short works of virtuosity, each by a different composer
  • Sight reading
Advanced Certificate in Music Education
  • A work from the Baroque or Classical era
  • A composition of the applicant’s choice
  • “The Star-Spangled Banner”
  • Sight reading

Harpsichord

  • A Prelude and Fugue, English Suite, or Partita by J.S. Bach
  • A work by a composer of the French School (Rameau, Couperin)
  • A pair of Scarlatti Sonatas
  • Sight reading

Organ

  • A Prelude and Fugue, Toccata and Fugue, or Passacaglia and Fugue by J.S. Bach (from Peters edition, volumes 2, 3 or 4)
  • A large chorale prelude by J.S. Bach (from Peters edition, volume 6 or 7)
  • A fast movement from a Trio Sonata by J.S. Bach (from Peters edition, volume 1)
  • A major Romantic work by Franck or Mendelssohn
  • One pre-Baroque work
  • One post-Romantic work
  • Sight reading

Strings

Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted by works of comparable length and technical difficulty. Note that all sonatas and concertos should be prepared with piano accompaniment and that an accompanist will be provided for the audition. Nonstandard repertoire should, therefore, be communicated in advance of the audition.

Cello

  • A solo Suite by J.S. Bach
  • A sonata from the 18th century (Boccherini, Beethoven)
  • A concerto from the standard repertory (Dvorak, Schumann, Haydn)
  • A work from the 20th century (Prokofiev, Britten, Crumb, etc.)
  • Sight reading

Double Bass

  • A technical study by Hrabe, Kreutzer-Zimmerman or Bille
  • A concerto from the standard repertory (Dragonetti, Bottesini, etc.)
  • A sonata or suite from the Baroque or Romantic repertory
  • A solo work (not a transcription) from the 20th century
  • Excerpts from these orchestral works: Beethoven Symphony Nos. 5 and 9; Mozart Symphony No. 39 or 40; Brahms Symphony No. 2; Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4; Strauss Don Juan
  • Sight reading

Viola

  • Two technical studies
  • One by Kreutzer
  • One by Campagnoli
  • A major work from the standard repertory
  • A sonata or concerto from the 20th century (Bartók, Hindemith, Walton)
  • Sight reading

Violin

  • Two technical studies: one from the Forty-two Etudes by Kreutzer, and one from the Etudes of Rode, Dont or Paganini
  • An unaccompanied Sonata or Partita by J.S. Bach
  • A concerto from the standard repertory (Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruch, Wieniawsky, Tchaikovsky or Sibelius)
  • A short piece from the 18th century
  • A work from the 20th century (such as the Bartók Rhapsody, etc.)
  • Sight reading

Voice

Three contrasting selections:

  • One song originally written in English (Spiritual, Copland, Barber, Rorem, Price, Bonds, Vaughan Williams, Britten, Haydn, Purcell, Handel, lute songs). A piece from the oratorio repertoire is acceptable.
  • A song from the 19th or early 20th century from the German or French repertory
  • A 20th-century song, aria, or chamber work (that can be performed with piano accompaniment)

All selections must be performed from memory.

Woodwind

Musical examples listed in parentheses are recommended but may be substituted by works of comparable length and technical difficulty.

Bassoon

  • An advanced technical study (Milde, etc.)
  • The Mozart Bassoon Concerto
  • A sonata by Galliard or its equivalent
  • A work from the twentieth century (such as the Sonatine by Tansman)
  • Excerpts from the standard orchestral repertory
  • Sight reading

Clarinet

  • An advanced technical study (Trente Etudes Moderne by Paul Jeanjean or studies by Perier, Polatschek, or Jetel)
  • Two contrasting works from the standard repertory (Mozart or Weber concertos, Brahms or Hindemith sonatas)
  • An unaccompanied work from the twentieth century (Stravinsky, William O. Smith, Martinu, or a modern or avant-garde work in a current style)
  • Excerpts from the standard orchestral repertory
  • Sight reading

Flute

  • One of the Etudes Artistiques, Op. 15 by Anderse
  • A Mozart concerto
  • A sonata from the 20th century (Hindemith, Martinu, Poulenc, etc.)
  • Sight reading

Oboe

  • One of the even numbered technical studies by Ferling
  • The Oboe Concerto by Marcello
  • The Oboe Concerto by Mozart
  • A work from the twentieth century (such as the Berio Sequenza)
  • Sight reading

Saxophone

  • An advanced technical study (Bozza, Mule, or an advanced jazz etude)
  • Two contrasting works from the standard repertory (Vellones, Glazounov, Bozza, etc.)
  • Excerpts from chamber music and ensemble repertory or jazz literature
  • Sight reading

Global and Contemporary Jazz
(for Advanced Certificate in Music Education applicants)

Demonstrate proficiency on your instrument/voice and your familiarity with jazz idioms.

Brooklyn. All in.