Graduate program auditions

• Any two or three-octave scale
• A short piece or a movement from a sonata or concerto

• Exposition of the Mozart or Weber concerto
• Piece for bassoon and piano, composed after 1900, of level comparable to the Paris Conservatoire contest pieces such as: Saint-Saens Sonata, Tansman Sonatina, Bozza Recit, Sicilienne et Rondo or Concertino,Duclos Faggotino
• The following Orchestral Excerpts:
  • Marriage of Figaro
  • Tchaikovsky 6
  • Scheherazade mvmt 2 opening and cadenzas
  • Two others of your choice
• A short piece or movement that best demonstrates your musical voice and interests. Please be prepared to share your reasons for choosing the work.

• A Prelude and another movement from J.S. Bach Cello Suite
• A movement of a standard concerto

• All major scales (three octaves when possible, articulated up and slurred down)
  
  • For recorded auditions, please select three scales that best demonstrate your ability
• A Chromatic scale (encompassing your full range, slurred)
• The first movement of a major Classical or Romantic-era concerto or sonata
  
  • Examples: Mozart Concerto, Weber Concerti, Brahms Sonata, Saint-Saëns Sonata, etc.
  • May be submitted without piano accompaniment, if applicable
• A movement of a work from the following list:
  • Larsen: Dancing Solo
  • Stravinsky: Three Pieces
  • Osborne: Rhapsody (complete)
  • D'Rivera: The Cape Cod Files
• Two contrasting orchestral excerpts

Students are required to submit a short portfolio of compositions (three-to-four pieces). Recordings or computer-generated representations of scores are appreciated, but not required.

Portfolios and recordings can be sent to:

Jean-Paul Perrotte
jperrotte@unr.edu
Associate Professor of Composition
Director of Electro-Acoustic Lab

Pre-screening materials:

• Video links from a performance with the applicant’s choral group
• Links to a recording (audio or video) of a short performance of the applicant singing (if possible)
• A sample of scholarly writing
• An updated CV and contact information for three professional references

Successful pre-screen candidates will be invited to campus for an interview, aural skills assessment and live conducting audition.

Pre-screening materials should be e-mailed to:

Paul Torkelson
Director of Choral Studies
ptorkelson@unr.edu

Pre-screening materials:

• Video links from a performance and/or conducting workshop
• Links to a recording (audio or video) of a short performance on the applicant’s principal instrument
• A sample of scholarly writing
• An updated CV and contact information for three professional references

Successful pre-screen candidates will be invited to campus for an interview, aural skills assessment and live conducting audition.

Pre-screening materials should be e-mailed to:

Jason Altieri
Director of Orchestras
jaltieri@unr.edu

Pre-screening materials:

• Video links from a performance and rehearsal
• Links to a recording (audio or video) of a short performance on the applicant’s principal instrument
• A sample of scholarly writing
• An updated CV and contact information for three professional references

Successful pre-screen candidates will be invited to campus for an interview, aural skills assessment and live conducting audition.

Pre-screening materials should be emailed to:

Reed Chamberlin
Director of Bands
rchamberlin@unr.edu

• A standard euphonium concerto
• A euphonium sonata or an unaccompanied solo
• Five Standard Orchestral/Band excerpts, one of which must be from the orchestral repertoire.

Examples:

• Pictures at an Exhibition
• The Planets
• Don Quixote
• Ein Heldenleben
• Wagner

• An exposition from a standard flute concerto
• A flute sonata or unaccompanied solo
• One etude selected from the following:
  
  • Casterade: 12 Etudes
  • Jean Jean: Modern Etudes
  • Hugues: 40 New Studies
• Four Standard Orchestral Excerpts that showcase your range, technical proficiency and melodic lyricism

Example Repertoire:

• Mozart: Concerto in D or G
• Nielsen: Concerto
• Ibert: Concerto
• Liebermann: Sonata
• Prokofiev: Sonata
• Fukushima: Mei
• Messian: Le Merle Noir
• Coleman: Danza de la Mariposa

Contact Ed Corey for audition requirements prior to submitting an application.

Ed Corey
Lecturer of Guitar
coreyh@unr.edu

• A four-octave scale in any given key with related four-octave arpeggios
• Two pieces of contrasting styles that best show performer's level of technical and musical skill
• Any standard repertoire orchestral excerpt

• An exposition from a standard horn concerto
• A horn sonata or an unaccompanied solo
• Three Standard Orchestral Excerpts that showcase your range, technical proficiency, and melodic lyricism

Example repertoire:

• Mozart: Horn Concertos 2 or 4
• Strauss: Horn Concerto 1 or 2
• Jacobs: Horn Concerto
• Ewazen: Sonata
• Bozza: En Foret
• Messiaen: Des Canyons aux étoiles
• Martin: Lament

Live option: Perform three jazz standards with rhythm section (provided); play the melody and take a solo on each selection.

• Optional: One original composition or one non-jazz piece of your choice.

Video option: Perform three jazz standards with rhythm section accompaniment or with recorded play-along; play the melody and take a solo on each selection.

• Optional: One original composition or one non-jazz piece of your choice. This can be a solo recording, or a recording with other musicians.

Students should contact the program director for specific entrance and audition requirements.

Louis Niebur
Director of Graduate Studies
Associate Professor of Musicology
lniebur@unr.edu

• Three contrasting solo works from three different centuries. Can include selections from an undergraduate senior recital program.
• Two Orchestral Excerpts
• Two Etudes

• Four mallet marimba work (something suitable for an undergraduate senior recital)
• Snare drum solo from the Delecluse Twelve Studies
• Timpani Solo (Carter, Bergamo, Beck, Cahn or comparable)

Auditioning candidates for the degree should prepare a program of at least 40 minutes of stylistically diverse, musically and pianistically challenging music comparable to following:

• A major work containing a fugue by J.S. Bach, Shostakovich, Hindemith, etc.
• A sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Clementi, Beethoven, Hummel, or Schubert
• A complete major work of the Romantic, Impressionist, or early 20th/21st Century periods
• A virtuoso etude from among those of Chopin, Liszt, Skryabin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Ligeti, or Bolcom

A program must represent at least three contrasting style periods. All pieces must be performed from memory. Exceptions may be permitted only in the case of some 20th and 21st-century pieces.

• Three contrasting solo works from three different centuries. Can include selections from an undergraduate senior recital program
• Two Etudes

• A standard trombone concerto
• A trombone sonata or an unaccompanied solo
• Five Standard Orchestral Excerpts

• An exposition from a classical concerto: Haydn, Hummel, or Neruda
• A selection from a trumpet sonata, cornet solo, unaccompanied solo, or advanced etude
• A selection of three standard orchestral excerpts from the list below:
  
  • Mahler: Symphony No. 5 (Mvt. 1 m. 1 – m. 25)
  • Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition (Promenade)
  • Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 2 or No. 3 (off-stage solo)
  • Respighi: Pines of Rome (Mvt. 2 off-stage solo)
  • Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra (Mvt V. No. 201- No. 256; Trumpet 2)
  • Stravinsky: Petrouchka (Ballerina’s Dance)

Example Repertoire:

• Bitsch: Vingt Etudes
• Bozza: Rustiques
• Brandt: Concert Piece
• Charlier: 36 Transcendent Etudes for Trumpet
• Clarke: Maid of the Mist
• Hindemith: Sonata for Trumpet and Piano
• Hohne: Slavische Fantasie
• Kennan: Sonata for Trumpet and Piano
• Peaslee: Night Songs, Persichetti: Hollow Men
• Plog: Postcards
• Tomasi: Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra
• Vizzutti: Cascades

• Five orchestral or band excerpts of your choice
• One movement from a standard solo in the repertoire (from, or comparable to, those on the example list below)

Example repertoire:

• Vaughn Williams: Concerto for Bass Tuba
• Penderecki: Capriccio
• Plog: Three Miniatures
• Gregson: Concerto for Tuba
• Szentpali: Concerto for Tuba

• Any three-octave scale with the seven related three-octave arpeggios (see Carl Flesch Scale System, No. 5)
• Two contrasting movements from a J.S. Bach Violin Sonata or Partita for solo violin or from a J.S. Bach Cello Suite for viola
• One movement of a standard concerto

Master of Music in Performance

• Five contrasting selections including opera arias, oratorio arias and art songs with at least one selection written after 1970 representing a diversity of styles and languages.
• A comprehensive repertoire list.
• A personal statement outlining musical inspiration and career aspirations is required.

Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance

• Five-to-seven contrasting selections including opera arias, oratorio arias and art songs with at least one selection written after 1970
• A comprehensive repertoire list
• A sample recital program
• A personal statement outlining career aspirations/research interests