Doctor Of Musical Arts in Performance: Instrumental

The Doctor Of Musical Arts In Performance curriculum carefully balances the refinement of performance skills with a solid academic foundation. The degree is designed to better enable a three-year completion while positioning graduates for career success in higher education. Targeted course work in music performance, career skills navigation, music literature and theory provide the necessary skills to be a successful 21st century artist-teacher.

 

 

 

Guitar

• Applicants must present a 30-minute recital of stylistically and historically balanced content. Before the audition, applicants are required to submit a program of the works they will perform. The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• Applicants may be asked to perform examples of their work with technical exercises addressing scales, arpeggios and slurs.
• Memorization is required.

Percussion

• Applicants must present a 30-minute recital of stylistically and historically balanced content. Standard orchestral excerpts on snare drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, timpani, cymbals and/or tambourine may also be included. Before the audition, applicants are required to submit a program of the works they will perform. The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• Applicants must perform on snare drum, keyboard percussion and timpani; multiple percussion is optional.
• A demonstration of technique and/or sight-reading may be requested by the committee.

Piano Prescreening Requirements

• Video recordings (mp4 or wmv) of one piece from each of the following groups:
  • a Prelude and Fugue by Bach
  • a movement from a Classical sonata by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven or Schubert
  • a piece from the Romantic era
  • a work composed in the 20th or 21st centuries,
  • an Etude by Chopin, Liszt or Rachmaninoff
• Recordings must be video. Audio-only recordings will not be accepted. Videos should not be longer than 30 minutes and must be recorded from a steady camera showing the complete body. No piece may be edited. Applicants who pass the recorded prescreening will be invited to register for an audition. You will not be able to register for an audition before successfully completing your prescreening. The firm deadline for prescreening materials submission is January 31, 2025.

Piano Audition Requirements

• Invited applicants must present a 30-minute recital of stylistically and historically balanced content. Before the audition, applicants are required to submit a program of the works they will perform. The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• A demonstration of technique exercises and/or sight-reading may be requested by the committee.
• Memorization is required.

Strings, Woodwinds, Brass

• Applicants must present a 30-minute (minimum) recital of stylistically and historically balanced content. Before the audition, applicants are required to submit a program of the works they will perform. The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• A demonstration of scales, technique exercises and/or sight-reading may be requested by the committee.
• Instrumentalists are invited to bring their own accompanist, but live accompaniment is not required.

Woodwind Doubling

• Applicants must present two major works for their primary instrument and one major work for each of their two secondary instruments. Before the audition, applicants are required to submit a program of the works they will perform. The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• The committee may then choose to hear complete works or ask for specific sections.
• Applicants must demonstrate an artist performance level on the major instrument and an undergraduate performance level on each of the secondary instruments to be included in their degree.
• A demonstration of scales, technique exercises and/or sight-reading may be requested by the committee.
• Instrumentalists are invited to bring their own accompanist, but live accompaniment is not required.

D.M.A. in Performance: Instrumental
Register For Your Audition

Applicants who pass the recorded prescreening will be invited to register for an audition. You will not be able to register for an audition before successfully completing your prescreening.

Audition dates are limited and may fill and close well in advance of the audition date. You will register for your audition through the Shenandoah Application Portal. All audition and interview confirmation materials will be accessible in the Application Portal and sent to the applicant via the email listed on the application. The deadline to register for a Graduate Audition is February 1, 2025.