Ensemble & Production Auditions

Woodwinds, Brass & Percussion

Please make one selection of your choice that best demonstrates your ability (60–90 seconds in duration). Then prepare the “general” excerpt selected for your instrument. If you wish to be considered for principal parts, please ALSO prepare the “principal” excerpt selected for your instrument.

When you audition, please inform the monitor if you will be playing the excerpt intended for principal part consideration. The panel may request specific excerpts (and amounts of those excerpts) during your audition.

Please be sure to contact your studio teacher with questions!

General & Principal Excerpts

Flute

• General Excerpt: Dvořák’s Symphony No. 8, Mvt. 4 (letter D–E with the repeat)
• Principal Excerpt: Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (rehearsals 2–3, measures 21–31)
• Piccolo Excerpt: Holst’s 2nd Suite in F, Mvt. 4 (letter H to end)

Oboe

• All play: Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin – Menuet (please note this is in place of a self-selected work)
• General Excerpt: Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (multiple spots)
• Principal Excerpt: Stravinsky’s Pulcinella

Clarinet

• General Excerpt: Frühling’s Trio in A Minor, op. 40
• Principal Excerpt: Arutunian’s Scherzo
• Principal Excerpt: Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps – Adoration (rehearsals 10–12)

Bassoon

• General Excerpt: Mozart’s Serenade in  C Minor (last movement beginning of page to rehearsal K)
• Principal Excerpt: Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps (beginning)

Saxophone

• General Excerpt: Creston’s Rhapsodie, op. 108a
• Principal Excerpt: Crepin’s A Tribute to Sax

Horn

• General Excerpt: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8, Mvt. 3
• General Excerpt: Strauss’s Till Eulenspiegel
• Principal Excerpt: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, Mvt. 3

Trumpet

• General Excerpt
  • Piece of choice (1 minute)
  • Required piece: Libby Larsen’s Fanfare for the Women (can be played on C trumpet or B-flat as written, last 1.5 measures can be played down the octave)
• Principal Consideration Excerpts
  • Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (on C trumpet), 1st trumpet part
    • First movement:
      • opening to 5 measures after rehearsal 1
      • rehearsal 7 to rehearsal 8
      • one measure before rehearsal 13 to 1 measure before rehearsal 14
    • Second movement (Scherzo):
      • rehearsal 7 to 13 measures before rehearsal 8
    • Last movement:
      • one measure before 32 to 2 measures after rehearsal 33
  • Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (on C trumpet), 1st trumpet part
    • one before rehearsal 143–146
    • rehearsal 192 to end
• Please contact Mary Elizabeth Bowden for Advanced Principal consideration excerpts

Trombone

• General Excerpt: Berlioz’s Hungarian March (excerpt)
• Principal Excerpt: Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps (rehearsals 196–202)
• Principal Excerpt: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (as marked)

Bass Trombone

• General Excerpt: Rossini’s La gazza ladra (excerpt)
• Principal Excerpt: Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman (excerpt)

Euphonium

• General Excerpt: Vaughan Williams’s Toccata Marziale (excerpt)
• Principal Excerpt: Respighi/Duker’s The Pines of Rome (excerpt)

Tuba

• General Excerpt: Vaughan Williams’s Toccata Marziale (excerpt)
• Principal Excerpt: Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du printemps (rehearsals 70–71)
• Principal: Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 (rehearsals 15–17)

Harp

• General & Principal Excerpts: Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (cadenza and fugue)

Percussion

• General Excerpts for All Percussionists:
  • Snare Drum: Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, Mvt. 3
  • Glockenspiel: Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, V. Valse
  • Short sight-reading on mallets and timpani
• Optional Excerpts for Principal Consideration:
  • Timpani: Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring (189–end)
  • Snare Drum: Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Schedule

• 9 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.: Flute
• 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.: Clarinet
• 11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Lunch Break
• 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Saxophone
• 1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.: Oboe & Bassoon
• 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.: Break
• 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Horn
• 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Trumpet
• 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Trombone
• 6 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Tuba & Euphonium
• 6:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.: Break (Set-up for Percussion)
• 7 p.m. – 9 p.m.: Percussion

Strings

The Large Ensemble Placement Auditions for all strings (including harp) will take place in Armstrong Hall on Monday, August 29 starting at 4 p.m. During Welcome Week (beginning Monday, August 22), you’ll have an opportunity to sign up for a slot (available on a first-come, first-served basis). A sign-up link will be sent to your SU email that week. Please be on the lookout for that email.

Please prepare the excerpts as posted and only prepare those sections that are marked in red brackets. All excerpts (except harp) were extracted from Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 8” and Richard Strauss’ “Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche” which will be performed during the orchestra’s first concert of the 2022/23 season.

Harp Excerpts

• Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”: please prepare between rehearsals 2–4 and 7–8 (in red brackets)
• Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”: please prepare Variation I and Fugue, letters I to J (in red brackets)

If you are a new, incoming undergraduate student only, please also bring a short (2-minute max) solo of your choice which best demonstrates your ability. You must also prepare the excerpts.

All returning students (both undergraduate and graduate) and new-incoming graduate students will prepare the orchestral excerpts only.

***Note for violins: you have the option of auditioning with the Violin II excerpts only.

Please be prepared to perform all excerpts although you may not be asked to play all of them at the actual audition.

The auditions for all strings will be “blind” and you’ll be standing behind a screen.

Be sure to be thorough in your preparation of these excerpts. You may use the recording links below as reference to give you a sense of approximate tempi, expression, style, etc. as you prepare.

Reference Recordings in Spotify

• Beethoven: “Symphony No. 8 in F Major, op. 93”
• Strauss: “Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche”
• Debussy: “Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun”
• Britten: “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”

Questions?

Questions regarding large ensemble auditions for strings (e.g., excerpts, the audition process, etc.) should be directed to Professor Jan Wagner (Director of the Symphony Orchestra) at jwagner@su.edu.

Approximate Audition Blocks Schedule* for Monday, August 29, 2022

4 p.m. – Harp in Armstrong Hall, Room 39
4:45 p.m. – Violins in Armstrong Hall, Room 39
6:15 p.m. – More violins as needed on Armstrong Concert Hall stage
7:15 p.m. – Viola on Armstrong Concert Hall stage
8:15 p.m. – Celli on Armstrong Concert Hall stage
9:15 p.m. – Double basses on Armstrong Concert Hall stage

*Audition block times are approximate and subject to change

Large Instrumental Ensembles Audition Materials

Questions?

Additional questions regarding large ensemble auditions should be directed to Professor Jan Wagner (Director of the Symphony Orchestra) at jwagner@su.edu or Dr. Timothy Robblee (Director of the Wind Ensemble) at trobblee@su.edu.

Auditions for the Shenandoah Conservatory Studio Big Band, Little Big Band and Jazz Combos will be conducting in-person from 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, August 26, 2022 in Armstrong Hall. Sign up for a time by adding your first and last name.on the Jazz Auditions Google Spreadsheet.

Improvisation is optional, but encouraged. Play prepared music at indicated temp or a tempo that is manageable. Both wind and rhythm players will also sight read during the audition.

Wind Instruments

From the Improvisation Folder (Optional)

1. Select one Blues and play three choruses of improvisation
2. Select two tunes and play the melody with two choruses of improvisation

From the Prepared Music (Mandatory)

Saxophones

1. Mambo Inn – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=230
2. Rapid Transit – Prepare part of your choice, measure 9–41 mm=200+
3. All of Me – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=medium swing

Trumpets

1. Mambo Inn – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=230
2. Taking of Pelham – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=90
3. All of Me – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=medium swing

Trombones

1. Mambo Inn – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=230
2. All of Me – Prepare entire chart, part of your choice mm=medium swing
3. So What – Prepare a part of your choice measures mm= up tempo swing

Rhythm Players

From the Improvisation Folder (Optional) – No drums on this event

1. Select one Blues and play three choruses of improvisation
2. Select one tune and play the melody with two choruses of improvisation

For all rhythm (Mandatory)

1. Grooves: Play short sample of Swing, Salsa, Funk and straight 8th on any chord, progression or tune

For all rhythm (Mandatory)

Prepared Music (Guitar/Vibes select piano or actual part)

1. Mambo Inn – Prepare entire chart, mm=230 (latin)
2. All of Me – Prepare entire chart, mm=medium (swing)
3. So What – Prepare entire chart, mm=up tempo (swing)

Questions?

Additional questions regarding the Studio Big Band should be directed to Dr. Matthew Niess (Director of Brass Studies and Trombone Artist-in-Residence) at mniess@su.edu. 

Additional questions regarding the Little Big Band or Jazz Combos should be directed to professor Craig Fraedrich (Director of the Little Big Band and Jazz Combos) at cfraedri@su.edu. 

All new incoming undergraduate instrumental and piano performance students will audition in person for Chamber Ensembles with Professor Doris Lederer (Director of Chamber Music) on Friday, August 26, 2022. Audition requirements include two contrasting works of choice lasting no more than 5 minutes total. Returning instrumental and piano performance students will be placed at the discretion of the director of chamber music.

Questions?

Additional questions regarding chamber ensemble auditions should be directed to Professor Doris Lederer (Director of Chamber Music) at dlederer@su.edu.

 

Piano Performance Majors

All new incoming undergraduate instrumental and piano performance students will audition in person for Chamber Ensembles with Professor Doris Lederer (Director of Chamber Music) on Friday, August 26, 2022. Audition requirements include two contrasting works of choice lasting no more than 5 minutes total. Returning instrumental and piano performance students will be placed at the discretion of the director of chamber music.

Non-Performance Piano Majors

Non-performance piano majors (composition, music education, music production & recording technology and music therapy, etc.) may audition for any of the established ensembles (Studio Big Band, choirs, chamber music, etc.). If you wish to audition for a jazz ensemble or chamber music, please prepare the materials as indicated on this page.

From the 10 numbered excerpts, please choose the most advanced Guitar 1, Guitar 2, Guitar 3 and Guitar 4 part that you can play confidently and fluently. The individual Guitar 1, 2, 3 and 4 parts can be chosen from the different 10 numbered excerpts. This means you will be preparing 4 excerpts.

Guitar Audition Excerpts

Please check the Welcome Week schedule for the date, time and place of the guitar ensemble auditions.

Questions?

Contact Director of the Guitar Studio and Associate Professor of Guitar Colin Davin at colin.davin@su.edu.

There are no formal choral auditions during Shenandoah Conservatory’s 2022/23 Welcome Week. Treble singers should enroll in Shenandoah Chorus and tenor/bass singers should enroll in Shenandoah Voices.

Questions?

Additional questions about choral ensembles during the 2022/23 school year should be directed to Assistant Professor of Music Education (Choral Emphasis) Hillary Ridgley at hridgley@su.edu.

Opera auditions for Shenandoah Conservatory’s main stage production will be held in early November (subject to change). More information to be provided later in the Fall 2022 semester.

Opera auditions for the fall Opera Up Close production are closed.

Questions?

Additional questions regarding opera auditions should be directed to Director of Opera and Associate Professor Ella Marchment at emarchme@su.edu.

CONTEMPO Ensemble auditions for students not enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts in Contemporary Musicianship & Entrepreneur Development program will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, August 26, 2022. Auditions are available for bass guitar, drum set and piano/keyboard only. Applicants are assessed on technique, interpretation, intonation, feel, rhythm and personal style.

Bass Guitar

Two songs/pieces, each approximately 2 minutes in length, of contrasting styles and genres (pop, R&B, Latin, soul, country, etc.) on electric bass guitar played along with recordings:

• One song/piece in a slower tempo to demonstrate your expressivity and touch on the instrument
• A second song/piece in a faster tempo to demonstrate technique and energy
• If desired, you may include a third original composition

Drum Set

Two songs/pieces, each approximately 2 minutes in length, of contrasting styles and genres (pop, R&B, Latin, soul, country, etc.) on drum set played along with recordings:

• One song/piece in a slower tempo to demonstrate your expressivity and touch on the instrument
• A second song/piece in a faster tempo to demonstrate technique and energy
• If desired, you may include a third original composition

At the audition, students will also complete a short diagnostic including the following:

• Reading short notated rhythms
• Singing back short rhythms by ear
• Improvising a one-minute drum solo

Piano/Keyboard

Two or three songs/pieces, each approximately 2 minutes in length, of contrasting styles and genres (pop, R&B, Latin, soul, country, etc.):

• One song/piece in a slower tempo to demonstrate your expressivity and touch on the instrument
• A second song/piece in a faster tempo to demonstrate technique and energy
• If desired, you may include a third original composition

At the audition, students will also complete a short diagnostic including the following:

• Reading a chord progression written using chord symbols
• Playing back short melodies and/or rhythms by ear
• Identifying intervals and chord qualities by ear
• Improvising over a common chord progression

Questions?

Additional questions regarding opera auditions should be directed to Director and Assistant Professor of Contemporary Music Rod Vester at rvester@su.edu.

  The Music Theory Placement Exam will be held on Friday of Welcome Week for students taking and retaking the exam. Students will be contacted over the summer with more information about the exam. A study guide and list of resources is available here.

View Music Theory Placement Exam Study Guide

  Shenandoah Conservatory will review video submissions to assess piano proficiency. Undergraduate freshman and transfer students must upload their video and complete the Piano Proficiency Form by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. See additional details below regarding the submission process and guidelines for video auditions.

Video Audition Submission Process

• Follow the guidelines below to record your UNLISTED YouTube video.
• Label your YouTube video: [Name] – [Instrument]. Example: John Doe – Piano
• Complete and submit the Piano Proficiency Form by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2022. This form will provide a place to add the web link to your YouTube audition video.

Special Guidelines for Instrumental Video Auditions

• All videos will be submitted as a link to an UNLISTED YouTube video. You must set up your video as UNLISTED to protect against licensing infringement.
• Professional recordings are not recommended nor required.
• Position the camera’s field-of-view so that both right and left arms are in clear view.
• Ensure that lighting and acoustics are adequate.
• State your name and the name of your selection.
• If you need to stop and start an excerpt again, do not pause, stop or restart video, simply begin again with the excerpt you were playing and continue.
• The entire audition should not exceed 10 minutes.
• Do not edit after the recording. Recordings that are not continuous or that are edited will be disqualified.

Submission Deadline: Submit your YouTube web link via the Piano Proficiency Form by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2022.

Piano Proficiency Form

The Applied Musicianship Proficiency Exam will be held on Friday of Welcome Week. Students in Musical Theatre, Collaborative & Audio Arts and Contemporary Musicianship & Entrepreneurial Development have the option to take the Applied Musicianship Proficiency Exam if they have a background in basic music theory, keyboard and singing skills. Students will be contacted over the summer with more information about the exam. Students should be prepared to transcribe a brief rhythmic example which includes syncopations; identify ascending major and perfect intervals; sight read a brief melodic example using solfege, numbers or a neutral syllable; notate a major scale; and play a major scale at the piano. MusicTheory.net and Sight Reading Factory are available resources to polish listening and reading skills.