Admission to Dana

Please submit links to 2-3 samples of your musical productions or recordings to Dr. Joseph Carucci at jwcarucci@ysu.edu. Include a short description of each musical work as well as a summary of your professional goals. During the Audition Day, candidates will have the opportunity to meet with the audio engineering faculty.

Approximately 10 minutes of solo piano literature that demonstrates your best technical and lyrical playing.

A work by Bach, a movement from a classic sonata, a 19th or 20th century work. An organ selection may be performed, but the piano audition is required including scales and arpeggios.

All songs must be performed from memory with the live accompaniment (no pre-recorded music will be allowed). Candidates should provide their own accompanist if possible.

• Vocal Performance and Vocal Music Education
  Two contrasting classical songs (folk song arrangements are also acceptable); one in English and the other in Italian, German, Spanish or French.
• Music Minor
  One classical song in English, Italian, German, Spanish or French.

Approximately 10 minutes of solo and/or etude literature that demonstrates your best technical and lyrical playing (piano accompaniment is not required).

Applicants should prepare major and minor scales and arpeggios using a standard method of the applicant's choice and two works of contrasting styles.

See audition requirements posted on the Percussion Page.

View guitar audition requirements.

Please submit written examples of compositions to Dr. Morgan, dsmorgan@ysu.edu. Recordings of performances of original works may be submitted. Composition students must also audition on an instrument or as a vocalist. Candidates should consult suggested audition material in their performance medium.

View audition requirements.  Students auditioning for any jazz programs will still need to schedule an audition for their primary instrument.

1. Major, minor, and chromatic scales (two or more octaves)
2. Two selections or movements from standard repertoire in contrasting styles – one that demonstrates technical facility and another that demonstrates quality in tone and phrasing. Selections may be drawn from solo literature or etudes (for example, Mozart’s “Concerto,” Telemann’s “Sonata,” Jacob’s “Concerto,” Saint-Saens’ “Sonata,” or other works of equal substance)

Selections or movements from standard repertoire that demonstrate technical facility, quality in tone, and phrasing. Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, K. 622, 1st Movement Exposition (beginning to m. 154)
2. A contrasting work or movement of the applicant’s choice
3. Orchestral excerpts: Mendelssohn’s Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (measures 1 – 48), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, 1st movement (measures 474-492) and 2nd movement (measures 68-78)

Major scales and arpeggios in all keys

Examples of appropriate audition literature include but are not limited to:

1. A movement from one of Bach’s six cello suites
2. The first movement from one of the standard concertos (Dragonetti, Koussevitski, Bottesini, Capuzzi, Dittersdorf, or comparable)

All Major and Minor scales in two octaves

Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. Two contrasting etudes of applicant's choice
2. Joseph Horovitz’s Euphonium Concerto (1st and 2nd movements)
3. Gordon Jacob’s Fantasia for Euphonium and Piano
4. Five orchestral/band excerpts

*Students must be fluent in playing both bass and contrabass tubas

Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. Mozart’s Concerto in G or D Major, Exposition only
2. Two contrasting movements of a J. S. Bach flute sonata of your choice
3. A contrasting solo of your choice
4. Two contrasting orchestral excerpts

1. Perform three contrasting compositions
2. Scales and fret-board harmony—play the following scales (two octaves in any key): major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, whole-tone, and chromatic. Also present four voicings for each of the following chords in any key: major, minor, or major 7th

1. Two complete contrasting movements from standard solo literature
2. Five orchestral excerpts of applicant’s choice
3. Two contrasting études (one lyrical and one technical)
4. Possible sight-reading

Each graduate candidate is allotted a 60-minute audition/interview.  The following repertoire is recommended:

1. Snare Drum: two advanced solos or etudes of contrasting styles
2. Marimba: two-mallet solo and four-mallet solo
3. Orchestral Excerpts: two excerpts each for snare drum, xylophone, glockenspiel, and timpani
4. Drumset: various groove styles and soloing capabilities
5. Additional repertoire options: vibraphone solo, multiple percussion solo (submit pre-recorded file), hand drum solo

Applicants are required to offer at least three works of contrasting style.

Repertoire examples include:

1. One Baroque work (e.g. parts of or an entire suite by J.S. Bach or Handel, or a Prelude and Fugure from the Well-Tempered Clavier, or a group of Scarlatti Sonatas)
2. One movement of a Classical Sonata or a set of variations by Mozart, Haydn, or Beethoven
3. One Romantic work of any length
4. One work written after 1900

*Memorization is encouraged, with the exception of works written after 1945

Contrasting works or movements that represent both technical and lyrical playing. Appropriate selections include:

1. Glazounov's Concerto Op. 109
2. Creston’s Sonata Op. 19
3. Maslanka’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone
4. Tomasi’s Concerto
5. Dressel’s Partita for Alto Saxophone and Piano
6. Creston’s Concerto Op. 26

Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. Castérède’s Sonatine
2. David’s Concertino
3. Gotkovsky’s Concerto
4. Grøndahl’s Concerto
5. Jacob’s Concerto
6. Martin’s Ballade
7. Tomasi’s Concerto
8. Wagenseil’s Concerto (alto trombone)
9. Walker’s Concerto

All major scales

Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. An etude from “14 Characteristic Studies,” “Arban's Complete Conservatory Method”
2. Promenade excerpt from Pictures at an Exhibition
3. Off stage excerpt from Leonore Overture #3
4. 2nd movement (Andante) from Haydn's Concerto in E flat for Trumpet 

All Major and Minor scales in two octaves

Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. Two contrasting etudes of applicant’s choice
2. Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Concerto for Bass Tuba (1st and 2nd movements)
3. Paul Hindemith’s Sonata for Tuba and Piano (1st movement and 3rd movement cadenza)
4. Five orchestral/band excerpts

*Students must be fluent in playing both bass and contrabass tubas

Examples of appropriate literature include but are not limited to:

1. One solo Bach movement
2. One movement of a concerto (any concerto), about 3-5 minutes only
3. Scale and arpeggios from a scale system such as Carl Flesch

1. 3-4 arts songs
2. Opera aria
3. Oratorio

Selections should represent a minimum of four languages (English, Italian, German, and French.) All but oratorio must be sung from memory with piano accompaniment.