Graduate - Apply & Audition or Interview

Choral Conducting

A pre-screening audition video is required with your application materials. The audition video should include both rehearsal, and performance recordings, demonstrating the candidate’s conducting skills. The camera should be positioned so as to produce a face-on view of the conductor. Upon faculty review of the materials submitted within the online application, a limited number of finalists will be invited via email to audition and interview at the University of Kansas on a specific audition date. 

Process: The conducting audition will last roughly ten to fifteen minutes. The candidate will be expected to conduct a single piece. Prior to the candidate’s arrival on campus, the Director of Choral Activities will assign the title for the audition. The candidate will conduct straight through the work (or movement), giving the audition panel an opportunity to see the candidate’s artistry and physical communication skills as a conductor. In this segment of the audition, the candidate may not coach the choir verbally. Following the first reading of the piece, the candidate will be expected to rehearse a single segment of the work. This will give the audition panel a chance to see the candidate’s approach to rehearsal. It is important that the candidate not choose a segment that is too long or that cannot be improved in the time available. The point of the exercise is to see the maximum improvement of the passage in the shortest amount of time. The candidate should keep rehearsing until informed that the time limit has been reached. The candidate will then be given some specific conducting challenges to determine his or her ability to respond to instructions. This phase is conducted with the choir so as to create the most adverse condition possible. The candidate’s ability to respond to instructions will be determined from this exercise.

Faculty Contact: Eduardo Garcia-Novelli, edugarno@ku.edu

Orchestral Conducting

A pre-screening audition video is required with your application materials.

• For DMA students, the audition video should show the applicant conducting at least two compositions in performance and two compositions in rehearsal.
• For MM applicants, the audition video should show the applicant conducting at least one composition in performance and one in rehearsal.

In both cases, the conductor must be in frontal or a partial frontal view and at least part of the ensemble must be in view. Upon faculty review of the materials submitted within the online application, a limited number of finalists will be invited via email to audition and interview at the University of Kansas on a specific audition date. 

The live audition piece for applicants in Orchestral Conducting will be an orchestral work to be determined by the Director of Orchestral Activities. 

The audition will include three parts:

1. An interview with the Orchestral Director discussing the applicant’s experience and professional goals
2. A musical skills and knowledge diagnostic including aural skills, score recognition, and knowledge of orchestral instruments and musical terminology.
3. A twenty minute audition with the KU Symphony Orchestra adjudicated by the heads of the conducting divisions. The audition will begin with a run-through to assess non-verbal communication and gesture. The audition will conclude with the candidate rehearsing the piece in the remaining time.

Contact: Creston Herron, creston.herron@ku.edu

Wind Conducting

It is preferred that all applicants for the Master of Music in conducting degree have two years of successful professional-level conducting experience that can be documented. It is preferred that all applicants for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting have four years of successful professional-level conducting experience that can be documented. This may include public school or collegiate/university teaching, directing a professional or semi-professional ensemble, or other equivalent professional arenas.

A pre-screening audition video is required with your application materials. The video should show the applicant conducting at least two compositions in performance and two compositions in rehearsal. The conductor must be in full frontal or a partial profile view and at least part of the ensemble must be in view. The repertoire selected for the video must be appropriate to the musical and technical abilities of the ensemble. If you have had difficulty due to COVID, please contact us to inquire what options are acceptable. 

Upon faculty review of the materials submitted within the online application, a limited number of finalists will be invited via email to audition and interview at the University of Kansas on a specific audition date. 

The live audition includes three parts:

1. An interview with Dr. Matt Smith maosmith@ku.edu discussing the applicants professional goals, teaching philosophy, and experience.
2. A musical skills and knowledge diagnostic including aural skills, score recognition, and knowledge of wind/percussion instruments and musical terminology.
3. A twenty minute audition with the KU Wind Ensemble. The audition will begin with a run-through to assess non-verbal communication and gesture. The candidate will then be asked make several adjustments to their conducting. The audition will conclude with the candidate rehearsing the piece in the remaining time.

Faculty Contact:Matt Smith, maosmith@ku.edu

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission -or- they may make arrangements with the major teacher (faculty contact) to submit a pre-recorded video audition to your application or schedule an audition by appointment.

Audition Requirements

Graduate Certificate in Music Performance and MM applicants-

• First movement of a major concerto
• Movement of a Bach cello suite
• Standard excerpt from each of the following:
• Beethoven Symphony #5
• Mozart Symphony 35, 39, or 40 (applicant may choose)
• Berlioz Symphony Fantastique, Mvt. 4, 3 bars after 50 through 52
• Verdi “Othello” bass solo

​DMA applicants - add one piece of your choosing.

Faculty Contact: Richard Ryan, reryan@ku.edu

Strings Area Coordinator: Hannah Collins, hannah.collins@ku.edu   

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission. A link will be sent to the applicant after the December 1st priority application deadline.

Graduate Certificate in Music Performance and MM

A 20 to 30 minute audition consisting of contrasting major works for the instrument, including transcriptions, and 2‐3 major wind band excerpts.

DMA in Performance

A 30 to 40 minute audition consisting of contrasting major works for the instrument, including transcriptions, and 2‐3 wind band excerpts.

Faculty contact:  David Earll, david.earll@ku.edu

Area Coordinator: Michael Davidson, mdavidsn@ku.edu

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission. A link will be sent to the applicant after the December 1st priority application deadline.

Audition Requirements

Graduate Audition Requirements:

• Please be prepared to play all major scales

Excerpts: choose 5 contrasting orchestral excerpts

Solo - choose a complete work, or contrasting selections from multiple works. Select music from the following, or of similar difficulty:

• R. Strauss - Concerto 1 or 2
• Hindemith - Sonata or Concerto
• Schumann - Adagio and Allegro
• Mozart - Concerto 2 or 4
• Bozza - En Foret

Applicants should plan for a program that is 20-30 minutes in length and includes the requirements above. Accompaniment is optional.

Candidates for the MM in Performance, Graduate Certificate in Music Performance, or the DMA in Performance should contact Dr. Kelly Misko directly regarding audition repertoire choices and requirements.

Faculty Contact:  Kelly Misko, kellymisko@ku.edu

Area Coordinator: Michael Davidson, mdavidsn@ku.edu

Music Composition

No audition is required for the MM and DMA in Composition programs.

Please submit at least 3 representational scores within your online application for review by the Theory/Composition faculty.  

• Recordings are not required.
• You may include links to media storage for recordings if you wish to include them. 

Composition Contact: Alan Street, dastreet@ku.edu

Music Theory

No audition is required for the MM and PhD in Music Theory.

Please submit a writing sample that includes a relatively extended written commentary on one or more individual pieces, a particular repertoire, or a designated music theoretical topic (uploaded within the application system).  

Music Theory Contact: Alan Street, dastreet@ku.edu

Students applying to a master's program in Music Education are not required to audition or interview. 

Doctoral Applicants will be contacted by faculty to arrange an in-person or online interview once their application is complete. Please contact the area coordinator if you have specific questions about the interview process. No auditions are required. 

Area Coordinator: Melissa Grady, mgrady@ku.edu 

Organists may audition in-person in the Bales Organ Recital Hall or by uploading a video audition to their online application, following a discussion with Drs. Michael Bauer and James Higdon.

Candidates for the following degrees should contact the faculty member listed below directly regarding audition repertoire choices and requirements:

• Graduate Certificate in Music Performance
• MM in Performance (Organ or Carillon)
• MM in Church Music (Organ or Choral)
• DMA in Performance (Organ)
• DMA in Church Music (Organ or Choral)    

Faculty Contacts:  James Higdon, jhigdon@ku.edu and Michael Bauer, mbauer@ku.edu 

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission. A link will be sent to the applicant after the December 1st priority application deadline.

Audition Requirements

All applicants for the Graduate Certificate in Music Performance, MM in Performance or the DMA in Performance must perform in all major areas listed below. This list is the minimum required audition for the graduate level.

Keyboard Percussion (Marimba, Vibraphone, Xylophone):

• Two Mallets: Any movement from Violin Sonatas and Partitas or Cello Suites.
• Four Mallets: A Published and established four-mallet solo or etude, on either marimba or vibraphone.
• Sight-reading
• Excerpts:
  • (xylophone) Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin
  • (glockenspiel) Magic Flute by W.A. Mozart

Snare Drum:

• Stick Control (Stone), exercise 1-13 without stopping, repeat each twice.
• Delecluse Etude No 1 from Douze Etudes
• (optional) A published concert-style solo
• A published rudimental-style solo or etude from Charles Wilcoxon's The All American Drummer, John Pratt's Fourteen Rudimental Contest Solos, or equivalent.
• Excerpts:
  • Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov
• Sight-reading

Timpani: 

• One solo from Eight Pieces for Four Timpani by Elliott Carter.
• Excerpts:
  • Beethoven Symphony No 9, Mvt 1 Coda
  • Mozart 39, opening
  • Strauss Burleske, opening

Multiple Percussion: 

• One solo piece for multiple percussion.

Feel free to prepare anything else you would like to play for auditions.

Faculty Contact: Garrett Arney, garrett.arney@ku.edu 

Area Coordinator: Michael Davidson, mdavidsn@ku.edu

Please review the piano audition requirements website for details listed by program (certificate and degree requirements).

Faculty Contact: Scott McBride Smith, smcbsmith@ku.edu.

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission. A link will be sent to the applicant after the December 1st priority application deadline.

Graduate Audition Requirements for tenor trombone: 

• Please be prepared to play all major and minor scales
• Bordogni - Etude #23  “Andante Cantabile”  from Complete Vocalises for Trombone, edited Michael Mulcahy

Excerpts: choose 5 of 6 listed

• Berlioz - Hungarian March, second trombone part, six measures before rehearsal "4" to end
• Brahms - Symphony No. 1, alto trombone part, chorale at "C"
• Mozart - "Tuba Mirum" from Requiem, tenor trombone solo
• Ravel - Bolero, first solo (beginning after rehearsal "10" to "11")
• Strauss - Till Eulenspiegel, first trombone part, nine after "35" to sixteen after "37"
• Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries, rehearsal "4" to third measure after rehearsal "7" 

Solo - choose from the following, or of similar difficulty: 

• Casterede - Sonatine
• Ewazen - Sonata
• Hindemith - Sonata

Graduate Audition Requirements for bass trombone: 

• Please be prepared to play all major and minor scales
• Bordogni – Etude #23  “Andante Cantabile”  fromComplete Vocalises for Trombone, edited Michael Mulcahy

Excerpts: choose 5 of 6 listed

• Berlioz - Hungarian March, six measures before rehearsal "4" to end
• Brahms - Symphony No. 2,  mvt. 4, "O" to end
• Franck - Symphony in D minor, mvt. 3, beginning letter "N"
• Haydn - Creation, #26
• Respighi - "Pines Near a Catacomb" from The Pines of Rome, "Ancora piu mosso" through measure after rehearsal "12"
• Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries, rehearsal "4" to third measure after rehearsal "7" 

Solo - choose from the following, or of similar difficulty

• Bolter - Sagittarius 2
• Bozza - New Orleans 
• Casterede – Fantaisie Concertante
• Ewazen - Concerto for Tuba or Bass Trombone

Candidates for the MM in Performance or the Graduate Certificate in Music Performance, MM in Performance, or the DMA in Performance should contact Dr. Michael Davidson with questions regarding repertoire or auditions. 

Faculty Contact & Area Coordinator: Michael Davidson, mdavidsn@ku.edu

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission. A link will be sent to the applicant after the December 1st priority application deadline.

Candidates for the Graduate Certificate in Music Performance,  MM in Performance or the DMA in Performance should contact Prof. Steve Leisring directly regarding audition repertoire choices and requirements.

• Candidates should be prepared to present at least 20 minutes of standard repertoire that best demonstrates the candidate’s current level. This should include works performed on Bb and C trumpet.
• Candidates interested in Graduate Assistantships will be required to demonstrate ability on the Piccolo and/or Eb trumpet as well.
• Use of an accompaniment is optional for the audition.
• Emphasis will be on evaluating the quality of the audition performance over the difficulty of the works performed.

Faculty Contact:  Stephen Leisring, leisring@ku.edu 

Area Coordinator: Michael Davidson, mdavidsn@ku.edu

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission. A link will be sent to the applicant after the December 1st priority application deadline.

Graduate Certificate in Music Performance and MM: A 20‐30 minute audition consisting of contrasting major works for the instrument, including transcriptions, and 2‐3 major orchestral excerpts.  

DMA in Performance: A 30‐40 minute audition consisting of contrasting major works for the instrument, including transcriptions, and 2‐3 major orchestral excerpts.

Faculty Contact: David Earll, david.earll@ku.edu

Area Coordinator: Michael Davidson, mdavidsn@ku.edu

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission -or- they may make arrangements with the major teacher (faculty contact) to submit a pre-recorded video audition to your application or schedule an audition by appointment.

Audition Requirements

Graduate Certificate in Music Performance and MM applicants -

• Two contrasting movements from a solo Suite, Sonata or Partita by J.S. Bach
• The first movement of a standard concerto with cadenza OR the second and third movements of a standard concerto
• A contrasting piece (applicant’s choice)

For DMA applicants -

Prepare a 40‐minute recital which includes at least all of the above requirements.

Faculty Contact: Boris Vayner, bvayner@ku.edu 

Strings Area Coordinator: Hannah Collins, hannah.collins@ku.edu   

Students may sign up for in-person auditions once they have completed their application for admission -or- they may make arrangements with the major teacher (faculty contact) to submit a pre-recorded video audition to your application or schedule an audition by appointment.

Audition Requirements

       Graduate Certificate in Music Performance and MM applicants:

• Two contrasting movements from a solo Sonata or Partita by J.S. Bach
• The first movement of a standard concerto with cadenza OR the second and third movements of a standard concerto
• A contrasting piece (applicant’s choice)

       For DMA applicants - prepare a 40‐minute recital that includes at least all of the above requirements.  

Faculty contact: David Colwell, david.colwell@ku.edu

Strings Area Coordinator: Hannah Collins, hannah.collins@ku.edu   

Both in-person and video auditions will be considered for admission. Please read carefully. 

A pre-screening video, submitted with your application, is required for all graduate programs in Voice: MM, MM in Opera, DMA, and the Certificate in Music Performance.  The submission deadline is December 1^st.

• For all MM and Certificate applicants, the pre-screening video must include a minimum of 6 selections, including one each in English, French, German and Italian. Include at least 1 oratorio or operatic aria.                                   
• For DMA applicants the pre-screening video must include a minimum of 6 selections, including one each in English, French, German and Italian. Include at least 1 oratorio or operatic aria. If applicants are wanting to audition by video (rather than in-person), the pre-screening video should be the equivalent of a 45 minute recital, following the same literature and language requirements.

For all applicants auditioning by video, these pre-screening video will also serve as the final audition. We encourage all to include at least 1 selection by a composer who has been traditionally underrepresented due to gender, ethnicity, race, or cultural heritage.

As part of your pre-screen, all applicants should record a statement telling us 1: Why you are interested in the University of Kansas graduate program, 2: What your goals are following graduate study, and 3: Whether you wish to audition in person or with a video.

Applicants wanting to audition in-person will be notified that they have passed the pre-screen and are able to sign up for an on-campus audition in February.

Audition Requirements: You do not need to send music in advance.

• MM in Voice, Opera and Certificate in-person audition repertoire requirements will be the same as for the MM pre-screen video.
• DMA in person audition repertoire will consist of 10-12 selections, including varied song literature in English, French, German, and Italian. In addition, include both an oratorio and operatic aria. 

Final decisions will be made no earlier than mid-March.

Faculty Contact: Stella Markou, stella.markou@ku.edu

Auditions for Fall admission will be held at the School of Music in February. If you are unable to schedule your audition on one of these planned audition days, you may arrange an alternative date with the professor of your instrument.  A live audition is strongly encouraged but you may submit a video audition after consulting with the professor of your instrument. 

Audition Requirements

Graduate Certificate in Music Performance: Candidates are to prepare a 30‐minute program. Please prepare a printed program for submission at the time of your audition. Faculty will select approximately 20-minutes of music for you to perform at the time of your audition.

MM in Performance: Candidates are to prepare a 30‐minute program. Please prepare a printed program for submission at the time of your audition. Faculty will select approximately 20-minutes for you to perform at the time of your audition.

DMA in Performance: Candidates are to prepare a 60‐minute program. Please prepare a printed program for submission at the time of your audition. Faculty will select approximately 20-minutes of music for you to perform at the time of your audition.

Video Audition

If you are submitting a video audition, upload a copy or link of the video to your online application (contact musicgrad@ku.edu with questions about the application system), and alert the studio faculty in your area via email. 

Repertoire: 

Selections should demonstrate a variety of playing styles and compositional periods and represent the candidate’s performance skills in the best possible light. The audition need not be accompanied. For more information, contact the faculty member listed below.    

FLUTE Faculty contact: Daniel Velasco, dvelasco@ku.edu  

OBOE Faculty contact: Margaret Marco, mmarco@ku.edu      

CLARINET Faculty contact: Stephanie Zelnick, zelnick@ku.edu      

SAXOPHONE Faculty contact: Geoffrey Landman, geoffrey.landman@ku.edu      

BASSOON Faculty contact: Midori Samson, midori.samson@ku.edu