Piano Audition Requirements
Requirements for Undergraduate Degrees
For the live audition, you must prepare one piece from each of the following categories:
- Baroque: a Prelude and Fugue by J.S. Bach from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I or II;
- Classical: a complete multi-movement sonata by a Classical composer, up to and including Schubert;
- Romantic: a major solo work by Chopin, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann or Liszt;
- Contemporary: a work from the 20th or 21st Centuries. Works by Impressionistic composers are acceptable in this category;
- Etude: a virtuoso etude.
All selections must be played from memory.
Auditions for Private Piano Lesson, Spring, 2023
Auditions will take place online. You should make a video recording of two pieces in contrasting styles, memorization not required, and upload your unlisted video to YouTube. Send the link to your recorded YouTube audition to chen@ku.edu by 11:59 P.M. on January 22, 2023.
Requirements for Graduate Degrees
No Prescreening audition is required.
You may choose to audition online or in-person. All music must be performed by memory. If you choose to audition online, your audition recording does not have to be professional quality but should be a clear and accurate reflection of your performance. A poor-quality recording will lessen your chances.
Prepare a 20-minute program that includes:
Baroque
One Prelude and Fugue from J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, or
Any two movements from one of J.S. Bach’s French Suites, or
A sonata by Domenico Scarlatti.
Classical
A single movement from a sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Clementi.
Romantic
One representative work from the Romantic style period, or the 20th or 21st centuries
Individual movements from sonatas or single pieces from larger sets are acceptable.
When choosing repertoire, we encourage (not require) you to explore the works of underrepresented composers who reflect different racial, gender, ethnic and cultural traditions. To get started, we recommend the following resources:
Teaching Video
Upload a video (or a link) that is a minimum of 20 minutes long, showing you teaching a private student at any age or level.
Be sure to include enough interaction to represent your teaching approach.
Pre-screening A pre‐screening video should be submitted with your graduate application. The deadline is December 1st.
Students must submit a 20‐minute audition of works from at least 2 periods:
First movement of a Classical Sonata is required (Schubert included)
Additional repertoire of applicant’s choice
Note: Memorization is required for all works except for 20th/21st Century works of exceptional difficulty.
The video does not have to be professional quality but should be a clear and accurate representation of your playing. Poor sound quality will lessen your chances of admission.
Final Audition Requirements A 45‐minute program and repertoire must include at least 3 solo works from different periods.
All Sonatas, Variations, Suites, and other individual works written with multiple movements must be prepared in their entirety.
Sets of pieces that are intended to be performed together must be prepared in their entirety (Schumann Carnaval, Davidsbündlertanze, or Kreisleriana; Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition; Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue).
When choosing repertoire, we encourage (not require) you to explore the works of underrepresented composers who reflect different racial, gender, ethnic and cultural traditions. To get started, we recommend the following resources:
Teaching Video
Upload a video (or a link) that is a minimum of 20 minutes long, showing you teaching a private student at any age or level.
Be sure to include enough interaction to represent your teaching approach.
*All applicants interested in being considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship should prepare to answer the following question: “Why do you wish to pursue graduate study at the University of Kansas and what are your goals following your musical study at the University of Kansas?” If auditioning by video, please submit a separate video response to the question.
Pre-screening A pre‐screening video should be submitted with your graduate application. The deadline is December 1st.
Students must submit a 20‐minute audition of works from at least 2 periods:
First movement of a Classical Sonata is required (Schubert included)
Additional repertoire of applicant’s choice
Note: Memorization is required for all works except for 20th/21st Century works of exceptional difficulty.
The video does not have to be professional quality but should be a clear and accurate representation of your playing. Poor sound quality will lessen your chances of admission.
Final Audition Requirements A 45‐minute program and repertoire must include at least 3 solo works from different periods.
All Sonatas, Variations, Suites, and other individual works written with multiple movements must be prepared in their entirety.
Sets of pieces that are intended to be performed together must be prepared in their entirety (Schumann Carnaval, Davidsbündlertanze, or Kreisleriana; Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition; Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue).
When choosing repertoire, we encourage (not require) you to explore the works of underrepresented composers who reflect different racial, gender, ethnic and cultural traditions. To get started, we recommend the following resources:
*All applicants interested in being considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship should prepare to answer the following question: “Why do you wish to pursue graduate study at the University of Kansas and what are your goals following your musical study at the University of Kansas?” If auditioning by video, please submit a separate video response to the question.
Prescreening A pre‐screening video should be submitted with your graduate application. The deadline is December 1st.
Students must submit a 20‐minute audition of works from at least 2 periods:
First movement of a Classical Sonata is required (Schubert included)
Additional repertoire of applicant’s choice
Note: Memorization is required for all works except for 20th/21st Century works of exceptional difficulty.
The video does not have to be professional quality but should be a clear and accurate representation of your playing. Poor sound quality will lessen your chances of admission.
Final Audition Requirements A 45‐minute program and repertoire must include at least 3 solo works from different periods.
All Sonatas, Variations, Suites, and other individual works written with multiple movements must be prepared in their entirety.
Sets of pieces that are intended to be performed together must be prepared in their entirety (Schumann Carnaval, Davidsbündlertanze, or Kreisleriana; Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition; Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue).
When choosing repertoire, we encourage (not require) you to explore the works of underrepresented composers who reflect different racial, gender, ethnic and cultural traditions. To get started, we recommend the following resources:
Teaching Video
Upload a video (or a link) that is a minimum of 20 minutes long, showing you teaching a private student at any age or level.
Be sure to include enough interaction to represent your teaching approach.
*All applicants interested in being considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship should prepare to answer the following question: “Why do you wish to pursue graduate study at the University of Kansas and what are your goals following your musical study at the University of Kansas?” If auditioning by video, please submit a separate video response to the question.
Prescreening A pre‐screening video should be submitted with your graduate application. The deadline is December 1st.
Students must submit a 20‐minute audition of works from at least 2 periods:
First movement of a Classical Sonata is required (Schubert included)
Additional repertoire of applicant’s choice
Note: Memorization is required for all works except for 20th/21st Century works of exceptional difficulty.
The video does not have to be professional quality but should be a clear and accurate representation of your playing. Poor sound quality will lessen your chances of admission.
Final Audition Requirements A 45‐minute program and repertoire must include at least 3 solo works from different periods.
All Sonatas, Variations, Suites, and other individual works written with multiple movements must be prepared in their entirety.
Sets of pieces that are intended to be performed together must be prepared in their entirety (Schumann Carnaval, Davidsbündlertanze, or Kreisleriana; Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition; Franck Prelude, Chorale and Fugue).
When choosing repertoire, we encourage (not require) you to explore the works of underrepresented composers who reflect different racial, gender, ethnic and cultural traditions. To get started, we recommend the following resources:
*All applicants interested in being considered for a Graduate Teaching Assistantship should prepare to answer the following question: “Why do you wish to pursue graduate study at the University of Kansas and what are your goals following your musical study at the University of Kansas?” If auditioning by video, please submit a separate video response to the question.