GRADUATE AUDITION REQUIREMENTS    

Choral Conducting       
Applicants should submit their application with their preliminary screening DVD.  The application and recording must be postmarked no later than December 1, 2008.  The recording must be in English and should contain the following:

1. Twenty to thirty minutes of conducting/rehearsing a choir that the candidate regularly conducts, or an ad hoc group formed for the taping.  (Previously recorded accompaniment is not accepted).
2. Position the camera to show a head-on view of view of the upper torso.
3. The music should show contrasting tempi and demonstrate legato and marcato.

Before mailing the screening DVD the applicant must:

1. Label the recording and box with name, date submitted, and “M.M. in Choral Conducting.”
2. List titles of works rehearsed on the container box. 

The faculty will review the DVDs and invite selected candidates to audition on campus. 

On-campus auditions will consist of three parts:

1. Interview - students should be prepared to:
   - Sing an art song or aria
   - Play a short piece on the piano (such as a Bach Invention)
   - Discuss their preparation of the assigned score
2. Exams - student will be tested in Aural Skills and Sight Singing
3. Conducting Audition

Composition       
Applicants should submit a portfolio of original works to include:

1. Three recent works which best demonstrate present abilities.  One of which should be of moderate to large scale (e.g., movement of string quartet, choral work of at least 5 minutes)
2. Submit a list of all composition (this should include medium, date of composition, performance/reading of the piece).
3. The composition faculty will supply each applicant with a motive to be used in composing a tonal, two-part invention.  Please return this invention as part of your composition portfolio.

All students must complete an interview with a composition faculty member.
 

Music Education    
Applicants should possess an undergraduate degree in music education or a valid teacher certificate and must complete the following:

1. Audition in applied area of study (organ, piano, voice, or composition - see Primary Instrument Audition Requirements.  Students applying for a concentration in Choral Conducting must follow the requirements for a Choral Conducting applicant as explained above).
2. An interview with a member of the music education faculty.
3. Although not required, the department would be pleased to review a DVD or videotape of the candidate teaching.
    

Organ Performance    
All of the following, of which one must be from memory:

1. A major work by J.S. Bach
2. A major work of the 19th- or 20th-century.

Recorded auditions must be submitted in DVD or video format and must show pedals.
 

Piano Accompanying and Coaching     

1. R. Strauss: Ständchen (high key).
2. Barber: The Daisies (high key).
3. Fauré: Clair de lune (high key).
4. Debussy: Green (in G-flat).
5. A Schubert song, of the applicant’s choice.  (The applicant will play the accompaniment while singing or speaking the vocal line).
6. A complete Beethoven sonata (excluding op. 27, no. 2; op. 49; and op. 79) or a comparable work from the solo piano literature, played from memory.
7. Applicants will be asked to sight-read works from the standard vocal literature as well as to sight-read in German and French.

A member of the voice faculty will perform the vocal literature.  The candidate will have 30 minutes to rehearse with the vocalist.
  

Piano Pedagogy and Performance        

1. Piano audition with the same requirements as Piano Performance except the applicant need only perform two pieces from memory.
2. Interview with the Piano Pedagogy faculty. 

Piano Performance    
All of the following from memory:

1. A prelude & fugue from J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier or other large works by Bach.
2. A full sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven (excluding op. 49 & op. 79).
3. A large-scale Romantic work (e.g., Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, or Brahms).
4. A 20th-century work (e.g., Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, or Bartok).
    

Sacred Music    

1. Audition in applied area of study (organ, piano, voice, or composition - see Primary Instrument Audition Requirements).
2. Conducting Audition -applicants will conduct Westminster Chapel Choir in an assigned piece at the con-campus audition 
3. Sacred Music Interview - interview with a member of the Sacred Music faculty
4. Applicants for Sacred Music Composition will also have an interview with the composition faculty and follow the requirements for a composition primary.
    

Voice Pedagogy and Performance    
At least six works from memory from the list below.  A single selection may be used to fulfill more than one requirement:

1. A recitative from an opera or oratorio.
2. An aria from an opera or oratorio.
3. A song or aria from each of the major periods (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and 20th Century)
4. A song or aria in each of the following languages: English, German, French, and Italian or Latin.

Primary Instrument /Concentration Audition Requirements (Graduate)    

Composition
Submit three original scores that best present your abilities.  An audiotape recording is desirable but not required.

1. A major work by J.S. Bach.
2. A major work of the 19th or 20th century.

DVD/Videotape (if submitted) must show pedals.

Piano
Follow repertoire requirements for Piano Pedagogy and Performance major.
 
Voice
Four works from memory sung in all four of the following languages: English, German, French, and Italian.  Works must fulfill the following requirements:

1. An aria from a Baroque opera or oratorio.
2. An aria from a Classical or Romantic opera or oratorio.
3. A German, French, or Italian song.
4. A 20th-century song in English.

Summer Programs   

Master of Voice Pedagogy -

Students applying for the Master of Voice Pedagogy must have significant experience in the field in order to qualify for the program.  Significant experience is typically defined as a minimum of 5 years in the field.

1. Academic transcripts from all previous college and/or conservatory study.
2. Professional résumé.
3. Audio recording demonstrating singing ability (need not be current).
4. Two letters of recommendation speaking to singing and/or teaching ability.
5. A candidate’s statement of intent, outlining professional goals and expectations for Westminster’s MVP program.
6. A sample of academic/professional writing, new or previously composed (e.g., research paper completed for previous academic work, published or submitted article, an original review of an article from the Journal of Voice or Journal of Singing, or a brief, original paper on a topic, such as breathing, phonation, registration, or voice literature).
7. Candidates with significant prior teaching experience may include printed programs, audio recordings, reviews, or letters of support from former or current students (optional).
8. Admissions interview (under extraordinary circumstances, this may be replaced by a telephone conference call).
9. Completed admissions application.

Master of Music Education   

1. Completed admissions application.
2. Transcripts from past colleges, universities, and/or conservatories.
3. Two recommendation letters.
4. Professional résumé.
5. Videotape of conducting or classroom teaching (approximately forty minutes and should not be a concert or performance).
6. Written proposal for the “focus track” of study (Focus Track: Choral Music, Orff Certification, Kodaly Certification, Music Technology, Kindermusik, or New Jersey Teacher Certificate).  
7. Personal Interview

Competitions  

Piano  
All must be performed from memory.

1. A prelude & fugue from J.S. Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier.
2. A sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
   • Graduate: entire sonata
3. A Romantic work (e.g., Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, or Brahms).
4. A 20th-or 21st- century work.
    

1. A major work of J.S. Bach.
2. A major work of the 19th- or 20th- century.