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Audition Guidelines

For All Degrees Other Than Commercial Percussion:
The student should demonstrate his/her highest level of achievement on snare drum and marimba. Sight reading and major scales will be required. Timpani is encouraged for scholarship consideration, but not required.

• Snare Drum: Rudiments and one selection at the level of any all-state required solo or an etude from Portraits in Rhythm by Anthony Cirone
• Marimba: A four-mallet marimba solo, One selection at the level of any all-state required solo, or etude from Modern School for Xylophone by Morris Goldenberg
• Timpani: One selection at the level of any all-state required solo or an etude from The Solo Timpanist by Vic Firth.

Additional Requirements:

• Snare Drum: Rudiments and one selection at the level of any all-state required solo or an etude from Portraits in Rhythm by Anthony Cirone
• Marimba: Major scales and one selection at the level of any all-state required solo, or etude from Modern School for Xylophone by Morris Goldenberg
• Sight reading will be required on marimba and snare drum.

Applicants should demonstrate basic technique and show potential for further development. The audition will include demonstration of technical skills (scales and arpeggios), sight-reading, and performance of repertoire selections, which must be played from memory. Repertoire guidelines are listed below by degree program.

Applicants should bring the following to the audition: a completed audition form (will be sent by the Recruitment Coordinator for the School of Music after the student registers for an audition), a list of all repertoire studied in the last three years, and a letter of recommendation from their current piano teacher.

Repertoire Guidelines:

Bachelor of Music in Performance—ALL of the following:

• One selection representing the Baroque period (comparable to a prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach, a sonata by D. Scarlatti, or a comparable work by Rameau or Couperin, etc.)
• One movement of a sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert (except shorter dance movements such as a minuets or scherzi)
• One Romantic work (Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, etc.) OR one work from the 20th or 21st centuries (Debussy, Ravel, Bartok, Prokofiev, Scriabin, etc.)

All other degree programs with emphasis in piano—ANY TWO of the following:

• One selection representing the baroque style (comparable to a two-part invention by J. S. Bach or a movement from a dance suite)
• One movement of a sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert (except shorter dance movements such as a minuets or scherzi)
• One Romantic, 20th-century, or 21st-century work of any length

The student should be prepared to play scales in the major keys and the chromatic scale in at least two octaves and should prepare a solo selection from the standard repertory, at the level of an all-state audition piece. The student is expected to demonstrate good basic technique and show potential for further development. Sight-reading will be included in the audition. Additional guidelines for some specific instruments:

Classical Guitar

Candidates must prepare two pieces from contrasting style periods; play major scales; play basic chords and play a provided sight-reading example. Classical guitarists admitted to the undergraduate program should demonstrate a degree of technical fluency and musical awareness appropriate to the level of audition literature.

Commercial Guitar

The student should have a selection prepared that will demonstrate his or her abilities, featuring melodic and harmonic elements. Pieces from the commercial or church music body of literature would provide appropriate selections. The student with jazz experience may choose to perform one of the following:

• 12 Bar Blues (ex. “Tenor Madness,” “Billie’s Bounce,” “Blue Monk”)
• Jazz Standard (ex. “Autumn Leaves,” “All of Me,” “Just Friends”)
• Latin Jazz (ex. “Blue Bossa,” “Song for My Father,” “The Girl From Ipanema”)

The student will be expected to perform one or more of the following: major scale, natural minor scale, blues scale, major and/or minor pentatonic scale. The audition will also include sight-reading an excerpt of printed music.

Harp

The student should be prepared to play two contrasting works from the standard repertory, e.g., Dussek: Sonatas, Bach-Grandjany: Largo from Violin Sonata No. 6, Dello Joio: Bagatelles.

The student should prepare two memorized, contrasting selections for the vocal audition. One selection should be from classical vocal literature, such as an art song or an aria from Twenty-Four Italian Songs and Arias – Schirmer, Inc., or The First Book of Soprano, Mezzo Soprano/Alto, Tenor, Baritone/Bass Solos – Schirmer, Inc. A suitable second selection would be a contrasting art song, folk song, or Broadway selection. Upon request an accompanist will be provided at the audition. The student is expected to demonstrate basic vocal technique and to show potential for further development. A sight-reading and ear-training exercise will also be included in the audition.

• Accompaniment Notes: Upon request, a professional accompanist will be provided. Recorded forms of accompaniment from our approved list are acceptable.
  • Approved forms include high quality instrumental or piano tracks on a CD (preferred) or MP3 audio file on your phone or audio device. (Aux cord provided) Internet and streaming capabilities are not available during the audition. YouTube videos used as accompaniment are NOT allowed. Please clearly label all tracks or have them on an audio playlist by themselves.
  • If requesting a Lee University accompanist, sheet music MUST be supplied. Chord charts or lead sheets will not be accepted. Vocal students are highly discouraged from accompanying themselves, as the committee would prefer that you focus your performance on your voice.