Brass Audition Requirements
Audition requirements for undergraduate and graduate brass students
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Brass audition requirements vary by instrument. Carefully review all undergraduate and graduate audition requirements for your selected instrument(s).
Undergraduate audition requirements
Prepare two works which showcase your lyrical or expressive playing, and your technique. These may be contrasting etudes or two solo selections of your choice. When choosing, consider works that you are comfortable playing, but also demonstrate the best of your abilities.
The following solos are suggested possibilities because they contain contrasting musical styles and challenges.
Suggested solos
Barat: Introduction and Dance
Barat: Andante and Allegro
Clinard: Sonata for Unaccompanied Euphonium
Curnow: Rhapsody for Euphonium
DeLuca: Beautiful Colorado
Guilmant: Morceau Symphonique
Sparke: Party Piece
White: Lyric Suite
Suggested tuba solos
Capuzzi: Andante and Rondo
Gregson: Tuba Concerto
Haddad: Suite for Tuba
Hindemith: Sonata for Basstuba and Piano
Lebedev: Concerto in One Movement (Concerto no. 1)
Marcello: Sonata No. 1 in F Major
Miles: Suite in One Movement
Persichetti: Serenade no. 12
Dr. Clint McCanless: 502-852-4342, Email
Please choose your list (all four pieces) in a fashion that showcases all aspects of your playing.
- An exposition of ONE of the following works OR standard work representative of your playing:
- Mozart Concerti: 1, 2, 3, or 4, Concert Rondo
- Franz Strauss Concerto 1, Nocturno, any of the Theme and Variations Op. 2 or 13
- Richard Strauss Concerto 1, Op. 11
- Dukas Villanelle
- Saint-Saens: Romance Op. 36, Romance Op. 67, Morceau de Concert
- Beethoven Sonata Op. 17
- Gliere: Concerto Op. 91, Intermezzo, Nocturne, Romance
- An etude by Kopprasch, Gallay, Shoemaker, Kling, Gugel, etc.
- Shostakovich Symphony 5, #17-21. Horn 1
- 3. ONE excerpt from the wind band canon OR a solo you have performed in a wind band setting. There are many options that encompass this category-find what you are proud of. Examples could include:
- Bernstein Suite from "West Side Story," arr. Paul Lavender
- Grainger Irish Tune from County Derry Solo
- Grainger Lincolnshire Posy, Rufford Park Poachers
- Holst First Suite in Eb Chaconne solo
- Holst Second Suite in F, Song of the Blacksmith
- Jenkins American Overture
- Schoenberg Theme and Variations, VI
There are many great horn moments in wind band literature. Get creative with your choice! Standard excerpts are available.
- 4. ONE excerpt from the opera canon. Some examples could include:
- Beethoven Fidelio overture (horn 2)
- Bellini I Capuleti e i Montecchi, I Puritani, La Sonnambula
- Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel (any)
- Puccini Tosca: Act III, Madame Butterfly
- Rossini Barber of Seville overture
- Weber Oberon overture
- Standard excerpts are available
Dr. Devin Cobleigh-Morrison: 502-852-1873, Email
Tenor trombone
1 Melodious Etudes for Trombone Selected from the Vocalises of Marco Bordogni; ; Morceau Symphonique by Guilmant or Concertino by Ferdinand David (first movement only)
Bass trombone
1 Melodious Etudes for Trombone Selected from the Vocalises of Marco Bordogni; pick 1 solo: Patrick McCarty Sonata (movement 1 and 3/Lebedev Concerto in One Movement, Telemann Fantasies (select one suite)
Brett Shuster: 502-852-5526, Email
Prepare two works which showcase your lyrical or expressive playing, and your technique. These may be contrasting etudes or two solo selections of your choice. When choosing, consider works that you are comfortable playing, but also demonstrate the best of your abilities. The following solos are suggested possibilities because they contain contrasting musical styles and challenges.
Suggested repertoire:
- J.B. Arban Characteristic Study from the Complete Method
- Theo Charlier Etude from 36 Transcendental Etudes
- J.L. Small Etude from 27 Melodious and Rhythmical Exercises
- Solo from Nine Grand Solos de Concert, compiled and revised by Georges Mager
- Solo from Contest and Performance Solos, The Bernard Fitzgerald Trumpet Collection
- Trumpet Concerto or Sonata
Reese Land: 502-852-7857, Email
Graduate audition requirements
Prepare two solo works, and at least three contrasting excerpts from the standard orchestra or band literature. Solos may be complete movements of larger concertos, sonatas, or unaccompanied works, or smaller standalone pieces. Selected works should demonstrate your technical capabilities and your understanding of varied musical styles.
Dr. Clint McCanless: 502-852-4342, Email
Please choose your list (all seven pieces) in a fashion that showcases all aspects of your playing:
1. An exposition of ONE of the following works OR standard work representative of your playing:
- Mozart Concerti: 1, 2, 3, or 4, Concert Rondo
- Franz Strauss Concerto 1, Theme and Variations Op. 13
- Richard Strauss Concerto 1, Op. 11
- Dukas Villanelle
- Saint-Saens: Romance Op. 36, Romance Op. 67, Morceau de Concert
- Beethoven Sonata Op. 17
- Gliere: Concerto Op. 91
- Hindemith Horn Sonata, Alto Horn Sonata
- An etude by Kopprasch, Gallay, Shoemaker, Kling, Gugel, etc.
2. Shostakovich Symphony 5, #17-21. Horn 1
3. ONE excerpt from the wind band canon. Some examples include:
- Bernstein Suite from "West Side Story," arr. Paul Lavender
- Grainger Irish Tune from County Derry Solo
- Grainger Children's March
- Grainger Lincolnshire Posy, Rufford Park Poachers
- Jenkins American Overture
- Schoenberg Theme and Variations, VI
- Smith Festival Variations, Eternal Father Strong to Save
4. ONE Excerpt from the opera canon. Some examples could include:
- Beethoven Fidelio
- Berg Wozzeck
- Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel
- Mozart Cosi fan Tutte
- Puccini Tosca: Act III
- Strauss Der Rosenkavalier
- Wagner Gotterdämmerung, Lohengrin (Act 3 prelude), Siegfried
- Weber Oberon, Der Freischütz
5. A piece or substantial solo passage representative of your playing by a composer from marginalized/underrepresented groups. Get creative with your research. Some examples include:
- Bernofsky Trio for Brass, I: mm.21 - 36, or II: mm.25 - 33
- Coleridge-Taylor Overture to the Song of Hiawatha: 5mm. after 2 - 19mm. after 3, horn 1
- Ginastera Variaciones Concertantes
- Jolas O Wall for wind quintet
- Marsalis Blues Symphony, VI: mm.46-72, horn 3
- Price Symphony 1, III: mm.80-97, horn 3
6. An excerpt that encompasses a large range. Some examples include:
- Mahler Symphony 3, I. recapitulation, horn 4
- Ravel Daphnis Et Chloé Ballet: rehearsal 43-45, horn 1
- Strauss Ein Heldenleben, Der Rosenkavalier, openings.Till Eulenspiegel- opening, horn 3 recapitulation
- Wagner Götterdämmerung, Act.2 Scene 2.
7. An excerpt or brief solo that you are proud presenting
Dr. Devin Cobleigh-Morrison: 502-852-1873, Email
Tenor: Melodious Etudes for Trombone Selected from the Vocalises of Marco Bordogni (Vol. 2); one intermediate or advanced Tommy Pederson etude; Select three contrasting orchestral excerpts from the following; Rossini Overture to La Gazza Ladra; Schumann Symphony No. 3, fourth movement; Strauss Ein Heldenleben; Wagner "Ride", Ravel Bolero; two contrasting movements by Tomasi, Hindemith, Jacob, or Wagenseil.
Bass: Melodious Etudes for Trombone Selected from the Vocalises of Marco Bordogni (Vol. 2); Bach Suite No. 5 for Cello; Sarabande and select three orchestral excerpts; Haydn The Creation, No. 26; Kodaly Hary Janos Suite, fourth movement; Rossini Overture to La Gazza Ladra; Schumann Symphony No. 3, fourth movement; Strauss Ein Heldenleben; Wagner "Ride"; two contrasting movement by Bozza, Spillman, Vaughan-Williams (Tuba Concerto).
Brett Shuster: 502-852-5526, Email
Graduate applicants should include four pieces of contrasting styles. The ability to play different instruments (i.e. C trumpet, B-flat, piccolo, flugel, etc.) will strengthen the audition.
Reese Land: 502-852-7857, Email
Prepare two solo works, and at least three contrasting excerpts from the standard orchestra or band literature. Solos may be complete movements of larger concertos, sonatas, or unaccompanied works, or smaller standalone pieces. Selected works should demonstrate your technical capabilities and your understanding of varied musical styles.
Dr. Clint McCanless: 502-852-4342, Email
How to register for an audition
To register for an audition, please email the School of Music Admissions office at gomusic@louisville.edu. Please include your name, degree program, instrument and preferred audition date.
In order to be considered for music scholarships and assistantships, performance/pedagogy applicants must complete the application by February 15. For Music Composition and Theory, the portfolio must be submitted by January 15. For Music History, the application and writing sample must also be submitted by January 15.