Admission and Auditions

The School of Music does not currently have a strings program, and therefore is not accepting string auditions at this time.

Flute

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo: Please prepare either: two short, contrasting etudes (or two short movements from a solo work for your instrument); or a longer single movement from a solo work. In either case, the goal is to demonstrate your current level of both technical playing and musicianship (dynamics, articulation variety, breathing choices, and rubato and phrasing).
2. Scales: please continue to work on scales and technique study as directed by your band director, private lesson teacher, or in consultation with Dr. Keshavarz in the WCU flute studio. We will hear a selection of the scales you have prepared, in the format most familiar to you. Preparation of the chromatic scale, covering as much of the range of the instrument as you are comfortable with, is also encouraged.
3. Sightreading: The sightreading exercise is designed to give you a chance to demonstrate your musical thinking and decision making, rather than to be a technical hurdle. When practicing sightreading in preparation for the audition, strive to communicate a clear rhythmic pulse, and give articulations and dynamics just as much attention as the notes themselves.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Kelariz Keshavarz, Professor of Flute, at: zkeshavarz@wcu.edu

 

Oboe

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo: Please prepare either: two short, contrasting etudes (or two short movements from a solo work for your instrument); or a longer single movement from a solo work. A movement or two from a Handel Sonata or Schumann Romance is recommended. In either case, the goal is to demonstrate your current level of both technical playing and musicianship (dynamics, articulation variety, breathing choices, and rubato and phrasing).
2. Scales: please continue to work on scales and technique study as directed by your band director, private lesson teacher, or in consultation with Dr. Peebles in the WCU double reed studios. We will hear a selection of the scales you have prepared, in the format most familiar to you. Preparation of the chromatic scale, covering as much of the range of the instrument as you are comfortable with, is also encouraged.
3. Sightreading: The sightreading exercise is designed to give you a chance to demonstrate your musical thinking and decision making, rather than to be a technical hurdle. When practicing sightreading in preparation for the audition, strive to communicate a clear rhythmic pulse, and give articulations and dynamics just as much attention as the notes themselves.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Will Peebles, Professor of Bassoon, at: wpeebles@wcu.edu

 

Clarinet

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and one or two short sightreading exercises. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo: Please prepare one or two etudes or movements from etudes or solos written for your instrument demonstrating your musicality, proficiency, and accuracy. These do not have to be entire movements, if the movements are long; and if you have prepared a lot of music, we may only be able to hear some of it due to time constraints.
2. Scales: Please prepare to perform scales that you have learned in the format most familiar to you. We encourage you to prepare all twelve major scales at least two octaves and the chromatic scales (lowest note E to altissimo E three octaves up and down is recommended). In your audition, we will ask you to play two or three major scales of our choice, along with the chromatic scale.
3. Sightreading: The sightreading exercise is designed to give you a chance to demonstrate your musical thinking and decision making, rather than to be a technical hurdle. When practicing sightreading in preparation for the audition, strive to communicate a clear rhythmic pulse, and give musical phrasing, articulations, and dynamics as much attention as the notes themselves. We will hear one or two sightreading exercises.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Shannon Thompson, Professor of Clarinet, at: thompson@wcu.edu

 

Bassoon

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo: a movement or two from the Telemann F minor sonata or Mozart Concerto (recommended), or anything from the standard repertoire that best demonstrates your lyrical and technical abilities.
2. Scales: please continue to work on scales and technique study as directed by your band director, private lesson teacher, or in consultation with Dr. Peebles in the WCU bassoon studio. We will hear a selection of the scales you have prepared, in the format most familiar to you. Preparation of the chromatic scale, covering as much of the range of the instrument as you are comfortable with, is also encouraged.
3. Sightreading: The sightreading exercise is designed to give you a chance to demonstrate your musical thinking and decision making, rather than to be a technical hurdle. When practicing sightreading in preparation for the audition, strive to communicate a clear rhythmic pulse, and give articulations and dynamics just as much attention as the notes themselves.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Will Peebles, Professor of Bassoon, at: wpeebles@wcu.edu

 

Saxophone

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo: Please prepare either: two short, contrasting etudes (or two short movements from a solo work for your instrument); or a longer single movement from a solo work. In either case, the goal is to demonstrate your current level of both technical playing and musicianship (dynamics, articulation variety, breathing choices, and rubato and phrasing).
2. Scales: please continue to work on scales and technique study as directed by your band director, private lesson teacher, or in consultation with Dr. Jeffress in the WCU saxophone studio. We will hear a selection of the scales you have prepared, in the format most familiar to you. Preparation of the chromatic scale, covering as much of the range of the instrument as you are comfortable with, is also encouraged.
3. Sightreading: The sightreading exercise is designed to give you a chance to demonstrate your musical thinking and decision making, rather than to be a technical hurdle. When practicing sightreading in preparation for the audition, strive to communicate a clear rhythmic pulse, and give articulations and dynamics just as much attention as the notes themselves.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Ian Jeffress, Associate Professor of Saxophone, at: jeffress@wcu.edu

Trumpet

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo: Solos should not exceed 7 minutes in length and should showcase your technical and lyrical abilities. A movement of a concerto, sonata, All-District audition solo, or contest piece is acceptable.
2. Major Scales and Arpeggios: The applicants will be asked by the audition committee to perform by memory random scales from this list. These major scales and arpeggios should be TONGUED in the rhythmic pattern shown.
3. Chromatic Scale: Should be slurred as fast and EVENLY as possible. Evenness is more important than the tempo. See the Chromatic Scales
4. Sight Reading.: A short excerpt for the student to sight read will be given at the audition.

Questions? Please contact Dr. P. Bradley Ulrich, Professor of Trumpet, at: ulrich@wcu.edu

 

Horn

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these:

1. Solo: A prepared piece 3-7 minutes in length which showcases your technical and lyrical abilities. A movement of a concerto, sonata, All-District audition solo, or contest piece is acceptable.
2. Major Scales and Arpeggios: The faculty member(s) will select 3-5 scales for you to play. Scales should be played 2 octaves and tongued.
3. Sight Reading.: A short excerpt for the student to sight read will be given at the audition.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Travis Bennett, Professor of Horn, at: tbennett@wcu.edu 

 

Trombone/Euphonium

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these.

1. Solo (5-7 minute segment): Selection may include a movement of a Sonata or a Concerto, All-District audition solo or a contest piece. Additionally, applicants are encouraged to perform excerpts from band or orchestra repertoire, or a lead line in the style of choice (written or improvised).
2. Major Scales: Play all the scales in an articulated, sostenuto-tenuto style. The faculty member(s) will select 3-5 scales for you to play. Scales should be played 2 octaves.
3. Sight Reading: A short excerpt for the student to sight read will be given at the audition.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Zsolt Szabo, Associate Professor of Trombone and Euphonium, at: zszabo@wcu.edu

 

Tuba

In your audition, you will be asked to perform prepared solo repertoire for your instrument, a selection of scales, and a short sightreading exercise. Please see below for specifics regarding each of these:

1. Major Scales: Play all the scales in an articulated, sostenuto-tenuto style. The faculty member(s) will select 3-5 scales for you to play. Scales should be played 2 octaves.
2. This Excerpt:  
3. Open choice of solo or except (2-7 minute segment): Selection may include all-district piece, another band or orchestra excerpt, solo and ensemble part, lead line in style of choice (written or improvised, with or without recorded accompaniment).
4. Sight Reading: A short excerpt for the student to sight read will be given at the audition.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Nick Beltchev, Assistant Professor of Tuba, at: nbeltchev@wcu.edu

PERCUSSION

Acceptance into the percussion studio is highly competitive and space is limited. Auditions that occur after the School of Music’s last audition date are not guaranteed to be considered for acceptance.

You must prepare an etude or solo in all three of the following areas. When choosing repertoire, students should select etudes that are at least one page in length. You may substitute pieces of similar or greater difficulty.

• Snare Drum – Any standard etude in the concert style (Peters, Cirone, Delecluse, or similar).
• Keyboard – Any standard two or four-mallet etude or solo (Bach, Goldenberg, MacMillan, Peters, Ford, Davila, Gaines, Musser, or similar).
• Timpani – Any standard etude or solo piece (Firth, Whaley, Peters, Beck, Carroll, Hochrainer, or similar).
• Drumset **OPTIONAL** – Students are not required to perform on drumset, but may do so if they choose. Demonstrate fluency with at least three musical styles (medium swing, funk, bossa nova, etc.).

In addition to your prepared repertoire, you will also be asked to perform the following: 

1. Selected rudiments from the 40 PAS International Drum Rudiments (may be found at pas.org)
2. Selected major scales
3. Sightreading on snare drum and keyboard percussion instruments

Choose repertoire that showcases your highest level of technical and musical skill. How you play is more important than what you play. As such, students who give mature, polished, and convincing performances of “easier” repertoire are more likely to be successful than students who struggle with the technical demands of “harder” repertoire. Your audition is your opportunity to demonstrate what you are capable of, so choose repertoire that will allow your artistry to shine through.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Amy Yin, Visiting Assistant Professor of Percussion, at: xyin@wcu.edu

PIANO

1. Play two or three solo works from the standard classical repertoire, contrasting in style/historical period. These do not have to be memorized.  Individual movements of larger works (e.g. a movement from a sonata or a suite) are allowed and count as one work.  All works must be performed in their entirety. Arrangements/simplified versions of classical works are not allowed. 
2. Play technical elements such as scales (hands together), arpeggios, or standard chord progressions. You may choose which you would like to play or have WCU faculty members choose.
3. Sight read an excerpt, with one minute preparation time.
4. Be prepared to talk with us about your studies:

• How long have you had lessons with a teacher?
• Have you studied music theory?Have you done any accompanying?
• Do you play other instruments?
• Do you compose original pieces or arrange works by others?
• What are your goals at WCU and beyond?

Questions? Please contact Dr. Leonidas Lagrimas, Assistant Professor of Piano, at: llagrimas@wcu.edu

A classical voice audition consists of three parts. Each part is important and no one part is the whole determining factor for a student’s audition success.

Part I. Performance:

Auditionees will perform two songs from memory for their audition. The performance will be with a live pianist. Below is a list of requirements for the songs offered. Please read thoroughly.

1. Songs are memorized and performed without music.  We want to see your best; memorization and thorough preparation will give you the best opportunity to do your best.
2. At the audition, you will need sheet music, in standard western notation, with (fully realized) piano accompaniment. See example

• Auditions are with a live pianist, who will need sheet music to play from.
• You can find sheet music for pre-existing songs in published anthologies or at a number of websites including musescore.com, musicnotes.com or can select music from the resources mentioned in the required repertoire selection. (See repertoire table below for more information.)
• Applicants often learn music specifically for the audition. Doing so is an easy way to ensure your selections have appropriate sheet music. 
• If your song has a lead sheet or chord chart, you will need to find a fully realized piano accompaniment.

   3. There are two categories for auditions: “Standard Rep” and “Other Selections.”  You need at least one piece of standard rep, but can have two pieces of standard rep.

 

Part II. Sight Reading: 

You will be given a short piece to sight read without accompaniment. You may use any method of sight-reading:  solfege, numbers or neutral syllables. Sight-reading examples are typically 8-16 measures.

Part III. Brief Interview:

The audition panel will interview you to briefly explore your past musical experiences as well as college and career goals. Take time before the audition process to consider your interests and long-term goals, both in music and more broadly.

Questions? Please contact 

Dr. Andrea Price, Assistant Professor of Voice, at amprice@wcu.edu or 

Dr. Isaiah Feken, Assistant Professor of Voice, at ifeken@wcu.edu

Piano

In your audition, you will be asked to perform in a selection of styles, demonstrate scales, and sightread. Please see below for specifics regarding the components of your audition.

1. Scales: Demonstration of fundamental piano technique by playing one major and one minor scale, two hands together one octave apart, four octaves up and four octaves down in slower to moderate tempo

2. Prepared Piece: Demonstration of jazz/pop music styles by playing at least three of the following:

• Blues – a melody and 2-3 choruses of improvisation, either solo or with a play-along
• Rhythm Changes – such as I Got Rhythm, Oleo, Anthropology, or the likes – again melody and a few choruses of improvisation if possible
• Standard jazz song in a swing style – anything from Ellington, Monk, Bill Evans (the pianist), Mingus, Coltrane and the likes should be fine
• Jazz ballad and your own arrangement of it
• Bossa-nova, such as Blue Bossa, How Insensitive, Recordame, or Girl From Ipanema or similar
• Any piece of your choice, whether an original composition or an arrangement of cinema, pop, or jazz song or film music

3. If you have played any classical music, it would be helpful to hear that as well – Bach’s Invention or part of Prelude and Fugue, some Classical period piece such as first movement of Haydn or Mozart sonata, and/or Romantic piece by Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, or similar (not too complicated or too difficult). While this part is not required, it is welcome to those who recently switched from classical to pop/jazz piano.

4. Sight Reading: Sight Reading is required of all Jazz and Commercial Piano Majors. Each prospect is encouraged to demonstrate sight-reading of a standard real book lead-sheet with proper harmonization in left hand and melody in the right hand, as well as a sight-reading of a short two-staff piano excerpt from classical repertoire (both to be determined by the in-structor at the end of the audition process).

Questions? Please contact Pavel Wlosok, Professor of Jazz Studies, at pwlosok@wcu.edu

 

Guitar

In your audition, you will be asked to perform a jazz standard, improvise, demonstrate scales and chords, and sightread. Please see below for specifics regarding the components of your audition.

1. Scales and Chords:

• Please be prepared to perform 2 octave major and minor scales using at lease 2 different scale fingerings (the shifting of one scale fingering to a new position does not fulfill this requirement).
• Demonstrate major, minor, dominant, half diminished, and diminished 7th chords off a given root in two different fretboard positions.

2. Improvisation: Perform an improvised solo over a rock or funk backing track of single chord. Many backing tracks are available on YouTube and Spotify, and should forwarded to Dr. Beyt prior to audition.

3. Jazz Standard: With a backing track, perform a jazz standard of your choice. Examples would be Autumn Leaves, All The Things You Are, Blue Bossa, Recordame, etc. Play the melody for the first chorus, comp the chords of the form for the second chorus, and improvise for one to three choruses over the form. 

4. Sight Reading: Sight reading is required for all jazz guitar auditions at WCU. Students should be pre-pared to sight read melodic material in traditional music notation (not tablature), and an understanding of key signatures will be required. Open position reading is expected, but it is a good idea to read in higher positions on the guitar neck, such as 2nd, 5th, and 7th positions. Prospective students will also be asked to sight read a chord chart consisting of major and minor chords as well as major, minor, dominant, half diminished, and diminished 7th chords.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Chris Beyt, Assistant Professor of Jazz Guitar, at: cjbeyt@wcu.edu 

 

Bass

In your audition, you will be asked to perform a jazz standard and walk and solo over a blues form, demonstrate scales, improvise a funk bass line, and sightread. Please see below for specifics regarding the components of your audition.

1.  Scales: be prepared to perform one octave major and minor scales using at lease 2 different scale fingerings (the shifting of one scale fingering to a new position does not fulfill this requirement).

2.  Performance of Jazz Standards:

• With a backing track, walk and solo over a jazz blues form.
• With a backing track, perform a jazz standard of your choice. Examples would be Autumn Leaves, All The Things You Are, Blue Bossa, Recordame, etc. Play the melody for the first chorus then walk for the second chorus. Backing tracks without a recorded bass part can be made available upon request.

3. Funk Bass Line: improvise a funk bass line with a single-chord backing track that does not already have a bass in the recording. Many backing tracks are available on YouTube, and should for-warded to Dr. Beyt prior to audition.

4. Sight Reading: be prepared to sight read melodic material in traditional music notation (not tablature) and an under-standing of key signatures will be required. Prospective students will be asked to sight-read a lead sheet style song by performing the melody for a chorus and improvising a bass part over the chord changes as if accompanying a soloist.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Chris Beyt, Assistant Professor of Jazz Guitar, at: cjbeyt@wcu.edu 

Drumset

In your audition, you will be required to perform a prepared piece, play 4-5 grooves, and sight read a short excerpt from an exercise book.

1. Prepared Piece (three–four minutes in length) - Can be any song found on Spotify or Apple
   Improvisation over a short instrumental backing track.
2. Perform a few short sight reading exercises of different rhythms and tempos using the drumset. Music will be in traditional drumset notation.
3. In addition to the above requirements, you'll be asked to play selected examples from the following list of grooves:

• 4/4 swing
• 3/4 swing
• Blues shuffle
• Funk - Played with straight eighth notes
• Rock
• Bossa nova
• Reggae

For further questions, please contact Ethan King at: king@wcu.edu

Commercial Music (Voice)

A vocal audition for admission to the School of Music at WCU consists of three parts. 

Part I. The Singing Portion. The Commercial Voice audition should consist of two songs contrasting in style AND feel. Examples of contrasting contemporary songs are: an upbeat rock tune, a jazz ballad, a slow R&B song, or a country up-tempo song, etc. Both pieces may be contemporary, or from different style eras, but a classical selection is also acceptable. All selections must be memorized.

Additional acceptable styles: 

• Hip hop/R&B (in the vein of Lauryn Hill, Drake, Mary J. Blige etc., not just spoken)
• Soul: Sam Cook, Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Motown, etc.

Part II. Sight-Reading/Tonal Memory. You will be given a short acapella piece to sight read. You may use any method of sight-reading – solfege, (do, re, mi, etc., numbers, or a neutral syllable – la la la, doo doo, etc.).

• Reading music is essential to success as a Music Major, but perfection in sight reading is not required for acceptance into our program. Tonal memory involves hearing tones and singing them back accurately.
• You will be asked to improvise to a recorded track, sing call and response, or sing an aural harmonization exercise provided to you.

Part III. Brief Interview: The audition panel will interview you briefly to explore past musical experiences as well as college and career goals.

Tips for success:

1. Remember Voice Faculty want to hear what your voice can do NOW. Choose songs that show your vocal ability, “IT” factor, personality and your ability to tell stories.
2. Songs that need a full band, dancers, lights, etc. might be your favorite, but they may not be best for auditions. Carefully choose songs by award winning SONGWRITERS.
3. You may use tracks, a live accompanist, or accompany yourself. If you are planning to use a live accompanist, please contact us and provide a score/lead sheet.
4. Remember that this is a “singing” dominant program. You may be passionate about a particular style of music, but this audition will be simply judged on your singing ability.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Andrea Price, Assistant Professor of Voice, at amprice@wcu.edu or Dr. Isaiah Feken, Assistant Professor of Voice, at ifeken@wcu.edu

Performance Technology

While keyboard is the preferred audition instrument for the first four audition conponents outlined below, you may perform on any instrument you like.

Students should be prepared to:

1. Play major and minor scales.
2. Sight-read the melody of a lead sheet.
3. Sight-read chord changes of a lead sheet.
4. Perform of one of the following: a jazz standard, a classical piece, an R&B / soul standard, or a pop standard. Standards must be chosen from a Real Book publication. Examples of repertoire you may consider playing include Mood Indigo by Duke Ellington, Minuet in G minor (BWV Anh 115) by J.S. Bach, or Baby Love by Diana Ross & The Supremes (Holland–Dozier–Holland).
5. Perform a work of music where technology is the primary instrument. You may choose whatever instrument you like. Some options include smartphone, MIDI keyboard, launchpad, synthesizer, turntable, Theremin, or Arduino.
   1. For this portion of the audition, you may play an original composition. Any genre is welcome (pop, hip hop, EDM, orchestral, etc.).
   2. Please DO NOT play over a backing track. Instead, look at videos such as TAETRO’s “Akai MPK MINI MK3 Ableton Live Looping Performance” or Lisa Bella Donna’s 2018 EarthQuaker Day performance. These are good examples of performances where technology is the primary instrument.

Please bring 3 printed copies of your sheet music for the piece you perform for component 4 above.  Do not play from sheet music you have downloaded from MuseScore.

Questions? Please contact Dr. Chris Lock, Assistant Professor of Music Technology, at: clock@wcu.edu