Bienen School of Music - Northwestern University

Brass Audition Information

Master of Music: Trumpet

Prescreening required: video prescreening

For Prescreening:

• 1 etude of applicant’s choice from Charlier, Bitsch or equivalent.
• 1 short standard solo (Honegger Intrada or equivalent) or first movement from a standard concerto or sonata of applicant’s choice (Haydn, Hummel, Tomasi, Jolivet or equivalent).
• 2 contrasting standard orchestral excerpts
• Choose contrasting works that will display your highest level of achievement musically and technically.

For Final Audition:

All repertoire required. No substitutions.

• 2 etudes of applicant’s choice from Charlier, Bitsch or equivalent.
• 1 standard concerto or sonata of applicant’s choice.
• Honneger Intrada 
• 4 contrasting standard orchestral excerpts.
• 1 piccolo trumpet orchestral excerpt of J. S. Bach (Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio or B Minor Mass)

Master of Music: Tenor Trombone

Prescreening required; must be video recording. Video should be shot from left side so mouthpiece is clearly visible.

For Prescreening and Final Audition:

All repertoires required. No substitutions.

• Solo Selection: Martin, Ballade

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Berlioz, Hungarian March (2nd trombone)
• Mozart, Requiem “Tuba Mirum”
• Ravel, Bolero
• Saint-Saëns, Symphony No.3
• Schumann, Symphony No.3, fourth movement
• Wagner, Die Walküre “Ride of the Valkyries”, B Maj. section
• Strauss, Also sprach Zarathustra
• Rossini, William Tell Overture

Master of Music: Bass Trombone

Prescreening required; must be video recording. Video should be shot from left side so mouthpiece is clearly visible.

For Prescreening and Final Audition:

All repertoires required. No substitutions.

Solo Selections:

• Spillman, Concerto, first movement
• Bach, Sarabande (no repeats)

Orchestral Excerpts:

• Berlioz, Hungarian March
• Haydn, The Creation
• Mahler, Symphony No.7, first movement
• Schumann, Symphony No.3, fourth movement
• Wagner, Die Walküre “Ride of the Valkyries”, B Maj. section
• Wagner, Das Rheingold
• Rossini, William Tell Overture
• Kodály, Háry János

Master of Music: Tuba

For Final Audition:

Perform up to 3 minutes of any etude or solo piece of your own choice. Also, the following orchestral excerpts:

• Berlioz: Hungarian March; Begin at rehearsal #20, end 4 measures after rehearsal #21
• Gershwin: American in Paris; Tuba solo beginning at rehearsal #67
• Mahler: Symphony No. 5; Scherzo movement beginning 13 measures before rehearsal #16, ending at rehearsal #17
• Revueltas: Sensemaya; rehearsal #2 through rehearsal #8
• Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5; Begin at rehearsal #3, end 8 measures after rehearsal #5
• Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Begin at rehearsal #62, end after rehearsal #65
• Wagner: Overature to “Die Meistersinger”; First 27 measures

Master of Music: Horn

Prescreening Required; Video Preferred

For Prescreening:

• One solo movement demonstrating style, tone, range, rhythm, and technique, such as Mozart Concerto No.4, Schumann Adagio and Allegro Op.70, Buyanovsky Espana, Strauss Concerto. 1 or 2
• One étude from: Maxime Alphonse Book No. 5

Required Orchestral Excerpts:

• Beethoven, Symphony No.9 (fourth horn solo)
• Brahms, Symphony No. 2 or Symphony No. 3
• Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, opening call

For Final Audition:

Two contrasting solo pieces demonstrating style, tone, range, rhythm, and technique, such as Mozart Concerto No.4, Schumann Adagio and Allegro Op.70, Buyanovsky Espana, Strauss Concerto. 1 or 2

Required Orchestral Excerpts:

• Beethoven, Symphony No.9 (fourth horn solo)
• Brahms, Symphony No. 2 or Symphony No. 3
• Ravel, Pavane
• Shostakovich, Symphony No.5, low tutti section, mvt 1.
• Wagner, Götterdämmerung, short call
• Strauss, Ein Heldenleben, opening call

In addition: possible sight-reading

Master of Music: Euphonium

For Final Audition:

Perform up to 3 minutes of any etude or solo piece of your own choice. Also, the following orchestral excerpts:

• Holst: Second Suite for Military Band
• March - Beginning to letter B, pickup to letter E through bar 5 of letter G
• Song without words - entire movement
• Sousa: Stars and Stripes Forever (complete, no repeats)
• Mendelssohn arr. VF Safranek - First 5 lines, B-C
• Mussorgsky/Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition - Bydlo
• Strauss: Ein Heldenleben - 1 before 3-4, 8-7th bar of 13, 62-75, 79-80

Updated on 09/05/2018