Bienen School of Music - Northwestern University

Strings Audition Information

Master of Music: Violin

Prescreening required: must be video recording

For Prescreening:

Memorization is required

• One movement from a Bach sonata or partita
• First movement of a standard concerto

For Final Audition:

Memorization is required

• Two contrasting movements from a Bach sonata or partita
• A full standard concerto
• A Paganini caprice

Master of Music: Viola

Prescreening required.

For Prescreening:

• Two contrasting movements from any solo suite, sonata, or partita by Bach
• One complete movement of a standard concerto such as Bartok, Walton or Hindemith (or other)

For Final Audition:

• One complete movement of a standard concerto
• The first movement of any major sonata
• Two contrasting movements from any suite, sonata, or partita by Bach

Master of Music: Cello

Prescreening required: must be video recording

For Prescreening:

• One étude by Popper or one caprice by Piatti
• One movement from a Bach Suite
• The exposition from a standard cello concerto

For Final Audition:

• One étude by Popper and one caprice by Piatti OR two by either
• Two contrasting movements from a Bach Suite
• One complete cello concerto by a composer such as Haydn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Elgar, Shostakovich, or Prokofiev
• One piece composed after 1940

Master of Music: Double Bass

For Final Audition:

• Two contrasting solo pieces
• One movement from JS Bach, Suites for Violoncello

Orchestral Excerpts: choose a total of five from:

• Mozart (Symphony 35, 39, and/or 40)
• Beethoven (Symphony 3,5,7,9)
• Brahms (Symphony 1 and/or 2)
• Strauss (any standard orchestral work)

In addition: 3-octave scales and arpeggios in all keys

Master of Music: Harp

For Final Audition:

• One movement of a concerto such as Debussy, Ginastera, Mozart, Ravel, Reinecke etc.
• A large solo work for harp such as Britten Suite, Faure Impromptu, Grandjany Rhapsodie, Hindemith Sonata
• Three orchestral excerpts from Principal Harp Vol 1 or 2 by Sarah Bullen

Updated on 09/05/2018