Music at Illinois - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

String Audition Information

Violin

1. One etude or caprice.
2. Two contrasting movements from a Bach Sonata or Partita.
3. The first or third movement of a concerto.

Performing all requirements from memory is preferred but not required

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Viola

1. One etude.
2. Two movements from Bach Sonatas, Partitas, or Suites.
3. First movement of a concerto (or comparable virtuoso work).
4. One work in a contrasting style to the above.

Cello

1. Any major and/or minor scale in three octaves.
2. One etude (preferably from the Popper High School of Cello Playing, or by Grutzmacher, Piatti, or Duport).
3. Two contrasting movements from a Bach Suite.
4. The first movement from one of the following concertos: Haydn C Major or D Major, Boccherini B-Flat Major or D Major, Saint-Saëns, Lalo, Dvorák, Schumann, Elgar, or Shostakovich.

Double Bass

1. Major, melodic minor, and harmonic minor scales up to three sharps and three flats, through two octaves.
2. An exercise or an etude from any standard method book or etude book.
3. Two solo compositions of contrasting style.
4. One orchestral excerpt from the following list:  Mozart Symphony #40, movement 1, m. 113-138; Beethoven Symphony #5, movement 3, Trio; Tchaikovsky Symphony #4, movement 1, letter P to three after Q; Brahms Symphony #1, movement 1, letter E to first ending

Harp

1. Performance of a work or etude which demonstrates technical and musical fundamentals (e.g., a work by Bach, Bochsa, Dizi, Dussek, Handel, Haydn, Scarlatti, etc).
2. Performance of two works in contrasting styles from the 19th to 21st centuries (e.g., Andrès, Debussy, Grandjany, Hindemith, Ravel, Renié, Salzedo, Tournier, etc).
3. An orchestral excerpt or cadenza.
4. Sight-reading.

Harp applicants should perform solo works (#2) from memory. Etudes and orchestral excerpts or cadenzas (#1, #3) do not have to be performed from memory.

Updated on 09/07/2018