KU School of Music

Homepage | School of Music - The University of Kansas

Keyboard Audition Information

 

PIANO AUDITIONS: BM in PERFORMANCE

Note: Piano scholarships are awarded only to students who enroll in the four-year BM degree in piano performance.


STEP 1: PRESCREENING 

Submit a 30-minute audio or video via https://app.getacceptd.com/kumusic of:

  1. The first movement of a Classical sonata
  2. A major Romantic work
  3. Other works of the entrant’s choice.

All selections must be played from memory.  The recording does not have to be professional quality, but should be a clear and accurate representation of your playing.  Poor sound quality will lessen your chances of admission.


STEP 2: AUDITION 

For the audition, you must prepare one piece from each of the following categories: 

  1. Baroque: a Prelude and Fugue by J.S. Bach from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I or II;
  2. Classical: a complete multi-movement sonata by a Classical composer, up to and including Schubert;
  3. Romantic: a major solo work by Chopin, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann or Liszt;
  4. Contemporary: a work from the 20th or 21st Centuries.  Works by Impressionistic composers are acceptable in this category;
  5. Etude: a virtuoso etude.

All selections must be played from memory.  

For a live audition, please sign up for a date via the Audition Registration form.

If unable to attend a live audition, we will accept a video audition via the Acceptd website.


Faculty Contact: Scott McBride Smith, smcbsmith@ku.edu

 

PIANO AUDITIONS: ALL OTHER DEGREES

Audition for Music Education (B.M.E.), Music Therapy (B.M.), Bachelor of Arts in Music (B.A.), or Music Composition, Music Theory, Musicology (B.M. or B.A.), or Music Minor: 

No pre-screening is required.

One each of the following Two of the three selections must be played from memory. 

  1. Any work by Bach
  2. Any movement from a sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven or Schubert
  3. Any contrasting work from the Romantic, Impressionist, or 20th Century periods.

 

ORGAN AUDITIONS


Organ auditions consist of:

  1. A day-long visit
  2. Tour of the facilities
  3. Audition.

Contact the organ faculty directly to schedule your audition and determine appropriate repertoire.


Faculty Contact: Michael Bauer, mbauer@ku.edu

 

Updated on 09/13/2018