Audition Information | New England Conservatory

Brass Audition Information

Prescreening portfolios are required of:

• All Composition and Jazz Composition applicants

Prescreening video recordings are required of:

• All Artist Diploma and DMA applicants, regardless of major
• All undergraduate, MM, and GD applicants to:

Trumpet

Prescreen Requirements (MM & GD);

Please submit a video, recorded straight through with no internal edits, of the following:

1. Charlier Étude #2, measures 1-24, as printed on B-flat trumpet
2. Beethoven Leonore Overture No. 2, offstage solo
3. A two octave B-flat (concert pitch) scale, ascending and descending, played in quarter notes at quarter note equals 120 beats per minute in a clearly articulated manner.

Audition Requirements (MM & GD)

1. F.J. Haydn Movement 1 (opening through development)
2. Honegger Intrada
3. Copland Outdoor Overture
4. Mahler Symphony No.5, opening solo
5. Stravinsky Petrouchka "Ballerina's Dance" (1947)

Tenor Trombone

Prescreen Requirements (MM & GD)

1. Guilmant-Morceau Symphonique (Concert Piece) Op. 88: Allegro Moderato to 10 measures after the Andante Sostenuto
2. Bordogni/Rochut No. 13 in Eb major (end at m. 24)
3. Berlioz Hungarian March (Trombone 2 part): 6 measures before Fig. 4 to 2nd measure of Fig. 5
4. Mozart Requiem: Trombone II, Tuba Mirum to downbeat of m. 18.

Audition Requirements (MM & GD);

1. Two contrasting movements of the following solos or a piece at a comparable level:
   •  Grondahl Concerto
   •  Tomasi Concerto
   •  Martin Ballade
   •  Creston Fantasy
   •  Milhaud Concertino
2. One of the following etudes or others at a comparable level:
   •  Bitsch Etudes
   •  Rochut – Book 2 or 3
   •  Bozza Etudes
3. Three contrasting orchestral excerpts chosen from the following:
   •  Ravel Bolero
   •  Rossini William Tell Overture
   •  Wagner Ride of the Valkyries, B Major section
   •  Mahler Symphony No.3, first movement
   •  Schumann Symphony No.3, “The Rhenish,” fourth movement
   •  Mozart Requiem, Tuba Mirum
   •  Strauss Also Sprach Zarathustra
   •  Strauss Ein Heldenleben

Bass Trombone

Prescreen Requirements (MM & GD)

1. Bordogni/Rochut No. 13, m. 1-24, in two different octaves (starting on both low B-flat AND middle B-flat)
2. One technical Blazhevich etude (any edition) of the applicant’s choice
3. Berlioz Hungarian March: 6 measures before Fig. 4 to 2nd measure of Fig. 5
4. Schumann Symphony No. 3, IV Movement, first 8 measures.

Audition Requirements (MM & GD);

1. Two of the following works (or two works at a comparable level):
   •  Koetsier Allegro Maestoso
   •  Castérède Fantasie Concertante or Sonatine
   •  Sachse Concertino
2. One of the following etudes (contrasting with the solo) or others at a comparable level:
   •  Tyrell Studies for B-flat Bass
   •  Rochut – Book 2, as written and up/down the octave (depending on the edition)
   •  Blazhevich (any edition)
3. Three contrasting orchestral excerpts of the applicant’s choice

Horn

Prescreen Requirements (MM & GD);

1. One solo movement from the standard repertoire
2. Two contrasting etudes
3. A two octave E major scale (horn pitch), ascending and descending, played in sixteenth notes at a minimum of quarter note equals 90 beats per minute, tongued and forte
4. A three octave B harmonic minor scale (horn pitch), ascending and descending, played in sixteenth notes at a minimum of quarter note equals 90 beats per minute, slurred and piano

Audition Requirements (MM & GD);

1. Two contrasting solos from the standard repertoire (entire works).
   Examples include, but are not limited to:
   •  Mozart No.4 and Gliere Concerto
   •  Mozart No.2 and Strauss No.2
   •  Haydn No.1 and Schumann Adagio and Allegro
2. An orchestral excerpt from each of the following categories (total of 5):
   A.  Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5, Mendelssohn Nocturne, Brahms Symphony No.2 or No.3
   B.  Beethoven Symphony No.7, Wagner Siegfried Call, Strauss Don Juan (final call in E)
   C.  Shostakovich Symphony No.5 (low tutti), Strauss Don Quixote (variation 7 and 8), Tchaikovsky Symphony No.5 (4th movement, 2nd horn)
   D.  Ravel Pavanne or G Major Piano Concerto, Berlioz Queen Mab (Scherzo, 3rd Horn), Franck Symphony in D Minor
   E.  Strauss openings to Till Eulenspiegel, Ein Heldenleben, or Der Rosenkavalier (through B major arpeggios)
3. Sight-reading and transposition are also required.

Tuba

NEC will not be accepting applications to the Tuba Performance program for the 2019-2020 academic years.

Audition Requirements (MM & GD);

1. Borodogni - melodic study
2. Charlier - trumpet studies
3. One Kopprasch technical etude
4. Orchestral Excerpts:
   •  Wagner "Meistersinger" Overture (Letter J to the end)
   •  Wagner Ride of the Valkyries
   •  Stravinsky Petroushka, solo
   •  Berlioz Hungarian March, solo
   •  Respighi Fountains of Rome
5. Select two of the following solos:
   •  Vaughn Williams Concerto
   •  Penderecki
   •  Koetsier Sonata
   •  Bach Flute Partita
   •  Casterade Sonata
   •  John Williams Tuba Concerto

Updated on 10/02/2018