New England Conservatory

Audition Information | New England Conservatory

Woodwinds 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:

Cello, Chamber Music, Clarinet, Collaborative Piano, Conducting, Contemporary Improvisation, Flute, French Horn, Harp (dual degree only), Jazz Composition, Jazz Performance, Oboe, Piano, Saxophone, Trombone (Tenor &Bass), Trumpet, Violin, Viola, Vocal Performance, Vocal Pedagogy

The prescreening repertoire does not need to be accompanied unless specifically noted.

Bassoon (BM)

Audition Requirements;

  1. Two contrasting movements from an 18th or 19th-century sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece, or two contrasting etudes from the Milde 50 Concert Studies (or a one-movement work in its entirety)
  2. Two contrasting movements from a 20th-century or later sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety)
  3. Two orchestral excerpts of your choice

 

Clarinet (BM)

Prescreen Requirements;

  1. One etude from Rose 32 Etudes
  2. Mozart Concerto, K.622, first movement exposition with piano accompaniment
  3. Beethoven Symphony No.6, second movement: from one bar before D through two bars before E (mm. 68 through 77)
  4. Mendelssohn, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Scherzo): beginning to bar 48

Audition Requirements;

  1. Two Etudes from Rose 32 Etudes (Carl Fischer edition):
    • One slow etude from the following: 1, 11, 13, 19, 21, or 31
    • One fast etude from the following: 10, 16, 20, or 24
     
  2. One of the following concertos:
    • Mozart Concerto, K.622 (two contrasting movements)
    • Weber Concerto No.1 (two contrasting movements)
    • Weber Concerto No.2 (two contrasting movements)
    • Debussy First Rhapsody (complete)
     
  3. One 20th or 21st century unaccompanied solo, such as:
    • Leslie Bassett Soliloquies (two contrasting movements)
    • Donald Martino A Set for Clarinet (first movement)
    • Olivier Messiaen Abyss of the Birds (complete)
    • Miklos Rozsa Sonatina Op.27 (first movement)
    • William O. Smith Five Pieces (two contrasting movements)
    • Igor Stravinsky Three Pieces (complete)
    • Heinrich Sutermeister Capriccio (complete)
     
  4. All three of the following orchestral selections:
    Beethoven Symphony No.6:
    first movement: two bars before K to end of solo (mm. 474 to end of solo)
    second movement: one bar before D through two bars before E (mm. 68 through 77)
    Mendelssohn A Misummer Night's Dream (Scherzo): 
    beginning to bar 48
    Rimsky-Korsakov Capriccio Espagnol:
    first movement: from A to B; and from C to the 15th bar after C

 

Flute (BM)

Prescreen Requirements;

  1. Mozart - Exposition of 1st and 2nd movements of the Concerto in G or D Major
  2. Contrasting piece of the candidate's choice
  3. Orchestral Excerpts (3 total):
    A. Beethoven Leonore Overture No.3 - measures 328-360
    B. Brahms Symphony No.4, last movement - measures 93-105
    C. Mendelssohn Scherzo from Midsummer Nights Dream - 2 measures before P to the end

Audition Requirements;

  1. One Etude
  2. Mozart Concerto in G or D Major - movements 1 and 2
  3. Major contemporary work (complete sonata, concerto, or substantial work such as Dutilleux Sonatine, Jolivet Chant de Linos, Martin Ballade, or Sancan Sonatine)
  4. Three Orchestral Excerpts displaying a variety of styles

 

Oboe (BM)

Prescreen & Audition Requirements;

  1. One slow Ferling etude, and either a fast Ferling etude or a Barrett Grand Study
  2. One slow and one fast movement from either a Baroque or Classical concerto - applicant's choice for additional repertoire
  3. Two contrasting orchestral excerpts

Applicants invited for a live audition should expect to sight-read as part of the audition.

 

Saxophone (BM)

Prescreen & Audition Requirements

Two of the following, or comparable works:

  • Creston Sonata, Op.19 (pub. Shawnee); 2 contrasting mvmts
  • Desenclos Prelude, Cadence et Finale (pub. Leduc)
  • Glazounov Concerto (pub. Leduc)
  • Ibert Concertino da Camera (pub. Leduc); 1 movement
  • Villa-Lobos Fantasia (pub. Peer-Southern); 2 contrasting mvmts

 

Updated on 10/02/2018