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Auditions

Pre college violin students

The Pre-College Academy is currently accepting audition applications on a case-by-case basis. If you are interested applying for the Pre-College Academy, please complete the Audition Inquiry Form linked above.  

Auditions will be held in-person on the following dates:

Auditions

Sunday, April 7, 2024
Piano, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass

Sunday, April 14, 2024
All other instruments

Audition results will be shared in late April. Students who are admitted and waitlisted will be required to complete a musicianship evaluation. String and piano applicants will also be required to take a chamber music audition for placement purposes.

Musicianship Evaluation & Chamber Music Audition Dates
- Sunday, April 28, 2024
- Sunday, May 5, 2024

Admission to the Pre-College Academy is by audition only. Applicants must request a preferred private instructor at the time of application. Please refer to the Pre-College Faculty listing for teacher information. 

Majors

Bassoon
Cello
Clarinet
Composition
Double Bass
Drums
Flute
Guitar
Harp
Horn
Oboe

Organ
Percussion
Piano
Saxophone
Technology & Applied Composition
Trumpet
Trombone
Tuba
Violin
Viola
Voice

Jazz Studies
- Brass
- Drums/Percussion
- Piano
- Strings
- Winds
- Voice


Audition Requirements

  • All applicants are required to perform two contrasting pieces of the applicant's own choice demonstrating their current level of proficiency and perform a sight reading excerpt.
    • Composition, piano, technology and applied composition, voice, percussion, and jazz applicants must review additional specific requirements listed below.
    • All violin and piano students will be required to submit a pre-screening video. Piano accompaniment is not required for the pre-screening video. 

Musicianship Assessment

All admitted and waitlisted students will be required to complete a musicianship assessment in May. Students are encouraged not to prepare for the Musicianship Placement so that they are assessed at the correct level. Part of it will be written, and part of it will be performance based with our Chair of Musicianship in a one on one setting. It will include sight singing, interval recognition, keyboard skills, and rhythm identification. Musicianship assessments are for placement purposes only and will not affect the student’s admission status.

String and piano applicants will be scheduled for a chamber music audition in May. Chamber music audition times will be shared after the student auditions. Students will be asked to perform 1 piece, sight read, and complete a short interview with a chamber music coordinator. Chamber music auditions are for placement purposes only and do not guarantee placement into a chamber music ensemble. Students applying for the Young Person's Program (ages 6-8) will not need to take a chamber music audition.

Submit two compositions representative of the applicants current work as a PDF (Portable Document Format). Recordings may be submitted as supplemental materials, however recordings are not required to be considered for admission. Composition portfolios are due by April 6, 2024. Please submit your composition portfolio to the Pre-College Office at precollege@sfcm.edu.

Jazz applicants will be required to perform the following pieces along with a backing track:

For each piece, applicants should perform in the following structure:

  • chorus I - melody
  • chorus II - improvised
  • chorus III - improvised
  • chorus IV - melody (embellished)

Backing tracks can be found on Youtube and Spotify, or through an online platform such as iReal and The Major 7. If applicants need additional resources for backing tracks, please contact the Pre-College office at precollege@sfcm.edu.

Percussion applicants will be required to perform 1 mallet piece and 1 snare drum piece. A timpani piece is optional.

Pianists should audition with 2 contrasting pieces of the applicant’s choice demonstrating their current proficiency level. The list below is a guide to the minimum repertoire level requirements acceptable for piano entrance auditions. These are suggested pieces. Reasonable substitutions or more advanced pieces are welcome.

Age 9 and younger

  • Scales: 2 octaves major and harmonic minor up to 3 sharps and flats

Select 2 contrasting pieces from the following categories

  • Baroque: Bach Kleine Preludium (one of the small Preludes)
  • Classical: A movement from any classical sonatina
  • Romantic: A work by a 19th century composer such as but not limited to
    • Tchaikovsky Album for the Young Op. 39 (one selection)
    • Schumann Album for the Young (one selection)
    • Chopin ""An Introduction to Chopin"" Alfred/Palmer edition (one selection)
    • Grieg Lyric Pieces
  • A work by a 20th or 21st century composer such as but not limited to
    • Kabalevsky Children's Pieces Op 27 (one selection)
    • Bartók for Children

Age 10 - 13

  • Scales: 4 octaves all major and minor scales up to 4 sharps and flats
  • Baroque: two or three part invention (sinfonia) by Bach
  • Classical: a movement from a sonata by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn
  • Romantic: A Romantic work by Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, or Liszt.
  • A work by a 20th or 21st-century composer.

Age 14 and older

  • Scales: 4 octaves all major and minor scales
  • A complete work by Bach, excluding all inventions
  • A movement from a sonata from a classical era composer such as Haydn, Mozart, Schubert or Beethoven (excluding Op. 49 and Op. 79)
  • A substantial Romantic work by composers such as Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, or Liszt.
  • A work by a 20th or a 21st-century composer

Submit two works: one musical score that demonstrates original musical thought and the fundamentals of compositional technique and one self-produced recording of an original work (can be made using any combination of acoustic and virtual instruments).

Violinists should audition with 2 contrasting pieces of the applicant’s choice demonstrating their current proficiency level. The list below is a guide to the minimum repertoire level requirements acceptable for violin entrance auditions. These are suggested pieces. Reasonable substitutions or more advanced pieces are welcome.

Age 10 and younger

  • Violin Concerto in A minor, RV 356 by Antonio Vivaldi
  • Violin Concertino in D major, Op. 15 by Ferdinand Küchler
  • Student Concerto No. 1, 2, or 3 by Freidrich Seitz
  • A piece from 8 Humoresques, Op. 101 by Antonín Dvořák
  • Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 35 by Oskar Rieding

Age 10 - 13

  • Romance for Violin and Orchestra, No. 2, Op. 50 by Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Violin Concerto No. 9 in A-minor, Op. 104 by Charles-Auguste de Bériot
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor by Jean-Baptiste Accolay
  • Violin Concerto No. 4 in G major by Joseph Haydn
  • Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 by J.S. Bach
  • Violin Concerto No. 1 in G major, Op. 34 by Oskar Rieding
  • Violin Concerto in G minor, RV 317 by Antonio Vivaldi

Age 14 and older

  • Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 by Max Bruch
  • Violin Concerto No. 4 or 5 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Violin Concerto in C major, Op. 48 by Dmitri Kabalevsky
  • A movement from 6 Violin Sonatas and Partitas by J.S. Bach

Two contrasting pieces of the applicant's own choice demonstrating current level of proficiency. Vocalists are required to audition with piano accompaniment.

If applicants need an accompanist, please contact the Pre-College Office at precollege@sfcm.edu.

Financial aid is awarded based on the joint criteria of demonstrated financial need and merit. Financial aid applications for all students are due by Monday, April 15, 2024.