FRESHMEN AUDITIONS: 

For all degrees:

Pre-requisite: Pianists must have studied classical-style piano for 3 full years prior to audition.

A. For Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance: 

Play at least three pieces chosen from the following four categories; all should be memorized. 

• A Bach Prelude and Fugue or other significant Baroque work 
• A First or last movement from a Classical Sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven or Clementi 
• A Romantic work from composers like Chopin, Fanny or Felix Mendelssohn, Schubert, Clara or Robert Schumann, Brahms, or Liszt 
• A Significant piece or set of pieces from 20th or 21st century from composers like Debussy, Bartok, Prokofiev, Muczynski, Rahbee, Tcherepnin, Copland, or Barber                                      

B. For Bachelor of Arts degree auditioning for a Piano Concentration:

Play at least three pieces from the following categories, at least two should be memorized:

• A Baroque work (examples: a Bach Prelude and Fugue, Two or Three-Voice Invention or Dance Suite Movement or work by other Baroque composer) 
• A First or last movement from a Classical Sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven or Clementi 
• A Romantic work from composers like Chopin, Grieg, Fanny or Felix Mendelssohn, Schubert, Clara or Robert Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, or Liszt 
• A piece from the 20th or 21st Century from composers like Debussy, Bartok, Prokofiev, Muczynski, Rahbee, Tcherepnin, Copland or Barber

C. For BM Music Education, BM Composition Majors auditioning for a Piano Concentration: 

Play at least three pieces in contrasting styles (slow/fast, loud/quiet, fingers/chords, different composers); at least two should be memorized. Sample repertoire: 

Bach Preludes

Clementi/Haydn/Beethoven Sonatina movements

Chopin Preludes

Debussy Arabesque

Bartok Bear Dance

D. For Minor in Music with emphasis in piano OR Piano secondary study:

Play two pieces in contrasting styles (slow/fast, loud/quiet, different composers), at least one must be memorized.  Sample repertoire: 

Bach Preludes

Clementi/Haydn/Beethoven Sonatina movements

Chopin Preludes

Debussy Arabesque

Bartok Bear Dance 

TRANSFER STUDENTS 

A.  Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance - upperclass 

To be approved for junior-level study, you must perform a selection from all of the following four categories.  All pieces must be memorized. 

• A Bach Prelude and Fugue or other significant Baroque work 
• One complete classical Sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Clementi, or Beethoven 

• One significant piece or a set of smaller pieces from the Romantic period 
• A significant piece or set of pieces from the 20th or 21st century 

B. BM in Music Education (piano concentration) or the BA in Music (piano concentration) – upperclass 

To be approved for junior-level study, you must play representative selections from three of the four following types of repertoire.  All pieces must be memorized. 

• A Bach Prelude and Fugue, three-part invention or other significant Baroque work 
• A complete Classical Sonata by Haydn, Mozart, Clementi, or Beethoven 
• A piece from the Romantic period 

• A piece from the 20th or 21st century

In addition to an audition on your major instrument, you need to submit a composition portfolio by January 6 (postmark deadline) with the following components: 

• Three or more written or printed scores of contrasting original works. 

• Recordings of the same works. Live recordings are preferred but MIDI recordings are accepted. Submit recordings in one of these three formats: MP3, AIFF, or WAV, and scores in PDF format. 

• Music resume containing: (1) list of works composed with instrumentation and date composed; (2) list of performances your works have received, including dates, performers, and location; (3) performance accomplishments on your primary instrument; (4) Education; and (5) full contact information. 

• One-page essay describing why you are seeking a degree in music composition and your future goals as a musician. 

 Submit all materials via email to: 

Managing Director Mizzou New Music Initiative 

Andrea Luque Káram (andrea.luquekaram@missouri.edu)

Label audio files and PDFs in the following format: Last Name_Title of Piece
Subject of the email should be BM Composition Application (Year X) - Last Name 

Finalist interviews will take place on one of our Mizzou Music Days - see the schedule an audition web form. Finalists must be available on one of those days. 

Prepare one or two pieces (they need not be memorized). Material should demonstrate tone quality and technical proficiency, such as that for a district or state ensemble audition.  A contest piece, an etude, or a characteristic study, is appropriate. You may be asked to sight-read. A piano for accompanying the solos will not be available. However, a playback device will be available for those who bring a recorded accompaniment.

NOTE: These auditions are not for ensemble placement. Placement auditions are held at the beginning of the Fall semester. More information will be posted on the School of Music website in the month of July. 

Prepare two contest-type solos. You will want to choose music which will demonstrate your tonal capacities and technique. The music need not be memorized. You may bring your own accompanist, or we will provide one.

NOTE: These auditions are not for ensemble placement. Placement auditions are held at the beginning of the Fall semester. More information will be posted on the School of Music website in the month of July. 

Prepare at least one solo on keyboard percussion (2 or 4 mallets), one etude on snare drum, one etude on timpani, and if applicable, styles on drumset (swing, rock, funk, latin, etc.).  You do not need to bring any equipment.  You should bring all your own sticks and mallets.  Music does not need to be memorized.

NOTE: These auditions are not for ensemble placement. Placement auditions are held at the beginning of the Fall semester. More information will be posted on the School of Music website in the month of July. 

Select a jazz standard and/or blues standard, learn the tune, and be prepared to improvise over those changes. Please provide your own backtrack (YouTube, mp3, etc.). Equipment for playing audio will be available. If you have difficulty obtaining a backtrack, contact Dr. Griffith at GriffithSv@missouri.edu.  

NOTE: These auditions are not for ensemble placement. Placement auditions are held at the beginning of the Fall semester. More information will be posted on the School of Music website in the month of July.