Assistantship Audition Information: 

Students wishing to audition for a New Music Ensemble (NME) graduate assistantship must prepare additional repertoire for the audition (beyond that normally expected for the MM in performance). NME audition pieces should demonstrate the performer’s highest range of technical and musical ability and be at least 6 minutes in total length. Two contrasting pieces (either short pieces or short excerpts from two longer pieces) must be prepared. NME audition repertoire should be approved in advance.

Sample audition repertoire is listed for each instrument. Audition repertoire need not be limited to the pieces listed below.

Flute 

• Ian Clarke: Zoom Tube (1999) 
• Takemitsu: Air for Solo Flute (1995) 
• Robert Dick: Lookout (1989) 
• Shulamit Ran: East Wind (1987) 
• Berio: Sequenza I (1958)

Clarinet (*or bass clarinet) 

• Carter: GRA (1993) 
• Rózsa: Sonatina (1957) 
• William O. Smith: Five Pieces (1959) 
• Tower: Wings* (1983) 
• Martino: A Set for Clarinet (1954) 
• Berio: Sequenza IXa (1980) 

Percussion, Marimba (excerpts) 

• Schwantner: Velocities (1990) 
• Minoru Miki: Marimba na toki [Time for Marimba] (1968) 
• Druckman: Reflections on the Nature of Water (1986) 

Multiple Percussion 

• Etude from: The Multiple Percussion Book by Petrella/Allemeier The Contemporary 
• Percussionist by Udow/Watts 

Piano 

Memorization of this part of the audition is optional. Auditionees will be evaluated in sightreading beyond the MM audition level. No prepared piano pieces will be approved for this audition. 

• Berio: Sequenza IV (1966) 
• Bolcom: Twelve Etudes (1964) or 12 New Etudes (1986) 
• Boulez: Sonata No. 2 (1947) 
• Carter: Piano Sonata (1945-46) 
• Davidovsky: Synchronisms No. 6 (1970) (performer must provide the recording for the audition) 
• Ives: Concord Sonata (rev. 1947) 
• Ligeti: Etudes (1985-2001) 
• Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l’Enfant Jesus (1944) 
• Perle: Six Etudes (1973-76) or Six New Etudes (1984) 
• Rzewski: People United Will Never Be Defeated (1975) or De Profundis (1992) 
• Stockhausen: Piano Pieces I-IV (1952) 

Violin 

• Bartók: Rhapsody No. 1 (1928) 
• Schoenberg: “Columbine” from Pierrot Lunaire (1912) 
• Kernis: “Hymn” from Still Movement with Hymn (1993) 
• Penderecki: “Abschied: Larghetto” from Clarinet Quartet (1995) 

Cello 

One or two selections/movements totaling at least 6 minutes of music (in addition to the standard MM performance audition requirements). Sample repertoire includes: 

1-2 movements (totaling at least 6 minutes) from a solo sonata or suite such as by Britten, Crumb, Hindemith, Kodály, Krenek, Ligeti, Perkinson, Sessions, Wernick 

• Barber Cello Concerto, op. 22, any movement (1945) 
• Carter: Figment I (1994);  Figment II (2001) 
• Dutilleux: Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher (1976-82) 
• Henze: Serenade 
• Lutoslawski: Sacher Variations 
• Messiaen: Quatuor pour la fin du temps, VI: “Danse de la fureur, pour les sept trompettes,” beginning to letter E (1940-41) 
• Prokofiev: Symphonie Concertante, any movement (1950-51, rev.1952) 
• Saariaho: Spins and Spells (1997); Sept Papillons (2000) 
• Shaw: in manus tuas (2009) 
• Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire, movement. 19 “Serenade” (1912) 
• Shostakovich: Concerto No. 1, op. 107, any movement (1959) 
• Selections from Mystery Variations on the Chiacona of Giuseppe Colombi, written for Anssi Karttunen (2010)

For questions about NME audition repertoire, please contact: 
Andrea Luque Káram, Managing Director of Mizzou New Music Initiative
Email: andrea.luquekaram@missouri.edu

Audition Repertoire (three pieces minimum): 

• One complete Classical sonata by Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven AND 
• Selections from at least two of these three additional categories: 
  • Bach Prelude and Fugue, or other major Baroque work 
  • One significant work from the Romantic period 
  • A significant piece or set of pieces from the 20th or 21st century 

All pieces must be memorized, except avant garde selections from the last category.

Additional requirement: Please submit a list of repertoire studied in the last five years, including solo, collaborative/chamber, and concerto. All in-person auditions include sight-reading.

For questions about piano audition repertoire, please contact: 
Dr. Peter Miyamoto, Area Coordinator for Keyboard 
Email: miyamotop@missouri.edu

Audition Repertoire (four pieces minimum): 

• One or two (1-2) memorized selections from the four categories detailed in MM Piano Performance above AND 
• Two or three (2-3) selections of contrasting collaborative literature from the categories below; we recommend a combination of instrumental and vocal. 
  • One movement of a significant instrumental sonata 
  • A set of at least two significant contrasting art songs or arias 
  • A third piece that best demonstrates your ensemble abilities 

For the in-person audition, you may bring your own collaborator(s), or we will try to find one for you (appropriate notice required).

Additional requirement: Please submit a list of repertoire studied in the last five years, including solo, collaborative/chamber instrumental, and vocal. All in-person auditions include sight-reading.

For questions about collaborative piano audition repertoire, please contact: 
Dr. Peter Miyamoto, Area Coordinator for Keyboard 
Email: miyamotop@missouri.edu

Audition Repertoire: Four (4) selections required, including at least one operatic aria and two art songs, including repertoire in four languages: English, French, German, and Italian.

For prescreening audition, you must submit three (3) video selections, to include one (1) operatic aria and two (2) art songs in your application to the Graduate School. Three different languages should be represented. Please note that if you are selected for an in-person audition all four selections (described above) will be required at your live audition. International applicants and anyone who may not be able to attend an in-person audition should submit all four selections as part of the pre-screening process.

For questions about voice audition repertoire, please contact: 
Professor Steven Tharp, Area Coordinator for Voice 
Email: TharpSt@missouri.edu

Audition repertoire: Minimum of three selections (at least 20 minutes' total length), with repertoire representing appropriate and contrasting style periods.

Given the varying nature of repertoire in the different instrumental areas, applicants should contact the appropriate area coordinator, listed below, to discuss and confirm audition repertoire:

Brass: 

Dr. Tim Howe, Area Coordinator for Brass
HoweT@missouri.edu

Percussion: 

Megan Arns, Percussion Coordinator 
ArnsM@missouri.edu

Strings (including harp): 

Professor Eva Szekely, Area Coordinator for Strings 
SzekelyE@missouri.edu

Woodwinds: 

Professor Leo Saguiguit, Area Coordinator for Woodwinds 
SaguiguitL@missouri.edu

Instrumentalists (other than drummers): 

Prepare one jazz standard* and one blues in the key of your choice, improvising on each piece. Provide your own accompaniment (Aebersold or other play-along CD).

Drummers: 

Perform the following grooves at the prescribed tempos 

• Swing at 120 bpm 
• Double-Time Swing at 240 bpm 
• Bossa Nova at 100 bpm 
• Samba (double-time bossa nova) at 100 bpm (half-note) 
• Funk/Hiphop at 100 bpm 
• Ballad (with brushes) at 80 bpm 
• Alternating four (4) measures swing with four (4) measures solo at 120 bpm 

Vocalists: 

Prepare one medium up-tempo jazz standard* and one ballad, no more than one chorus of each. Provide your own piano accompaniment (Aebersold or other play-along CD).

*Standards are generally defined as songs from the "Great American Songbook" (composers like Gershwin, Kern, Porter, Rodgers, Hart, et al.). The definition of "standard" has expanded to include famous jazz pieces written and performed by jazz artists like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, and others. Standards may include, but are not limited to the following tunes. You may select any tune you wish that qualifies as a jazz standard based on the definition above: 

• All the Things You Are 
• Blue Bossa 
• All Blues 
• There Will Never Be Another You 
• A Foggy Day 
• Have You Met Miss Jones 
• Summertime 
• On Green Dolphin Street 
• Just Friends 
• Stella by Starlight 
• There is No Greater Love 
• The Song Is You 

For questions about audition repertoire, please contact: 
Dr. Sam Griffith, Director of Jazz Studies
Email: griffithsv@missouri.edu

The priority application deadline for MM applicants to be fully considered for an assistantship is December 1. Your portfolio should contain 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 in the Graduate School Application System here (https://applygrad.missouri.edu/apply/). 

In-person interviews will be scheduled for finalists based on the preferences selected in the Grad School Application. 

For questions about composition audition repertoire, please contact: 
Andrea Luque Káram, Managing Director of Mizzou New Music Initiative
Email: andrea.luquekaram@missouri.edu

Submit samples of original scholarly writing (such as research papers or undergraduate theses in music) when completing the School of Music online application. Samples must be submitted by the Priority Application Deadline (December 1).

For questions about writing samples, please contact: 
Dr. Judith Mabary, Area Coordinator for Musicology 
Email: MabaryJ@missouri.edu

All musicology applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule an in-person interview when completing the School of Music online application, to ensure full admission and assistantship consideration.

Submit a research/analytical paper on a topic in music theory when completing the School of Music online application. This may be a paper written for a class or one written expressly for this application. In lieu of a paper on a music theory topic, a paper on a music history topic may be submitted. Samples must be submitted by the Priority Application Deadline (December 1). 

For questions about the writing samples, please contact: 
Dr. Peter Lea, Area Coordinator for Music Theory and Composition 
Email: leap@missouri.edu

All music theory applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule an in-person interview when completing the School of Music online application, to ensure full admission and assistantship consideration.

Submit a video by the Priority Application Deadline (December 1) containing: 

• A one-minute introduction giving your name, current institution (and position, if employed), and why you want to pursue a graduate degree in choral conducting. 
• Approximately ten (10) minutes of the applicant leading a choral rehearsal. 
• Approximately four to six (4-6) minutes of the applicant leading a performance. 

Applicants selected for in-person interview/audition will rehearse a School of Music choir for 15-20 minutes (music will be assigned and sent to you before the audition); take a short conducting lesson on the same music; sing a prepared aria or art song; demonstrate proficiency in sight-reading and ear-training; and demonstrate basic piano proficiency.

For questions about Choral Conducting audition requirements, please contact: 
Dr. Brandon Boyd, Director of Choral Activities 
Email: BoydBA@missouri.edu

Submit a "face-to-the-camera" video by the Priority Application Deadline (December 1) of the applicant conducting in both rehearsal and performance settings. Both small and large ensemble excerpts are acceptable. The video should be approximately 15 minutes in total length. Please take one minute at the beginning of the video to introduce yourself and briefly describe your goals in pursuing graduate studies in conducting. All applicants must also submit a complete list of works conducted in public performance.

For questions about Orchestral Conducting requirements, please contact: 
Dr. John McKeever, Director of Orchestral Activities 
Email: john.mckeever@missouri.edu

Submit a "face-to-the-camera" video by the Priority Application Deadline (December 1) of the applicant conducting in both rehearsal and performance settings. Both small and large ensemble excerpts are acceptable. The video should be approximately 15 minutes in total length. Please take one minute at the beginning of the video to introduce yourself and briefly describe your goals in pursuing graduate studies in conducting. All applicants must also submit a complete list of works conducted in public performance.

For questions about Wind Conducting requirements, please contact: 
Dr. Brian Silvey, Director of Bands 
Email: silveyba@missouri.edu