The Audition Process
Prescreening
Audition/interview options
Specific requirements for auditions and/or interviews
Scheduling policies
The audition
Audition Repertory
Curious for an inside view of the Eastman audition experience? Read this 2004 article from the University of Rochester's Rochester Review magazine for a glimpse into an Eastman Audition Day.
PRESCREENING
Many majors and degree programs are prescreened. Prescreened applicants are required to submit a preliminary recording with their applications. Following faculty review of submitted recordings, a limited number of applicants are invited to audition/interview. Applicants not invited to audition/interview based on prescreening will be notified that they have not been admitted for degree study. Please refer to the application instructions and to the Audition Repertory section of our website for the most current list of prescreened majors and instruments.
- Please refer to the application instructions and to the Audition Repertory section of our website.
- Composition applicants must submit scores for review by the composition faculty. BM, MM, and DMA composition applicants who are invited to Rochester to interview will be scheduled for an instrumental or vocal audition on the same day as the interview.
- Conducting applicants (MM in choral or orchestral conducting, or DMA in choral, orchestral, or wind ensemble conducting) must submit a preliminary video recording.
- Ethnomusicology, Musicology, Music Theory and Music Theory Pedagogy applicants are prescreened. These candidates must submit GRE scores in addition to the guidelines posted in the graduate instructions and on the relevant supplemental form found within the application. Current Eastman students applying to these programs must also submit GRE scores, except for those applying to the Music Theory Pedagogy program.
- Jazz Studies applicants must must submit a preliminary recording. Applicants to the writing concentration also must submit scores of their compositions and/or arrangements. DMA Jazz Studies applicants must submit both a recording and scores of compositions/arrangements.
- DMA and PhD applicants to majors in music education must submit their teaching portfolio as described in the Supplemental Information for Degree Programs in Music Education.
- PhD applicants in music theory and musicology must submit complete application materials for prescreened review.
AUDITION/INTERVIEW OPTIONS
All degree programs at Eastman require an audition, an interview, or both, as part of the admission process. We refer to an “audition/interview” with the understanding that not all applicants do both. For the majority of applicants, there are three audition/interview options available:
- Audition/interview at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York
- Audition/interview at a regional audition center
- Audition by self-prepared recording
The audition/interview dates at Eastman and at regional audition centers are listed here online and in the application.
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR AUDITIONS AND OR INTERVIEWS
All BM, MM, and DMA applicants are required to present an instrumental or vocal audition, regardless of major. This means that, for example, MM and DMA applicants majoring in composition must perform an audition. Applicants to programs in jazz studies and contemporary media must perform both a classical and a jazz/improvisation audition on their major instruments. (More information on audition requirements may be found in the application online.) Applicants who intend to major in jazz studies and contemporary media will be scheduled for three auditions on the same day: (1) a solo jazz audition accompanied by an Eastman student rhythm section; (2) a classical audition; (3) a group jazz audition with the other JCM applicants that day. All applicants to the BM, MM, and DMA degree should consult the Audition Repertory by Instrument page for repertory guidelines.
Additionally, all BM applicants will have diagnostic theory and musicianship testing at the Rochester auditions.
BM applicants with majors in composition, music education, musical arts, or theory will have an interview with the department faculty on audition day in addition to an audition. BM applicants in music education who audition at regional audition centers will interview either with the admissions representative at the site, or by phone with a faculty member. Composition, musical arts, jazz, and theory applicants must audition and interview in Rochester.
All MA, DMA and PhD applicants must audition at the Eastman School of Music. All DMA applicants are given a theory assessment exam at the Rochester auditions.
Applicants to MA, PhD, and MA/PhD degree programs: Following faculty review of submitted materials, selected applicants will be invited to Rochester for interviews with members of the department. While the audition day may include a number of interview appointments, auditions themselves are not required for entry into these degree programs, and will not be scheduled on the audition day. Students who wish to continue applied study on an instrument or voice may do so at the secondary level once they are enrolled.
Specific audition/interview dates are set aside for the following majors: DMA conducting; DMA and PhD music education; MA/PhD musicology; MA/PhD theory; MA in enthnomusicology. All invited applicants must be available on the required date or dates. (In some cases, two consecutive days are required.) Note that applicants to these programs do not choose from the Audition Option section on the application form.
All undergraduate and masters degree applicants for Music Education who audition in Rochester will be given a skills test. Click here for a sample skills assessment test. The purpose of this test is to evaluate the applicant's preparedness and potential in certain skills critical to success in the profession. Applicants who are admitted to the School without this test will be tested during orientation week.
SCHEDULING POLICIES
Because of the large number of applicants who must be scheduled for auditions and interviews, the Eastman School of Music has established certain scheduling policies. There are several regional audition sites, usually limited to about 20 applicants or less per day. In Rochester we are able to accommodate 250 to 300 applicants per audition day, and up to about 1000 appointments each day. Our scheduling policies are stated clearly here. The school makes every attempt to schedule students for their first choice of audition date; however, some audition days fill up even if applications are submitted before the deadline. We strongly recommend the earliest possible submission of a completed application to facilitate the scheduling process. Candidates should be aware, however, that applications are processed according to the priorities established by the Admissions Office. Students whose materials are received late cannot always be accommodated with a personal audition/interview.
· It is our goal to confirm each applicant for his or her first or second choice audition date at least 21 days in advance.
· We require applicants at Rochester auditions to be available for the full day and applicants at regional audition centers to be available for at least half a day (audition hours vary by city). Undergraduate applicants in Piano Performance will need to be available from 9am-10pm on the audition day. Graduate Piano Performance applicants will be required to be present for two full days.
· Applicants who do not notify the Admissions Office in advance that they cannot attend the audition prevent other applicants from being schedule, and will not be rescheduled.
· All requests for schedule changes must be made in writing to the admissions office. It is not always possible to change confirmed audition/interview dates because of the large number of applicants. A $50 change fee must accompany the written request before a scheduled audition date can be considered for change. If we cannot change a scheduled date, the $50 fee will not be processed.
· We cannot change audition dates after February 1 except in extreme circumstances. Such requests will be approved solely at the discretion of the Director of Admissions. If a change request cannot be accommodated, applicants to the BM and MM degrees may audition by self-prepared recording if recorded auditions are an allowed for the particular major/instrument.
· Graduate string applicants who are also applying for the Orchestral Studies Diploma Program must be present for two days to facilitate the scheduling of their orchestral studies audition. Consult the Supplemental Form for this program for details.
THE AUDITION
In Rochester
For undergraduate applicants, the audition day at Eastman includes a general convocation, theory and musicianship testing, a question-and-answer session for parents, a group interview with a staff member, and the audition. Composition, music education, musical arts, and theory majors will have interviews scheduled with faculty members of those departments. Undergraduate transfer students will also take a transfer theory test for assessment purposes.
Graduate applicants attend the general convocation on audition days. In addition to the audition, most graduate applicants will be scheduled for at least one interview. Interviews will be scheduled according to the graduate awards indicated on the application forms and according to the requirements of the degree programs and majors.
Voice applicants auditioning in Rochester may bring their own accompanists or request on the application form that the School provide one. School accompanists meet with the applicant just prior to their audition to review pieces for tempo, etc. Applicants must provide bound, clear, legible copies of their music that will stay open and flat for the accompanist. This music must be submitted two weeks in advance of the audition. All instrumental auditions are unaccompanied.
All applicants and their parents are invited to take tours of the Eastman campus on audition days. We also invite our guests to attend scheduled concerts and recitals during their visit. Aplicants are responsible for making their own arrangements for transportation and accommodations.
At regional audition centers
Students auditioning at regional centers are expected to be available for at least half a day. Music education majors may have their interview with the staff member running the regional audition. Applicants who are admitted to this major following regional auditions will take the music education skills test during orientation.
Master's degree applicants are strongly urged to audition in Rochester, but may request times at regional audition centers. There are no interview for graduate awards at regional auditions. Graduate applicants who cannot audition in Rochester have significantly reduced chances of receiving a graduate award.
Voice applicants must provide their own accompanists at regional sites; all instrumental auditions are unaccompanied.
Auditions at regional centers are run by a member of the Eastman School staff. Eastman faculty are not present at regional auditions. Following a regional audition, the recordings and evaluations made at the site are forwarded to Eastman faculty for evaluation. Applicants are heard and evaluated by the same faculty members who listen to auditions at Eastman.
For the programs and instruments listed here, auditions at regional audition centers are not permitted:
- BM programs in theory
- BM, MM, and DMA programs in jazz studies and contemporary media
- MM and DMA programs in piano accompanying and chamber music
- BM, MM, MA, DMA, and PhD programs in composition
- All other DMA programs
- Classical guitar
- Organ
- Percussion
Applicants to all of the above must audition in Rochester, except that classical guitar applicants may choose to audition by video recording. Organ and percussion applicants may choose to audition in Rochester or by self-prepared recording.
Self-prepared recorded auditions
In many cases, an audition by self-prepared tape recording or compact disc is acceptable. Recordings should have been made within the nine months prior to the application deadline. The applicant’s name, instrument, and degree program must be on the recording and the recording container. Do not send audition recordings to Eastman faculty. Recordings must be sent directly to the Admissions Office with the application for admission. The Admissions Office will circulate the recordings to the same Eastman faculty members who hear auditions in Rochester. Because of the large number received, recordings will not be returned. Applicants admitted on the basis of a recorded audition may be asked to perform for the faculty at the beginning of the first semester of enrollment to confirm the audition assessment.
- Compact discs: CDs are the preferred medium for audio recording. Both the CD and the CD container should be labeled with the applicant’s name, degree program, major, and instrument/voice.
- DVDs: DVDs are acceptable in some areas. If submitted, this disc should clearly note that it is a DVD format, and should be labeled with the applicant's name, degree program, major and instrument. DVDs are not acceptable for piano or voice.
- Video tapes: Video tapes should be in VHS format. International applicants should be sure that the material is recorded on, or converted to, NTSC format. (We are not able to review tapes in the wrong format.) Video recordings (not CDs) are required from clarinet, guitar, harp, percussion, and trumpet applicants, and are strongly recommended for organ applicants who are auditioning 'by recording'.
Applicants should review the recording in its entirety before mailing it, ensuring that it is clear and easily audible. All self-prepared recorded auditions must be submitted with the Audition Repertory Form found in the Supplemental Forms section of this website.