Audition Information

Questions To Ask A School | Schedule An Audition | Come Visit Us | Request Further Information | Success Stories And Testimonials

Be prepared for your audition at Shepherd University by reading the requirements below.

Acceptance into the Shepherd University School of Music is a dual application process. Students planning to major in any of Shepherd University’s Music Degree Programs—the Bachelor of Arts with concentration in performance, composition or general music, or the Bachelor in Music Education leading to teacher certification—must apply and be accepted into the university, and must audition for acceptance into the music program. You do not have to be admitted to Shepherd University before scheduling your audition. Although the university has a rolling admission policy, the School of Music audition dates are fixed and you cannot matriculate as a music major without an audition. Admission has become increasingly competitive and early application is advised. The application is available online here, or call the admissions office at 304-876-5212 or email admission@shepherd.edu for information.

Click here to apply online and schedule your Audition and apply for Scholarship consideration for the School of Music.
To download and print out a fillable application (pdf) for Audition and Scholarship consideration for the School of Music, click here.

Audition dates

For entrance Fall 2024:
Audition dates have passed. Please email music@shepherd.edu to make arrangements for an individual audition.

For entrance Fall 2025:
Saturday, January 25, 2025
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Saturday, March 1, 2025

Campus tours: To make an appointment for a campus tour for a different day, contact the Office of Admissions at Shepherd University at 304/876-5212 or 800/344-5231, extension 5212, or e-mail your visit request to admission@shepherd.edu.

Scholarships
Scholarships and other forms of assistance awarded by the School of Music are granted on the basis of talent as demonstrated by the student during the audition. Need-based financial aid packages and academic scholarships should be sought through the Office of Financial Aid, phone 304-876-5470 or email faoweb@shepherd.edu.

Music Theory Placement Exam
All undergraduate transfer applicants will complete a brief theory placement exam. The test is used for diagnostic purposes only and will have no bearing on whether or not a student is admitted to the program.

General Audition Information
Please make sure you review and satisfy the audition requirements for your specific instrument. Students are welcome and encouraged to contact our faculty for guidance or questions about their specific area of study and the audition requirements.

For the audition, the applicant should perform two works in contrasting styles. The repertoire should demonstrate the applicant’s technical ability and overall musicianship. Memorization is required for all piano and vocal students, and is optional for guitar. In addition, the student may be asked to play an etude as well as various scales and arpeggios on an instrument. Students with a jazz emphasis may be asked to demonstrate different styles and to improvise over a blues pattern.

Download a printable version of the Audition Information here.

Specific Requirements for each instrument

Voice

• Vocal students must prepare two accompanied selections. If you  wish us to provide an accompanist, copies of the musical scores must be sent a minimum of two weeks in advance of the audition. There is no charge to use our accompanist. Scores can be mailed to:
  Shepherd University School of Music
  Attn: Esperanza Alzona
  P.O. Box 5000, Shepherdstown, WV 25443
  or emailed to music@shepherd.edu or faxed to 304-876-0955.
• Music majors who are concentrating in Performance or Education will present two contrasting art song or aria selections, one of which must be in a foreign language.

Piano

• Scales & Arpeggios: all major and minor keys, two octaves, parallel motion
• Cadences: I-IV-V(7)-I progression in all major and minor keys.
• Two contrasting pieces from the following eras. (No two pieces from the same era.)
  • Baroque
  • Bach: Selected dances, Inventions, Sinfonias, any prelude & fugue from The Well-Tempered Clavier
  • Classical: Any one movement from a sonata or more difficult sonatina from the following list of composers: Clementi, Kuhlau, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.
  • Romantic: Any one piece from the following list of composers: Mendelssohn, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Brahms.
  • Modern: One piece from the following list of composers: Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Prokofiev, Stravinsky, Bartok, Shostakovich, Gershwin, Khatchaturian.

INSTRUMENTALISTS

Instrumentalists are not expected to be accompanied for their audition.

Violin

•  3-octave scales up to 4 sharps and 3 flats, quarter note=120
• Prepared piece and Wohlfarht, Kayser, or Kruetzer Etude

Viola

• C, D and F major scales, 3 octaves
• Prepared piece and a Wohlfarht, Kayser or Kruetzer Etude

Violoncello

• Scales: through 4 sharps and 4 flats in 3 octaves (major and minor)
• Two contrasting pieces, sample works to choose from include the Saint-Saens Concerto, Elgar Concerto, Goltermann Concerto or Bach Solo Cello Suites, and one Dotzauer Etude from Book I or II

Bass

• Scales: 2-octave scales up to 4 sharps and flats (bowing of choice)
• Etude: One etude chosen from Nos. 2—8, Thirty Etudes for the String Bass, F. Simandl
• Solo: One movement chosen from Sonatas Nos. 1-3 of Vivaldi or Marcello; Vivaldi: B flat and F Major, or A minor; Marcello: F major, E minor, or A minor

Guitar

• Scales in first position through 2 sharps and two movable scale forms
• Two contrasting pieces from different style periods
• A study by Carcassi, Sor, Giuliani, Aguado, Carrulli, Tarrega or Villa Lobos

Flute

• All major scales over the range of the instrument
• Chromatic scale, slurred over the range of the instrument
• Two contrasting works from standard solo repertoire (concertos, sonatas, or other standard solo works) or two contrasting etudes from standard etude literature

Oboe

• Scales: through 3 sharps and 3 flats; each done articulated and slurred, at a comfortable speed
• Two contrasting pieces, sample works to choose from include: one Selected Study from the Rubank Selected Studies for Oboe and two contrasting movements from Handel Sonata No.1 in C minor; OR, the first movement of the Mozart or Haydn Oboe concertos

Clarinet

• Major scales up to 4 flats and 4 sharps
• Two contrasting movements of the Mozart concerto or two contrasting etudes from Rubank Selected Studies, preferably: For the slow, page 8, D minor, Larghetto, quarter note = 76; for the fast, page 7, F major, Allegretto, eighth note = 168-184

Bassoon

• Scales through 3 sharps and 3 flats at a comfortable speed
• Two contrasting pieces: any etude from Weissenborn’s Fifty Advanced Studies, Galliard’s Six Sonatas for Bassoon, or Telemann’s Sonata in F minor

Saxophone

• Major scales: through 4 sharps and 4 flats, chromatic
• Etudes: one lyrical and one technical etude such as Ferling 48 etudes, Mule 18 Studies, VoxmanSelected Studies
• One selection from standard repertoire such as a work by Creston, Heiden, Ibert, Maurice, Bozza or reputable transcription by Londiex, Mule, Rascher, Hemke.

Trumpet

• Andante and Allegretto by Balay
• Sonata for Trumpet [1st movement] by Hindemith
• Concerto for Trumpet [1st movement] by Haydn

French Horn

• All major and minor scales through four sharps and four flats at a comfortable speed
• One solo and one etude in contrasting styles (solos may be individual movements from longer works and will be performed unaccompanied)

Tenor Trombone

• 2-octave major scales: B flat, A flat, G, F, A; 1-octave major scales: C, E flat, D; Chromatic scales: B flat to B flat, 2 octave (tempo approximately quarter note = 120)
• Voxman: Selected Studies, p. 2, Maestoso by Balasanian (pub. Rubank)
• Melodious Etudes for Trombone, “The Rochut Book,” p. 7, No. 6, Andante cantabile

Bass Trombone

• 2-octave major scales: C, E flat, F, D (starting note is below the staff); 1-octave major scale: A flat, B flat, G, A, A flat; chromatic scale: 2 octaves, starting on the E flat below the staff
• First Book of Practical Studies by Getchell for Tuba: p. 19, no. 42, “Marcia”
• Studies in Legato for Bass Trombone and Tuba by Fink (pub. Carl Fischer), p. 9, no, 8, Allegretto leggiero

Euphonium

• Major scales from 3 sharps to 3 flats, quarter note=120
• One technical etude or solo
• One lyrical etude: select from Rochut (or similar)
• Students may substitute portions of solo literature for the etudes.

Tuba

• Major scales from 3 sharps to 3 flats, quarter note=120
• One technical etude: select from Blazevich, Kopprasch or Tyrell (or similar)
• One lyrical etude: select from Blazevich or Bordogni (or similar)
• Students may substitute portions of solo literature for the etudes.

Percussion

Percussionists should demonstrate abilities on more than one instrument [snare, set, marimba].

• Scales: through 2 sharps and 2 flats (memorized)
• Snare drum rudiments: Double-stroke roll, buzz roll, single and double paradiddles, and flam taps (memorized)
• Solos: prepare two out of the following three options:
  1. Snare drum etude (any intermediate or advanced studies from Cirone’s Portraits in Rhythm, Peters’ Etudes for Snare Drum, or Goldenberg’s Modern Method for Snare Drum, Pratt’s 14 Modern Contest Solos, or equivalent)
  2. Timpani solo (any intermediate or advanced studies or solos by Saul Goodman, Mitchell Peters, Vic Firth, or equivalent)
  3. Marimba solo (any intermediate or advanced etude or solo for two, three or four mallets) Recommendations: McMillan’s Keyboard Percussion Technique, Peters’s Chant for Marimba, Teardrops, or Yellow After the Rain, Gomez’s Anasazi, or equivalent)