Conducting Audition Requirements

Conducting applicants are required to submit a prescreen audition by December 1. Items to submit with your School of Music admissions application include:

• 1-2 page cover letter stating your educational background, goals, and future career plans.
• Curriculum vitae providing complete information regarding teaching experience and musical training.
• 1 rehearsal video: live and unedited, approximately 10 minutes total. 1 performance video: live and unedited. The rehearsal video and performance video should showcase two stylistically contrasting pieces. All videos should have the camera facing the conductor and be within the last five years. 
• Three letters of recommendation.

Conducting applicants who pass the pre-screen will be invited to campus for an in-person interview and audition during a weekday in order to work with our student ensembles. The audition will including the following:

• Wind and Orchestral: the on-campus audition will include an interview and examination consisting of score identification and aural skill. The committee will look for demonstration of highly effective musical sensitivity communicated through an advanced gestural vocabulary and the ability of the applicant to communicate effectively with an ensemble during a rehearsal. 
• Choral: the on-campus audition will include assessment of advanced rehearsal pedagogy and conducting gesture in the candidate’s work with an ensemble, along with a choral literature diagnostic, sight-reading and rhythm-reading examination, piano skills assessment, vocal diction evaluation, vocal solo assessment, and a personal interview.