UT Permian Basin Music Audition Requirements

Music Degree Audition Policy Students interested in a major in music must go through a two-part admissions process. All students must be admitted to the University through the regular freshman and transfer admissions processes. In addition, all freshmen and transfer students must audition in order to be accepted into the Music Department. The audition will differ slightly based on the track (choral, wind/percussion, strings, or piano). Auditions may be arranged on an individual basis prior to the semester for which the student is seeking admission.

Choral students interested in a major in music-choral track must pass an audition before they will be permitted to enroll in the music degree program. During the audition, students must demonstrate: 1) the ability to accurately reproduce pitches; 2) possession of appropriate range, tonal beauty, and vowel accuracy; 3) the ability to repeat brief melodic fragments; 4) the ability to accurately reproduce written rhythmic patterns; 5) the ability to sight-sing a passage equivalent in difficulty to that of a Bach Chorale; and 6) the ability to perform an accompanied solo demonstrating a high degree of musical artistry.

String and wind students interested in a major in music-wind/percussion or string track-must pass an audition before they will be permitted to enroll in the music degree program. During the audition, students must: 1) perform two pieces of contrasting style (etudes or solos); 2) play two scales of at least one octave, two preferred (winds from among G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, & Db and strings from among C, G, D, A, F); and 3) the ability to sight-read a passage chosen by the music faculty.

Percussion students – freshmen auditions should prepare something to perform on each of the following instruments:  Mallets, Snare Drum, Timpani, and optional 4-mallet.  Transfer auditions should prepare something to perform on each of the following instruments: 4-mallet, Snare Drum, Timpani, and optional Drum Set.

Piano students need to present two compositions of contrasting style periods from either the Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionistic or contemporary styles.  The student will also be asked to sight read piano music at an early intermediate level. 

Suggestions for repertoire: Baroque period: Preludes and fugues from Well-Tempered Clavier, a suite, or a partita by Bach, Sonatas by Scarlatti, etc. Classical Period: One movement of Sonata or Sonatas by Clementi, Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven. Romantic period: Brahms, Chopin, Schuman, Mendelssohn, Liszt, etc. Impressionistic or contemporary: Bartok, Debussy, Ravel, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, etc.