Audition Information

All piano applicants are required to upload video with their application for pre-screening. Videos will be reviewed by a jury, and selected applicants will be invited to audition in person at The Royal Conservatory. Invitations to audition will be sent by mid-April. 

• Video does not need to be professionally recorded, however sound and picture quality should be clear and steady. Jurors reserve the right to refuse poor quality videos. 
• The image must provide a clear view of the student’s hands and the keyboard. 
• Pianists should perform repertoire per the requirements listed in the “Repertoire” section below. Repertoire for the in-person audition can (but is not required) to be the same as the video audition repertoire. 

Each applicant must prepare contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development. 

Pre-screening Video: Choice of two (2) of the following: 

Live Audition: All three (3) of the following: 

• One selection from the Baroque era: Senior applicants must prepare a Prelude & Fugue, or two contrasting movements of a suite. Junior applicants may select any Baroque work. 
• One first movement of a Classical period sonata (e.g. Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, etc.) 
• One Romantic or 20th/21st Century selection 

Memorization: Piano applicants must have audition pieces memorized. 

Each applicant must prepare three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• One piece from the Baroque era and 
• One piece from the Classical era and 
• One Romantic or 20th/21st Century selection. 

If a selected work contains multiple movements, only one movement is necessary. If a selected work involves a cadenza, this must be prepared as part of or in addition to the chosen movement. 

Memorization: Strings applicants must have audition pieces memorized, except for instrumental duos that are considered to be chamber works (e.g., violin sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, or Brahms). 

Each applicant must prepare three (3) contrasting pieces in at least two different languages that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development. One of the selections must be in English. Period and style are open, however audition pieces must be classical. Musical theatre and/or popular music selections are not acceptable. 

Memorization: Voice applicants must have audition pieces memorized. 

Each applicant must prepare three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• One Baroque or Classical selection and 
• One selection from Moyse’s Flute Music by French Composers and 
• One 20th/21st Century selection 

Memorization: Flute applicants are not required to perform for memory. 

Each applicant must prepare three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• Two contrasting movements from one Baroque, Classical or Romantic sonata or concerto and 
• One Barrett étude and 
• One 20th/21st Century selection 

Memorization: Oboe applicants are not required to perform for memory. 

Each applicant must prepare three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• Two contrasting movements from one Classical or Romantic sonata or concerto and 
• One Rose etude from Rose 32 and 
• One 20th/21st Century selection 

Memorization: Clarinet applicants are not required to perform for memory. 

Each applicant must prepare all major scales (Bb, B, and C major should be in 3 octaves and all others should be in 2 octaves) as well as three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• Two contrasting movements from one solo piece, sonata, or concerto from the Baroque, Classical, or Romantic eras and 
• One étude from Ludwig Milde’s 25 Studies in Scales and Chords, op. 24 

Memorization: Bassoon applicants are not required to perform for memory. 

Each applicant must prepare all major scales, 2 octaves, slurred and tongued, as well as three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• One etude from Kopprasch’s Sixty Selected Studies for Horn - Book 1 and 
• Mozart Horn Concerto No. 3, K 447, 1st movement and 
• One 20th/21st Century selection 

Memorization: Horn applicants are not required to perform for memory. 

Each applicant must prepare three (3) contrasting pieces that demonstrate the student’s musicianship and level of technical development, as follows: 

• One piece from the Baroque era and 
• One piece from the Classical era and 
• One Romantic or 20th/21st Century selection 

If a selected work contains multiple movements, only one movement is necessary. 

Memorization: Guitar applicants must have audition pieces memorized, except for instrumental duos that are considered to be chamber works (e.g., violin sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, or Brahms).