Woodwind Audition Repertoire

Prescreening recordings are required for all woodwind applicants to NEC, and are due as part of the online application by December 1, 2022.

  • Prescreening repertoire for woodwind majors does not need to be accompanied unless specifically noted.
  • After reviewing the recording guidelines, please upload your prescreening recording files as part of your online application.
  • DMA prescreening repertoire requirements are the same as for the live audition.
  • Artist Diploma requirements are found on the Artist Diploma audition requirements page.

 

Audition Repertoire Guidelines

NEC encourages applicants to submit diverse repertoire, including works composed by women, people from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, and/or musicians from one's own cultural background.

 

Recorded Auditions -- due February 3, 2023
Please record 5-10 minutes of each solo piece in one take without edits. If one of your selections is less than 5 minutes, please record the entire slection. If one of your selections is more than 10 minutes, please do not record the entire piece and instead select excerpts of the piece to perform. All of your orchestral excerpts should be recorded in one take without edits.
 

Flute

Prescreening Recordings (all Undergraduate, Dual-Degree, and Graduate MM, GD & GC):

  1. W.A. Mozart: Exposition of 1st and 2nd movements of the Concerto in G or D Major;
  2. Contrasting piece of the candidate's choice;
  3. Orchestral Excerpts (3 total):
    • L.v. Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 – measures 328-360
    • J. Brahms: Symphony No.4, last movement - measures 93-10
    • F. Mendelssohn: Scherzo from Midsummer Night's Dream - 2 measures before "P" to the end.

Undergraduate Final Auditions:

  1. Concerto in G or D by W.A. Mozart, movements 1 and 2 without cadenzas
  2. A 20th or 21st century work. If it is in one movement please prepare the entire work. If it is  in multiple movements, please prepare 2 movements of contrasting character.
  3. Three (3) orchestral excerpts:
    • Required: Daphnis et Chloe Suite No.2 – 155 – 3 measures before 157; 176 to 2 measures after 178
    • Two (2) excerpts chosen from the following list:
      • L.v. Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 – measures 328-360
      • F. Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 12 measures before P to the end
      • J. Brahms: Symphony No. 4, fourth movement – measures 89-105
      • A. Dvorak: Symphony No. 8, fourth movement – rehearsal C-E
      • P. Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis – Andantino, 12 before B to end

Graduate Final Auditions:

  1. Concerto in G or D by W.A. Mozart, movements 1 and 2 without cadenzas
  2. A 20th or 21st century work. If the piece is only one movement, please prepare the entire work. If the piece has multiple movements, please prepare two (2) movements of contrasting character.
  3. Three (3) orchestral excerpts:
    • Required: Daphnis et Chloe Suite No.2 – 155 – 3 measures before 157; 176 to 2 measures after 178.
    • Two (2) excerpts chosen from the following list:
      • L.v. Beethoven: Leonore Overture No. 3 – measures 328-360
      • F. Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream – 12 measures before P to the end
      • Brahms Symphony No. 4, fourth movement – measures 89-105
      • A. Dvorak: Symphony No. 8, fourth movement – rehearsal C-E
      • P. Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis – Andantino, 12 before B to end.
  4. Two (2) contrasting movements of a Flute Sonata by J.S. Bach.

 

Live Audition Dates:

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Monday, January 16, 2023

 

Oboe

Undergraduate, Dual-Degree, and Graduate MM, GD & GC - Prescreening and Live Audition:

  1. One slow Ferling etude, and either a fast Ferling etude or a Barrett Grand Study;
  2. One slow and one fast movement from either a Baroque or Classical concerto; 
  3. Orchestral excerpts:
    • Undergraduate and Dual-Degree programs: Two (2) contrasting excerpts.
    • Graduate programs: Four (4) contrasting excerpts.
  • Applicants invited for a live audition should expect to sight-read as part of the audition.
  • Applicants may present works from the prescreening round as part of the final audition.

 

Live Audition Dates:

Sunday, January 15, 2023

Monday, January 16, 2023

 

 

Clarinet

Prescreening Recordings (all Undergraduate, Dual-Degree, and Graduate MM, GD & GC):

  1. One etude from Rose: 32 Etudes;
  2. W.A. Mozart: Concerto, K.622, first movement exposition with piano accompaniment;
  3. Two (2) contrasting orchestral excerpts of your choice.

Undergraduate Final Auditions:

  1. Two (2) contrasting movements from a clarinet concerto written in the 18th or 19th century;
  2. One major work for the clarinet (concerto, sonata, solo, etc.) written in the 20th or 21st century;
  3. Two (2) contrasting orchestral excerpts of your choice;
  4. A melody of your choice which you feel represents your cultural background and/or personal interest. It may be from any genre of music and you may add embellishment or improvisation.

Graduate Final Auditions:

  1. One complete clarinet concerto written in the 18th or 19th century;
  2. One major work for the clarinet (concerto, sonata, solo, etc.) written in the 20th or 21st century;
  3. Three (3) contrasting orchestral excerpts of your choice;
  4. A melody of your choice which you feel represents your cultural background and/or personal interest. It may be from any genre of music and you may add embellishment or improvisation.

Live Audition Dates:

Monday, January 16, 2023

Monday, February 20, 2023

 

 

Bassoon

Prescreening Recordings (all Undergraduate, Dual-Degree, and Graduate MM, GD & GC):

  1. Movements 1 and 2 of a concerto by W.A. Mozart, C.M.v. Weber, or J.N. Hummel (expositions only; accompaniment preferred)
  2. Two (2) of the following orchestral excerpts:
    • W.A. Mozart: The Marriage of Figaro Overture (mm. 139 - 171)
    • P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 4 (mvt. 2, solo to end)
    • P. Tchaikovsky: Symphony no. 6 (mvt. 1, opening solo)
    • M. Ravel: Bolero (solo)
    • M. Ravel: Piano Concerto (mvt. 1, rhl. 9 - 10, and mvt. 3, rhl. 14 - 16)
    • I. Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring (opening solos)
    • I. Stravinsky: The Firebird ("Berceuse" solo)
    • N. Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade (mvt. 2, solo and cadenzas)
    • L.v. Beethoven: Symphony no. 4 (mvt. 4, mm. 15 - 25, 184 - 188, 300 - 303, 348- end)
    • D. Shostakovich: Symphony no. 9 (solo from mvts. 4 - 5) 

Undergraduate Final Auditions:

  1. Two (2) contrasting movements from an 18th or 19th-century sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety), or two contrasting etudes from the Milde 50 Concert Studies;
  2. Two (2) contrasting movements from a 20th or 21st-century sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety);
  3. Two (2) orchestral excerpts of your choice.

Graduate Final Auditions:

  1. Two (2) contrasting movements from a Baroque or Classical sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety);
  2. Two (2) contrasting movements from a Romantic or early 20th-century sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety);
  3. Two (2) contrasting movements from a post-1950 sonata, concerto, or unaccompanied piece (or a one-movement work in its entirety);
  4. Four (4) orchestral excerpts of your choice.

 

Live Audition Date:

Monday, January 16, 2023

 

Saxophone

Undergraduate Prescreening and Live Audition:

Two (2) of the following, or comparable works:

  • P. Creston: Sonata, Op.19 (pub. Shawnee); 2 contrasting mvmts
  • A. Desenclos: Prelude, Cadence et Finale (pub. Leduc)
  • A. Glazounov: Concerto (pub. Leduc)
  • F. Decruck: Sonata in C# minor (pub. Billaudot)
  • O. Nelson: Sonata (pub. Advance Music)
  • J. Ibert: Concertino da Camera (pub. Leduc); one (1) movement
  • J. Rueff: Sonate (pub. Leduc)
  • H. Villa-Lobos: Fantasia (pub. Peer-Southern); two (2) contrasting mvmts

 

Graduate Prescreening and Live Audition:

  1. J. Ibert: Concertino da Camera (pub. Leduc), or a comparable work
  2. Choose one of the following, or a comparable work:
    • P. Creston: Sonata, Op.19 (pub. Shawnee); 2 contrasting mvmts
    • I. Dahl: Concerto (pub. European American Music); 2 contrasting mvmts
    • J. Tower: Second Flight (pub. Associated Music Publishers)
    • E. Denisov: Sonata (pub. Leduc); any 2 mvmts
    • Chen Twice Removed (pub. RCEditions)
    • A. Glazounov: Concerto (pub. Leduc)
    • J. Harbison: Sonata "San Antonio" (pub. Schirmer-AMP); 2 contrasting mvmts
  3. Two orchestral excerpts from The Orchestral Saxophonist, Vol.1 (pub. Roncorp). Suggested excerpts:
    • M. Mussorgsky-M. Ravel: Pictures at an Exhibition
    • S. Prokofiev: Lieutenant Kije
    • S. Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances

 

Live Audition Date:

Sunday, February 5, 2023

 

Doctor of Musical Arts (all Woodwind majors):

For both the prescreening and the final audition rounds, please present a recital-length program of stylistically diverse works that are musically and technically challenging.

Collaborative pianists are required for DMA Flute applicants only. Applicants must arrange for their own pianists; the Admissions Office can provide a list of local collaborative pianists for hire.