One of the most important steps in the college audition process is choosing your repertoire. In an ideal world, you would be able to simply choose pieces that best showcase your abilities; however, the reality is that colleges and conservatories are often quite specific about what pieces or types of pieces you must play.
While it may seem early, spring of junior year is the appropriate time to settle on audition repertoire and begin learning any new pieces for auditions. You will likely need to have most of your repertoire well-learned by fall to record your prescreen videos.
Determining Requirements
The first step in choosing repertoire is to know what each school requires. That means you need to finalize the list of schools you plan on auditioning for. By the beginning of junior year, you should already have a list of schools you are considering. As you start to whittle that list down into something manageable, perhaps 7-12 schools, you will want to make a spreadsheet of the audition repertoire for each school.
You may find that the process of making a spreadsheet of repertoire helps to narrow down your school choices. If the audition requirements for a school seem daunting, that school may be too far of a reach. For example, if the Curtis violin list of two full concertos, a full Bach sonata/partita, and a Paganini caprice will dilute your practicing to such a point that you are likely to be unprepared on half the pieces, it may be best to cross that off your list. On the other hand, if a school you are not that interested in requires you to learn a lot of specific etudes or excerpts, that may be a school to eliminate as well.
Making your spreadsheets will require quite a bit of research, though almost all schools post repertoire requirements on their websites. Each school has different requirements, with some being quite broad and others very specific. Some schools require you to perform pieces selected from a list; others allow you to choose within a category.
Sample spreadsheet for viola prescreen requirements
Some schools update their requirements over the summer, so make sure to check back frequently until September or October of your senior year to make sure the requirements have not changed. Also, determine if the school requires any additional audition material, such as scales or arpeggios.
You can make two separate spreadsheets, one for pre-screening repertoire and another for live audition repertoire, or combine them into one sheet. Creating categories such as concerto, etude/caprice, Bach, and so on can help you to group your repertoire. At first, you will probably want to keep your listings generic, such as “two movements of a concerto,” but eventually you will want to fill in exactly which concerto and which two movements.
Sample spreadsheet for viola final audition requirements
Choosing Your Repertoire
Your teacher and other music professionals should, of course, be heavily involved in choosing your specific repertoire. Be realistic about the time you have to learn pieces when making your selections.
Here are a few tips to help you with repertoire selection:
Reuse Your Repertoire
Try not to choose all new pieces for your auditions. Reuse previously learned pieces as much as possible, if they demonstrate your current level of playing. Blending old and new repertoire will allow you to prepare all your pieces at the highest level possible.
Do Double Duty
Schools often have seemingly unique requirements, such as a modern piece, a virtuosic piece, a sonata, a piece by an underrepresented composer, or a choice piece. Try to pick pieces that will allow you to use the same piece for multiple categories. A modern, virtuosic sonata by an underrepresented composer can meet four separate requirements!
Choose Unaccompanied Pieces
If a school requires a collaborative pianist and you need to play a modern or uncommon piece, choose an unaccompanied piece whenever possible. You do not want a pianist sight reading your modern piece in the audition!
Play at Your Level
Don’t choose pieces that are too hard for you. It is better to play an easier piece well than a hard piece badly. This point cannot be emphasized enough. No audition panel wants to hear a student massacre a piece that is way beyond their abilities. Not only does it say something about your preparation and standard of excellence, but it also suggests you are unaware of your limitations.
Listen to Your Teacher and Other Experts
Most CMPI teachers should have experience preparing students for college auditions. Their advice is invaluable in choosing repertoire. Sometimes teachers may be aware that specific pieces may not be a good choice, perhaps because they are overplayed or tend to evoke strong stylistic preferences. This information, which students rarely would have reason to know, can be critical in the actual audition.
If you don’t agree with your teacher’s suggestions or your teacher does not have much experience in this area, run your repertoire choices by some other musicians and get their feedback as well. You can also get feedback the summer before auditions at your summer camp or festival.
Preparing Your Repertoire
The next step, of course, is to learn and prepare your repertoire. While this article will not go into this process in detail, spring of junior year is a great time to pull out a calendar or practice journal and set very specific goals for your repertoire. Determine when each piece will be learned, when it will be up to tempo, and when it will be memorized. Begin to set up practice (or real!) performances of your repertoire. You may want to ask your mentor or another student to be an accountability partner for these goals to help keep you on track.
While focusing on the same repertoire for nearly a year can lead to burnout, try to enjoy the process of polishing your pieces to the highest level possible. This is your chance to really bring your music as close to perfection as possible in order to demonstrate your greatest artistry.
Images
Stock photo; Sample viola spreadsheets