We will not be accepting Artist Diploma applications for Fall 2026. Please contact the Music Admissions Office if you have any questions.
Audition Requirements
The video submission should be recorded so that all orchestral excerpts are played in succession in any order you wish without stopping the recording or editing. Solos may be pre-recorded.
Required AD prescreening repertoire is by video submission:
- First movement of Mozart Concerto No. 4
- Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2 - first page
- Schumann Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70 - first page
- Orchestral Excerpts:
Strauss Till Eulenspiegel (opening horn solo in first horn part)
Ravel Pavane pour une infante défunte (opening horn solo in first horn part)
Mahler Symphony No. 1, movement 3 (#13 - #15 in second horn)
Beethoven Symphony No. 7, movement 1 (m. 84-102 in the first horn part)
Shostakovich Symphony No. 5, movement 1 (#17 - #22 in first horn part)
For copies of the above orchestral excerpts, please send your name and intended degree program to Nicolás Kruger-Seiler.
Required AD live audition repertoire:
- Complete Strauss Horn Concerto No. 2; Schumann Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70; and Mozart Concerto No. 4, K 495, first movement with cadenza
- Prepare excerpts which cover the following criteria:
soft and low (examples: Mahler 1st low tutti or Variation 8 of Strauss Don Quixote)
soft and high (examples: Ravel Piano Concerto in G Major or Pavane)
loud and low (examples: Shostakovich 5th low tutti or Variation 7 of Don Quixote)
loud and high (examples: Beethoven 7th or Wagner Siegfried Call)
full range (examples: openings of Ein Heldenleben or Till Eulenspiegel) - In addition, scales, sight-reading, and transposition will be tested.
For works that require accompaniment, the Shepherd School will provide a pianist and one hour of rehearsal time. Additional rehearsal time must be arranged and paid for by the applicant. All piano parts must be made available to the Shepherd School pianist three weeks before the scheduled audition date. The applicant must be prepared to perform all chosen works in their entirety. However, the audition committee may decide to hear only certain portions.