Faculty
Norman Fischer , Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Cello, Chair of Chamber Music
Brinton Averil Smith , Associate Professor of Cello
Valentin Radutiu , Professor of Cello
Audition Requirements
Online Prescreening Submission due December 1, 2026 by 11:59 PM (EST)
Multiple uploaded files of your prescreening requirements are acceptable.
Required prescreening repertoire is by video submission
Please include the following:
- The entire first movement of a major standard cello concerto (memorized)
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach Suite
- A movement, or approximately 10 minute excerpt, from a work written in the last 75 years in a contemporary idiom
- A virtuoso work for cello such as- but not limited to- Cassado ‘Dance of the Green Devil’; Chopin Polonaise Brillante; Davidoff At the Fountain; Faure Papillon; Paganini Moses Variations or Moto Perpetuo; Popper Spinning Song or Elfentanz; Tchaikovsky Pezzo Capriccioso, etc… this repertoire requirement can also be fulfilled by choosing two significant etudes or caprices of Popper, Piatti, Paganini, Grützmacher, Servais, etc..
Required live audition repertoire
The repertoire for the audition must include one work from each of the following groups:
- Bach - One of the six solo suites (complete, from memory)
- A standard concerto (complete, from memory) such as those by Barber; Bloch Schelomo; Dvorak; Elgar; Haydn D Major or C Major; Prokofiev Op. 125; Schumann; Shostakovich No. 1 or 2; Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations or Walton.
- A Classical or Romantic sonata (complete)
- A work in a contemporary idiom written within the last seventy-five years. (If longer than 10 minutes, a significant movement or representative 10-minute portion is sufficient.) Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to consider choosing a work of a female or underrepresented minority composer.
- A virtuoso work for cello such as- but not limited to- Cassado ‘Dance of the Green Devil’; Chopin Polonaise Brillante; Davidoff At the Fountain; Faure Papillon; Paganini Moses Variations or Moto Perpetuo; Popper Spinning Song or Elfentanz; Tchaikovsky Pezzo Capriccioso, etc… this repertoire requirement can also be fulfilled by choosing two significant etudes or caprices of Popper, Piatti, Paganini, Grützmacher, Servais, etc..
For works that require piano accompaniment, the Shepherd School will provide a pianist and limited rehearsal time if requested. If the Shepherd School is to provide the pianist, all piano parts must be made available three weeks before the scheduled audition date. The applicant must be prepared to perform all chosen works in their entirety. However, the jury may decide to hear only certain portions.
Auditions with interviews will be held February 2 or 3, 2027.