Auditions

We are offering a variety of audition options for entry to the School of Music in Fall 2013. The following dates apply to the undergraduate program.

At the School of Music

Weekend auditions for all instruments: March 8-10

In the Maritimes

Moncton: March 2
Halifax: March 3

Live too far away to come for an audition? No Problem. Applicants from outside the St. John's metropolitan area may also choose to submit an audition recording. Details on recording formats, as well as information regarding the online diagnostic testing will be sent to you early in February.

We're excited to meet you! The audition provides an opportunity for you to experience the life of the School, meet current students, your prospective profs and experience the life of the musical community. It also provides prospective students and their parents the opportunity to explore the university environment. Ample opportunities exist at this time to get every question answered. String players attending the March 9 audition also have the option of arriving on March 8 to have a lesson with our string faculty, and will have the opportunity to attend a rehearsal of the MUN Chamber Orchestra.

All applicants who audition in March will be automatically considered for School of Music entrance scholarships. No separate scholarship application is required. The School has one of the best scholarship programs in the University with up to 40% of incoming students receiving financial aid in one form or another. In addition students from the School of Music consistently do well in university-wide scholarship competitions.

Late auditions are usually held in May, if space is still available in the program. Students auditioning late cannot be considered for School of Music scholarships. Admission to the bachelor of music program is conditional upon admission or re-admission to Memorial University. You must satisfy the requirements of the university and the School of Music. The audition process will include many opportunities for you to demonstrate your skills and achievements. Among these will be

your principal instrument audition
your theory placement test (including rudiments of music theory and aural skills)
your sightsinging test

You will also have to opportunity to take a piano proficiency test, which will determine whether or not you are ready to register for the first-year course in keyboard harmony. This test does not influence admission decisions, but your progress in the degree program could be delayed if you do not pass the proficiency test before you enter the program.

But audition day is more than this. We'll hold information sessions for prospective students and other sessions for parents. The Students Music Society will hold an orientation. We'd also like to invite you for lunch – and for a gala concert the evening before. There are also campus tours available, as well as university officials who can address questions about housing, financial aid, university resources and whatever else might be on your mind.

Your Principal Instrument Audition

All applicants must play an audition on the instrument that they intend to study as their principal instrument while at university. Please note that we do not offer instruction in harp or accordion. The main purpose of the audition is to assess your potential and capacity to complete successfully the applied requirements of the music degree program. The audition panel will be assessing whether or not you:

have the technical skills necessary for continued progress at the university level;
have developed important musical skills such as aural perception and sight reading; and
demonstrate musicality and understanding in your performance.

You will be expected to perform

Repertoire: Two to three selected works displaying a range of styles. To see the requirements for your instrument or voice click here. Substitutions for set pieces may be permitted with the prior approval of the Director. Please provide, at the time of the audition, one copy of each "own choice" composition to be performed.
NOTES: You will need to arrange for your own accompanist if one is required. You may contact the School of Music if you need help finding an accompanist in the St. John's area. Please note as well that time constraints mean it will be unlikely that the panel can hear all of the repertoire you have prepared.
Technical Requirements (or hymn for organists): Typically these include scales, arpeggios, etudes or other non-repertoire requirements. See the individual requirements for your instrument or voice.
Sight Reading: Candidates will frequently be given a short repertoire excerpt for sight-reading.

Your Theory Placement Test

The Theory Placement Test comprises two components: Music Theory and Aural Skills. The theory placement component of the test is not only an index of music literacy used in making admissions decisions. The results are also used to place you in the most appropriate theory course in your first year. The test is designed to measure comprehension, accuracy and facility across a wide range of basic theoretical concepts.

You'll do the Theory Placement Test online in early March – no need to stress about it on audition day!

We are looking for instant and accurate recall of such constructs as:

scales and modes
key signatures
rhythmic notation
meter
simple and compound intervals
triads - major, minor, diminished and augmented
seventh chords
simple roman numeral analysis

The aural dictation component of the test demonstrates a dimension of music literacy. You will be asked to:

Identify harmonic or melodic intervals within the range of an octave.
Recognize major, minor, diminished and augmented triads, and dominant seventh (major-minor seventh) chords.
Error detection in both rhythmic and melodic writing.

To see some of the kinds of questions we'll ask and to take advantage of the opportunity to practice developing those skills, visit our diagnostic test practice site at: http://www.mun.ca/music/online/index.php.

Your Sight Singing Test

Like the aural dictation test, the sight singing test measures an important dimension of your music literacy and the results will be weighed in your admission decision. You will be asked to:

Sing specific intervals within the range of an octave and sing (arpeggiate) major and minor triads.
Perform at sight a rhythmic phrase of 4-8 measures incorporating half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and dotted rhythms in simple and compound metres.
Sing a given diatonic melody at sight in any major or minor key, in treble or bass clef. We recommend, but do not require, that you use moveable doh sol-fa syllables. The melody will be at a level of difficulty comparable to Book II, Oxford Folk Song Sight Singing Series, and may include scale steps, as well as skips within context of tonic, dominant or subdominant chords.

Please note that students who are not auditioning at the St. John's campus of Memorial University will have their sight singing tests deferred to a later date.

Your Piano Proficiency Test

If your principal instrument is not a keyboard instrument, you will be required to demonstrate that you have an acceptable level of keyboard skills. If you do not pass the piano proficiency test at your audition or choose to defer it, you will need to pass it before you can be permitted to register for Music 1127, Keyboard Harmony I, which is usually taken in the first year of the program. The School of Music does not offer remedial instruction in piano. For the Piano Proficiency Test, you will be expected to play:

Repertoire

Two selections (one from each category):

Either ANY piece from J.S. Bach's Anna Magdalena Notebook or ANY piece from Robert Schumann's Album for the Young.
Either God Save the Queen or one piece of your own choice.

Technical Requirements

Scales:

C, Db, and D major.
A, C, and E harmonic minor.

All scales to be played hands together, one octave apart, compass of two octaves, ascending and descending.

Sight Reading

You will be given an easy sight reading example at the exam.