Undergraduate Audition Requirements - Piano
Piano
Professor Gilles Vonsattel, gvonsatt@admin.umass.edu
Note: Jazz Piano applicants are not required to perform a classical piano audition.
Pre-screening Requirement
All applicants auditioning on piano must submit a pre-screening video with the Music Application. The video must be available via link to a YouTube video. Raw video files are not acceptable.
In the pre-screen video, applicants must present the following:
1. The first movement of a Classical sonata (e.g. music by Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, or others)
2. A Romantic work (e.g. music by Chopin, Schumann, Brahms, Liszt, Mendelssohn, or others)
Applicants who pass pre-screening will be invited for a final audition. Applicants attending a Live Audition will be assigned a time on the audition date selected in the Music Application. Those who selected a Remote Audition will be contacted for a livestream audition via Zoom.
Live Audition Requirements
Repertoire
- A representative piece from the Baroque period such as an Invention by Bach.
- The first movement of a sonata such as those by Haydn, Mozart (excluding K. 202 and 545) or Beethoven (excluding Op. 49, Nos. 1 and 2, and Op. 79).
- A piece from the Romantic Era or modern literature.
Technique
- Major and minor scales played in four octaves, two hands.
- Major and minor arpeggios played in four octaves, two hands.
- A rudimentary sight reading test will be administered to each student.
Remote Audition Requirements
All Remote Auditions require faculty approval. Please see the Note Concerning Remote Auditions for further information.
Please prepare the pieces outlined in the Live Audition Requirements for an audition held live via Zoom. Email musicadmissions@umass.edu to set up a date and time.
