TMF Orchestra Auditions

Learn everything you need to know about auditioning for the Texas Music Festival Orchestra.

• Recorded Audition »
• Live Audition »
• Requirements and Repertoire »

Recorded Audition

Recorded Audition: Application must be received by February 16, 2010.  Include recording, application, and application fee ($50).  CD preferred, cassette tape accepted. No DAT, minidisc, or DVD/video will be accepted. All materials must be clearly labeled with name, instrument, and list of contents.  

Due to the volume of applicants, we are not able to offer feedback on live or recorded auditions.

Applicants will be notified of acceptance by e-mail only on or before March 26, 2010.

Live Audition

Live Audition Deadline - January 20, 2010
All materials must be received by January 20, 2010. Upon receipt of application, students will be contacted by the TMF office to schedule a live audition.  All live auditions are recorded for submission to TMF faculty.

Applicants will be notified of acceptance by e-mail only on or before March 26, 2010.

TMF 2010 live auditions are scheduled in the following cities:

• Cleveland, OH
  February 5 & 6, 2010
  Cleveland Institute of Music
  Directions to CIM
  Free parking is available on Hazel Road (CIM is located at the corner of East Boulevard and Hazel).
  Non-CIM applicants should arrive no earlier than 30 minutes prior to assigned audition time and must check in at the CIM North Security Desk upon arrival.
  Live auditions will be held in Room TBD.
• New York, NY
  February 13 & 14, 2010
  Studios 353
  353 W. 48th Street, Floor 2
  New York, NY 10036
  Directions to Studios 353
  Applicants should arrive no earlier than 20 minutes prior to scheduled audition time.
  Studio 6 will be used as a group warm-up room.
  Live auditions will be held in Studio 1.
• Houston, TX
  February 10 & 17, 2010
  University of Houston
  Moores School of Music
  View Map
  
  
  Live auditions will be held in MSM Room 160
  

Percussion Live Audition

• Houston, TX
  February 5, 2010
  University of Houston
  Moores School of Music
  View Map
  
  
  Live auditions will be held in Room 185
  Instruments will be provided

Audition Requirements

• Each instrument requires specific excerpts and solos.
• For players of auxiliary instruments (Piccolo, English horn, E-flat Clarinet, Bass Clarinet and Contrabassoon), please note that specific excerpts are listed for these instruments. Although you are not required to audition on auxiliary instruments, it is encouraged.

Please make a selection:

• Strings
• Woodwinds
• Brass
• Harp
• Percussion

Downloadable/printable excerpts require the free Adobe Reader.

Strings

Violin

Solos: One movement of solo Bach and one additional movement from a standard concerto or equivalent piece.

Excerpts (printable version »):

• Brahms Symphony No. 4
  Movement III: beginning – letter C
  

  measure 143 – letter F
• MozartSymphony No. 39

  Movement II: beginning – measure 27

• Strauss Don Juan

  Beginning – measure 62

Viola

Solos: One movement of solo Bach and one additional movement from a standard concerto or equivalent piece.

Excerpts (printable version »):

• Beethoven Symphony No. 5
  Movement II: measures 1 – 10
  
• MendelssohnScherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream

  Beginning – letter D

• Strauss Don Juan

  Beginning – 9 after letter B

Cello

Solos: One movement of solo Bach and 3-5 minutes of a standard concerto movement.

Excerpts (printable version »):

• Beethoven Symphony No. 5
  Movement II: measures 1 – 10; 49 – 59; 98 – 106
  
• MozartSymphony No. 35

  Movement IV: measures 134 – 197
  

• Strauss Don Juan

  Measures 1 – 9
  Letter C – letter D

Double Bass

Solos: Two works in contrasting styles from standard solo repertoire (single movements may count as one work).

Excerpts (printable version »):

• Beethoven Symphony No. 9
  Movement IV: recitative and choral – measure 115
  
• BrahmsSymphony No. 2

  Movement IV: beginning – 15 after letter A
  

• Mozart Symphony No. 40

  Movement I: melody before letter C – 5 measures after letter C

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Woodwinds

Flute

Solos: Two works in contrasting styles from standard solo repertoire (single movements may count as one work).

Excerpts (printable version »):

• Beethoven Symphony No. 7

  Movement I: 19th measure after letter A (start on the C-natural, 2nd 16th of the measure) - 4 measures before letter B (end on the half note C-natural)

  Pick-up note to the Vivace (11 measures after letter B) and continue for 26 measures to fermata D-natural.

• MendelssohnScherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream

  2 before letter P – 23 after letter Q

• RavelDaphnis et Chloé

  Suite II: rehearsal number 176 – rehearsal number 179

Piccolo

Excerpts (printable version »):

• RavelMother Goose Suite

  Rehearsal number 1 – 5 measures after rehearsal number 2

• RossiniSemiramide Overture

  Third Excerpt: 8 before letter U – letter U

Oboe

Solos: 7-10 minutes of two works in contrasting styles from standard solo repertoire (single movements may count as one work).

Excerpts (printable version »):

• RavelLe Tombeau de Couperin

  Movement I: beginning – rehearsal number 2
  Movement III: beginning – rehearsal number 4

• RossiniOverture to La scala di seta

  Beginning – rehearsal 3

• StravinskyPulcinella

  II. Serenata
  VI. Gavotta and Variation

English horn

Excerpts (printable version »):

• DvorakSymphony No. 9 "From the New World"

  Movement II: beginning – measure 18

• SibeliusPelléas and Mélisande

  Andantino con moto

Clarinet

Solo:

• MozartClarinet Concerto in A major, K.662

  Exposition

Excerpts (printable version »):

• BeethovenSymphony No. 6

  Movement I: measures 418 – 438 and 476 – 482
  Movement II: measures 68 – 77
  

• MendelssohnScherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream

  Beginning – measure 48

• RavelDaphnis et Chloé, Suite II

  1 measure after rehearsal number 155 – 2 measures after rehearsal number 157
  2 measures after rehearsal number 212 – end

• StravinskyFirebird Suite (1919)

  Variation de l'oiseau de feu: complete

E-flat Clarinet

Excerpts (printable version »):

• BerliozSymphony fantastique

  Rehearsal number 63 – 5 measures after rehearsal number 64

• StraussTill Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

  7 measures before rehearsal number 29 – rehearsal number 32
  5 measures after rehearsal number 38 – 4 measures before rehearsal number 41

Bass Clarinet

Excerpts (printable version »):

• GroféGrand Canyon Suite
  3. On the Trail: rehearsal number 2 – rehearsal number 3

  8 measures before rehearsal number 13 – 4 measures after rehearsal number 13
• LisztTasso Lamento e Trionfo

  Letter B: both solos

Bassoon

Solo: (printable version »)

• MozartConcerto for Bassoon in B-flat Major K. 191

  Movement I: measures 35 – 71

Excerpts (printable version »)

• MozartOverture to The Marriage of Figaro

  Measure 139 – measure 171

• Rimsky-KorsakovScheherazade

  Movement II: solo and cadenzas

• TchaikovskySymphony No. 4

  Movement II: measures 274 – end

• WagnerOverture to Tannhauser

  First 16 measures

Contrabassoon

Excerpts (printable version »):

• Beethoven Symphony No. 5

  Movement IV: 1 measure before letter A – 5 measures after letter B

• Ravel Mother Goose Suite

  Movement IV: rehearsal no. 2 – rehearsal no. 4

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Brass

Horn

Solo (printable version »):

• MozartConcerto No. 2 in E-flat major

  Movement I: letter A – 7 after letter D

Excerpts (printable version »):

• RavelPavane for a Dead Princess

  Beginning – letter B

• Shostakovich Symphony No. 5

  Movement I: 10 measures before rehearsal number 18 – rehearsal number 21

• StraussTill Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

  Beginning – 1 measure before rehearsal number 1

• TchaikovskySymphony No. 5

  Movement II: solo – 16 measures before letter B

Trumpet

Solo:

• HaydnTrumpet Concerto in E-flat Major

  Entire 1st Movement

Excerpts (printable version »):

• MahlerSymphony No. 5

  Movement I: Opening to 8 measures before rehearsal number 2

• RavelPiano Concerto

  Movement 1: Rehearsal number 2 – rehearsal number 3
  Rehearsal number 34 – end

• RespighiPini di Roma

  Offstage solo

• StravinskyPetrouchka

  Ballerina's Dance and Waltz (play entire excerpt from beginning to end)

Tenor Trombone

Solos (printable version »):

• DavidConcertino in E-flat major, Opus 4

  Movement I: letter A – letter D

• RochutAndante cantabile

  Beginning – downbeat of measure 24 (a tempo)

Excerpts (printable version »):

• MozartRequiem, K. 626

  Tuba mirum: beginning – letter A

• RavelBolero

  Solo – rehearsal number 11

• StraussTill Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

  4 measures before rehearsal number 36 – 4 measures after rehearsal number 37

• WagnerDie Walkure

  Pick-up to rehearsal number 3 – 2 measures before rehearsal number 4
  Pick-up to rehearsal number 5 – 3 measures after rehearsal number 6

Bass Trombone

Solo (printable version »):

• LebedevConcerto in One Movement

Excerpts (printable version »):

• HaydnThe Creation

  Cor und Terzett: beginning – letter A

• SchumannSymphony No. 3 “Rhenish”

  Excerpt provided

• StraussEin Heldenleben

  Rehearsal 51 – rehearsal 65

• StraussTill Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks

  Rehearsal number 36 – 7 before rehearsal number 38

Tuba

Solo: A Concone or Bordogni vocalise or your choice.

Excerpts (printable version »):

• BerliozSymphony fantastique

  Movements IV & V (as marked)

• MahlerSymphony No. 1

  Movement III: solo (as marked)

• WagnerOverture to Die Meistersinger

 

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Harp

Solo: A solo from standard solo repertoire of no more than 5 minutes

One of the following cadenzas (printable version »):

• Tchaikovsky Suite from Swan Lake
• Tchaikovsky Suite from The Nutcracker

Excerpts (printable version »):

• BerliozSymphony fantastique

  Movement II: beginning – Animato

• BrittenYoung Person's Guide to the Orchestra

  Cadenza and Fugue

• WagnerPrelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Islode

  From 12/8 measure – end

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Percussion

Excerpts (printable version »):

Glockenspiel

• DukasSorcerer's Apprentice

  4th bar of reh. 17 – 3 after reh. 19
  Reh. 22 – downbeat of reh. 24

Xylophone

• KabalevskyOverture to Colas Breugnon

  Reh. 9 – downbeat of reh. 12
  1 before reh. 36 – reh. 37

Marimba

• BachSonata No. 2 in B minor

  Bouree: 1st 20 measures

Snare Drum

• Rimsky-KorsakovCapriccio espagnole

  Movement IV: Beginning – 10th bar of letter L

• ProkofievLieutenant Kije

  Reh. 1 – reh. 2

Cymbals

• TchaikovskySymphony No. 4

  Movement IV: Bar No. 272 – end

Tambourine

• DvorákCarnival Overture

  Beginning – downbeat of letter B

Timpani

• TchaikovskySymphony No. 4

  Movement I: 4 before letter T – downbeat of 3 before letter U

• BeethovenSymphony No. 1

  Movement III: Pick-up to letter A – double bar

* Please note that keyboard sight-reading and timpani tuning will be required for the seating audition only.

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