Audition Information

Auditions for concert ensemble seating will be held on our first day following the welcome meeting.  Auditions for jazz ensemble will be held at this time as well; jazz audition information is at the bottom of this page.  It is important to note that you are already accepted into the ensemble; we expect a variety of levels among our members.  These auditions are for seating placement only and will allow us to better gauge our rehearsal time and the pieces we perform.  We encourage you to do your best, and not stress over it.

Participants should be prepared to play:
  1. the following "concert pitch" scales (transpose for your instrument): C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, G, D, A, E. 
  2. the excerpt for their concert instrument, listed below. 
  3. a short sight-reading example as well.

Audition Excerpts
Note: you need play only the bracketed sections within the examples.  You do not need to prepare the entire piece. 
Some excerpts have more than one bracketed section.

Jazz Ensemble Auditions

You do not need to be an improvising musician to audition for the jazz ensemble!  Our jazz auditions are designed to be a low-key way for us to accurately assess your experience level as a jazz musician. Even if you have had LITTLE or NO experience in jazz, please feel free to audition. We will do our very best to include everyone we can in the ensemble.

Participants should prepare the excerpts listed for your instrument.  Experienced jazz musicians should also prepare Summertime from Jamey Aebersold's Volume 54: Maiden Voyage (head and solo).  If this doesn't mean anything to you, or if you don't have access to the book and CD, don't worry about it!
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet
Trombone
Piano
Guitar
Bass
Participants auditioning on drumset should be prepared to demonstrate the following styles:
  • Slow swing (with brushes a plus, but not required)
  • Medium Swing
  • Uptempo Swing
  • Samba or Bossa
  • Funk
  • Rock