Auditions & Music Scholarships

The audition requirements for the brass area are:

1. Chromatic scale and major scales (through four accidentals) using the full range of your instrument
2. One movement from a major work such as a concerto, sonata, or concert piece
3. An excerpt, piece, or song from any musical style that best demonstrates your musical ability (such as an etude, another solo piece, a jazz transcription, etc.)
4. You may be asked to sight-read

Contact Dr. Melanie Brooks at melanie.brooks@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the percussion area are:

Snare Drum

• Concert Style
• One etude from Mitchell Peters’ “Intermediate Snare Drum Studies” or Anthony Cirone’s “Portraits in Rhythm”
• Suggested Peters Etudes: 12-15
• Suggest Cirone Etudes: 4, 5

Rudimental

• One etude from Charley Wilcoxon’s “The All American Drummer” or a similar contest solo
• Selected etude should demonstrate a wide variety of rudiments including rolls and flams
• Short sight-reading

Mallets

• One two-mallet solo or etude
• Suggested composers – GH Green, Mitchell Peters
• Suggested etudes – Any from Goldenberg’s “Modern School for Xylophone”
• Short sight-reading
• Be prepared to demonstrate all major scales
• Optional four-mallet solo of performer’s choice

Optional Audition Materials

Students are encouraged, but not required, to submit an additional solo/etude on Timpani, Drum Set or Multi-Percussion.

Contact Jack Donovan at jack.donovan@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the piano area are:

1. Piano students auditioning for scholarships must prepare two pieces from different stylistic periods to be performed from memory
2. Suitable repertoire could include a contrapuntal work by J.S. Bach, a first movement from a Classical sonata, a lyrical piece or a technical study by a Romantic composer, or a piece representing a 20th-century stylistic movement
3. The selections should demonstrate both technical skills and expressive capabilities.

Contact Dr. Deanne Mohr at dmohr@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the string area are:

1. One movement from a major work such as a concerto, sonata, or concert piece
2. An excerpt, piece or song from any musical style that best demonstrates your musical ability (such as an etude, another solo piece, a jazz transcription, etc.)
3. You may be asked to sight-read

Contact Dr. Cullan Lucas at cullan.lucas@winona.edu if you have additional questions about your audition.

The audition requirements for the vocal area are:

1. Two songs in contrasting styles from memory with piano accompaniment. Songs performed for state solo competitions are appropriate. You will need to sing a song in English and one in a foreign language
2. Sight-reading

Songs from “26 Italian Songs and Arias,” published by Alfred and edited by John Glenn Paton, are good audition pieces, as are songs from “The First Book of Soprano, Mezzo-soprano/Alto, Tenor or Bass/Baritone Solos,” published by G. Schirmer and compiled and edited by Joan Frey Boytim.

Another suggestion would be repertoire from “Thirty-six Solos for Young Singers,” published by Hal Leonard and compiled and edited by Joan Frey Boytim.

Contact Dr. Alan Dunbar at aldunbar@winona.edu if you have questions.

The audition requirements for the woodwind area are:

1. Chromatic scale and major scales (through four accidentals) using the full range of your instrument
2. One movement from a major work such as a concerto, sonata, or concert piece
3. An excerpt, piece or song from any musical style that best demonstrates your musical ability (such as an etude, another solo piece, a jazz transcription, etc.)
4. You may be asked to sight-read

Contact Dr. Daniel Sheridan at dsheridan@winona.edu if you have questions.