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Piano
Admission Requirements
Please see information on the School of Music Application Process.

For admission, you will audition on your major instrument for the appropriate faculty. Your audition should include four memorized solos, scales and sight-reading:
  • A Bach Prelude and Fugue or other major work by Bach involving a fugue
  • A sonata-allegro movement from a work of Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven
  • A Romantic work by composers such as Chopin, Brahms, and Schumann
  • A 20th century work by composers such as Debussy, Bartok or other major composers writing after 1900
  • Candidates will be asked to sight-read at least two passages and demonstrate knowledge of major and minor scales.
Prospective music education students whose main instrument is piano or guitar must audition on a second instrument (Voice or Band/Orchestral instrument) at this time as well.
Degree Requirements

The M.M. in Piano Performance requires high performance standards in a variety of solo and chamber settings. It stipulates coursework in the areas of piano, music history, and music theory and aims to graduate performing musicians with professional level general music knowledge.
  • Masters Level-Piano (664-501), 8 cr.
  • Masters Recital (664-990), 4 cr.
  • Chamber Recitals: (664-990), 2 cr. and (664-542), 2 cr. (4 cr. total)
  • Piano Pedagogy (660-547/548, 551, or 751), 3 cr.
  • Piano Literature (660-791, 346 or 796), 3 cr.
  • Musicology and Music Theory, 9 cr.
  • Electives (300 level and above)
Admission Requirements
Please see information on the School of Music Application Process. In addition:
  • Preliminary recording: If auditioning after November 21, candidates are required to submit a preliminary recording in MP3 format for evaluation (see Uploads for more info). Recordings should include a sampling of SOLO works from at least 3 historical periods, but may consist of movements rather than complete works. The repertoire need not be the same as that which will be performed at the audition. A complete application file with preliminary recording must be received by December 1, 2009. Those who wish to sign up for a November live audition date may audition without preliminary MP3s, but MUST have a complete application file before the audition will be scheduled.
  • Live audition: Candidates invited to audition should prepare a recital program consisting of works representing at least three of the major historical periods. The program should consist of 50-60 minutes of music, from which the audition committee will select excerpts.
  • Repertoire list (solo and significant chamber/accompanying)
  • Baccalaureate Degree in music from an accredited institution with minimum grade point average of 3.0.
  • All application materials, including TOEFL score, if applicable, must be complete before recordings will be considered or audition dates assigned. Applicants will be invited to campus for a live audition based on the preliminary recording and application materials.
Degree Requirements

The DMA in Piano Performance is designed to train and prepare pianists to perform, teach, and coach a broad range of keyboard repertoire at the highest artistic level. The degree requires the student to perform at this level in solo, concerto, chamber, as well as lecture/recital situations and to demonstrate comprehensive cultural and artistic knowledge of the field of music.
  • Doctoral Level-Piano (664-701), 16 cr. total
  • Recitals (664-999),1 cr. each, 6 cr. total
  • Music Research Methods and Materials (660-619), 3 cr.
  • Piano Literature (660-791 or 796), 6 cr.
  • Minor, 10-12 cr.
  • Musicology and Music Theory, 9 cr.
  • Language: one language at intermediate level (credits and method of completion varies).
Doctoral Minor
The purpose of the doctoral minor is to add breadth and depth to the D.M.A or Ph.D degree. To insure coherence a minor program must be approved by the appropriate department, a student's advisor, and the Director of Graduate Studies, and must include courses at the 300-level or above. Typically, a minor requires 12 credits of work.

Students have a variety of options, including completing an internal minor within the School of Music (e.g., a D.M.A. conducting student who minors in ethnomusicology or a Ph.D. in music theory who minors in clarinet performance), completing a minor in a department outside the School of Music (e.g., a D.M.A. in horn performance who minors in Women's Studies or a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology who minors in East Asian studies). Students may, in consultation with the Director of Graduate Studies, devise a distributed minor that brings together courses from a variety of departments around a particular topic or area of interest. For example, a D.M.A. student in voice devises a minor in vocal health that includes courses in communicative disorders, or a Ph.D. student in musicology devises a minor in Medieval History that includes courses in art history, history, and languages.
Admission Requirements
Please see information on the School of Music Application Process. In addition:
  • Preliminary recording: If auditioning after November 21 candidates are required to submit a preliminary recording in MP3 format for evaluation (see Uploads for more info). Recordings should include a sampling of SOLO works from at least 3 historical periods, but may consist of movements rather than complete works. The repertoire need not be the same as that which will be performed at the audition. A complete application file and preliminary recording must be received by December 1, 2009. Those who wish to sign up for a November live audition date may audition without preliminary MP3s, but MUST have a complete application file before the audition will be scheduled.
  • Live audition: Candidates invited to audition should prepare a recital program consisting of works representing at least three of the major historical periods. The program should consist of a minimum of 20 minutes of music, from which the audition committee will select excerpts.
  • Repetoire list
  • *An example of scholarly writing, such as a paper from a graduate seminar in music history or theory.*
  • Candidates who are applying for TA/PA (Teaching Assistantship or Project Assistantship) may need to sight-read or provide information about teaching experience and philosophy.
  • All application materials, including TOEFL score, if applicable, must be complete before preliminary recordings will be considered or audition dates assigned. Applicants will be invited to campus for a live audition based on the preliminary recording and application materials.
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