Bachelor's, Master's, or Diploma in Strings [Cello, Double Bass, Harp, Viola, Violin] (BM, MM or Diploma)

String Audition Requirements

For violin, viola, cello, and double bass, all repertoire composed unaccompanied must be played by memory. A score may be used for etudes or orchestral excerpts. It is strongly suggested that any repertoire composed with an accompaniment be performed with a piano accompaniment, but it is not required. The CCPA will not provide an accompanist, but applicants may bring their own if they wish.

Violin

• Undergraduate (BM): One etude or caprice; one movement of a Bach Partita or Sonata for solo violin; a fast movement of a concerto.
• Graduate (MM): A caprice or short virtuoso piece; two movements of a Bach Partita or Sonata for solo violin; a fast movement of a concerto.
• Performance Diploma: A Paganini caprice; a Bach fuga or chaconne; a complete concerto with cadenza from one of the following: Bartok (#2), Berg, Brahms, Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Prokofiev (#1 or 2), Shostakovich (#1), Sibelius or Tchaikovsky.
• All Orchestral Studies Applicants: 6 Excerpts from the orchestral repertoire; An etude or virtuosic work; one movement from a Bach Partita or Sonata for solo violin; the first movement of a relevant violin concerto with cadenza or other relevant piece for solo violin and orchestra (such as Vaughan-Williams’s The Lark Ascending, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy and so on).

Viola

• Undergraduate (BM): An etude; one movement of an unaccompanied Bach piece; a fast movement of a concerto.
• Graduate (MM): A fast movement of any major 20th-century viola concerto; two contrasting movements of an unaccompanied Bach piece; one other piece of the candidate’s choice.
• Performance Diploma: Three major works including a complete sonata or concerto.  If any composition is composed with accompaniment, the audition must be played with piano accompaniment.  At least two stylistic periods must be represented.
• All Orchestral Studies Applicants: 6 Excerpts from the orchestral repertoire; An etude or virtuosic work; one movement of an unaccompanied Bach piece; the first movement of a relevant viola concerto with cadenza or other relevant piece for solo viola and orchestra (such as Hindemith’s Der Schwanendreher, Berlioz’s Harold en Italie, and so on).

Cello

• Undergraduate (BM) / Graduate (MM): Two contrasting movements of the same Bach Suite; a Popper Etude; the fast movement of a concerto such as the Dvorak, Lalo, Prokofiev Sinfonia Concertante (or work of similar difficulty).
• Performance Diploma: Three major works including a complete sonata or concerto.  If any composition is composed with accompaniment, the audition must be played with piano accompaniment.  At least two stylistic periods must be represented.
• All Orchestral Studies Applicants: 6 Excerpts from the orchestral repertoire; a Popper Etude or other virtuosic work; two contrasting movements of an unaccompanied Bach suite; the first movement of a relevant cello concerto with cadenza or other relevant piece for solo cello and orchestra (such as Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations, Bruch’s Kol Nidrei and so on).

Double Bass

• Undergraduate (BM) and Graduate (MM): Two solo pieces of contrasting style, preferably including a movement of unaccompanied Bach and a fast movement from a concerto or a work of similar difficulty. Two standard excerpts representing two different composers selected from the following list: Mozart: Symphony No. 35, movement 1 or 4; Mozart: Symphony No. 40, movement 1 or 4; Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, movement 3; Beethoven: Symphony No. 9, movement 4; Brahms: Symphony No. 1, movement 1 or 4; Brahms: Symphony No. 2, movement 1 or 4; Strauss: Don Juan; Strauss: Ein Heldenleben. 
• Performance Diploma: Three majors works with piano accompaniment, including a complete sonata or concerto. At least two stylistic periods must be represented.
• All Orchestral Studies Applicants: First movement of a standard bass concerto, one movement from a Bach Cello Suite and one standard orchestral excerpt from each of the following composers:
  • Beethoven: Symphony 3, 5, 7, or 9
  • Mozart: Symphony 35, 39, or 40; or any opera
  • Richard Strauss: Any tone poem or opera

Harp

• Undergraduate:
  • Two of the following solo pieces or works of comparable difficulty:
    • Prokofiev: Prelude in C
    • Dussek: Sonata (Zabaleta arr.)
    • Pescetti: Sonata in C minor
  • Two of the following cadenzas:
    • Nutcracker, "Waltz of the Flowers"
    • Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Español
    • Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
    • Ravel: Cadenza from Piano Concerto in G
• Graduate:
  • One of the following works:
    • Handel: Concerto in B-flat
    • Debussy: Danses Sacres et Profanes
    • Ravel: Introduction et Allegro
    • Mozart: Concerto for Flute and Harp, K. 299
  • Two of the following excerpts:
    • Donizetti: Solo and cadenza (in D major) from Lucia di Lammermoor
    • Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique
    • Ravel: Cadenza from Tzigane
    • Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Español
    • Tchaikovsky: Cadenzas from Swan Lake
• Professional Diploma in Orchestral Studies: All five graduate excerpts listed above; a complete sonata or concerto
• Performance Diploma: Three major works, including a complete sonata or concerto. At least two stylistic periods must be represented.