Keyboard
- All piano applicants for the Bachelor of Music, Performance Diploma, and Artist Diploma programs must present a screening audition. Students auditioning regionally in Asia are exempt from this requirement, as the regional audition will be considered a screening. All other piano applicants are required to submit a screening audition via the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Audition Dropbox prior to being invited to audition at Oberlin, or at a regional audition site.
- Screening deadline: December 1 (November 1 for early review)
Piano Audition Requirements
Piano Screening Audition Requirements for Bachelor of Music, Performance Diploma, and Artist Diploma
- One composition by Bach
- A sonata-allegro movement from a classical sonata
- One étude of virtuosity
- One other piece of the applicant’s choice
Piano Final Audition Requirements for Bachelor of Music and Performance Diploma
- One composition by Bach
- A complete classical sonata (Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven)
- One étude of virtuosity
- One composition from the romantic period
- One composition by a 20th or 21st century composer
Piano Final Audition Requirements for Artist Diploma
Applicants must prepare a program of 50-60 minutes, including the following:
- A prelude and fugue (4 or 5 voices) from the Well-Tempered Clavier, or another major work of Bach
- A complete classical sonata of Mozart, Haydn, or Beethoven
- One étude of virtuosity
- A substantial romantic work
- Any remaining work(s) to be chosen by the applicant
Notes for Piano Applicants
- The repertoire on the screening need not be identical to that of the campus, regional, or recorded video audition via the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Audition Dropbox.
- The audition requirements differ slightly for the screening and
the final audition, whether campus, regional, or recorded video audition. - All screenings and final auditions must be performed from memory. Recordings must carry statements that the performances are memorized.
- Applicants auditioning in Asia: Applicants will perform a piano audition for the Director of Conservatory Admissions in Asia. The Director will record the audition, and the recording will be considered a screening. Once the recording is evaluated by the piano faculty and if approved, the applicant can audition at Oberlin or submit a final video recording.
- Applicants who pass the screening stage will be approved to do one of the following:
- Perform a live audition on campus in Oberlin. The preferred date is indicated on the audition request page of the Unified Application.
- Perform a live regional audition. The preferred city and date is indicated on the audition request page of the Unified Application.
- submit a recorded video audition via the Oberlin Conservatory of Music Audition Dropbox to be received no later than (the last campus audition on March 3, 2012)
Organ Audition Dates
February 18, 2012
March 3, 2012
Note: Early review is not an option for organ auditions. The organ faculty would encourage attendance on the February 18 or March 3 when additional events have been planned.
Three or four contrasting pieces from the standard organ literature that demonstrate the applicant's technical and musical skills. At least one piece should be chosen from the works of J.S. Bach. Sight-reading of a four-part hymn harmonization is expected. Applicants with a strong piano background who wish to major in organ may elect to play their audition on the piano. Regional auditions are not offered in organ.
