Audition Information

Steps to Admission

Step Two:

Step Three:

After you apply:

Once the application process is complete, a letter of decision will be mailed to you. If you have further questions, one of UTEP's Admissions Counselors will be more than happy to talk with you. Call 1-877-74MINER or e-mail futureminer@utep.edu.

>> IMPORTANT: Please click here to schedule your audition. <<

Audition Requirements (by Area of Study)

Strings:

• One major or minor three octave scale and corresponding arpeggio sequence
• One slow piece or movement from a work
• One contrasting fast piece or movement from a work
• Possible sight-reading

For more information on string auditions, please contact Dr. Stephanie Meyers at 915-747-7810 or  smeyers@utep.edu . 

Voice:

Undergraduate Voice: 

Those auditioning to become undergraduate voice majors* (Vocal Performance, Commercial Music, and Music Education) will be prepared to perform the following at their audition with piano accompaniment, memorized:

1. One art song (or aria) in English, Spanish, Italian, French or German, and
2. One additional song in any style or language 

*IMPORTANT NOTE for Transfer Students: 

If a student has completed 2 years or more of applied voice at another university, college or community college and wishes to be accepted into upper-level voice at UTEP, the student must successfully pass the equivalent of a barrier jury for the UTEP Voice Faculty during the first week of classes. This barrier jury will be in addition to the audition described above. 

Barrier Jury:

Students must sing all selections, from memory, with piano accompaniment.

• 5 songs or arias in each of the following languages: English, Spanish, Italian, German and French. 

Graduate Voice: 

Music Performance: 

5 contrasting selections from classical repertoire (at least three languages must be represented), from memory:

• One aria from an oratorio or an opera
• One art song in English
• Two foreign language art songs
• One additional selection

Music Education: 

4 contrasting selections from classical repertoire (at least three languages must be represented), from memory:

• One aria from an oratorio or an opera
• One art song in English
• One foreign language art song
• One additional selection

For more information about becoming a voice major at UTEP, visit our Voice Area page. For questions about auditions, contact our Area Coordinator, Dr. Elisa Fraser Wilson at (915) 747-8708 or ewilson@utep.edu. 

Piano:

• Major and harmonic minor scales, two octaves, hands together
• Sight reading
• Three contrasting pieces from memory
• Selections should demonstrate technique and expressiveness
• Selections should represent a variety of historical and stylistic periods
  • Suggested composers:
    • Technique—
      • Burgmüller, Johann Friederich
      • Czerny, Carl
      • Heller, Stephen
    • Baroque Era—
      • Bach, Johann Sebastian
      • Couperin, François
      • Handel, George Frideric
      • Rameau, Jean-Philippe
    • Classical Era—
      • Clementi, Muzio
      • Clementi, Diabelli or Kuhlau
      • Haydn, Franz Joseph
      • Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
    • Romantic Era—
      • Beethoven, Ludwig van
      • Brahms, Johannes
      • Chopin, Frédéric
      • Mendelssohn, Felix
      • Schubert, Franz
      • Schumann, Robert
    • Impressionistic and Contemporary Era—
      • Bartók, Béla
      • Debussy, Claude
      • Ginastera, Alberto
      • Kabalevsky, Dmitri
      • Tcherepnin, Ivan

For more detailed information about piano auditions, please visit The Jones Studio Web Site or contact Dr. Dena Kay Jones at (915) 747-6625 or dkjones@utep.edu.

Woodwinds and Brass:

• All-Region etudes or a Class I UIL solo or equivalent (accompanist preferred but not required).
• Scales and sight-reading may be requested.

For more information on woodwind and brass auditions, please contact Dr. Bradley Genevro, Director of Bands, at (915) 747-7796 or bgenevro@utep.edu.

Percussion:

One selection each from the list below; sight-reading on mallet-keyboards (2-mallets) and snare drum; sight-reading on drum-set if candidate selects drum-set for the additional area as listed below.

Symphonic snare drum etude selected from

• Cirone, Anthony, Portraits in Rhythm; Delécluse, Jacques, Douze Études; Aleo, Keith, Advanced Etudes for Snare Drum or equivalent.

Mallet keyboard - One Solo Selection (two or four mallets)

• 2–mallet solo or transcription selected from
  • Gottlieb, Beth, Masterworks for Marimba; Creston, Paul, Concertino for Marimba (Mvt. I or II), Kreisler, Fritz, Tambourin Chinois or equivalent.
• 4–mallet solo or transcription
  • Examples include solo compositions by: Rich O’Meara, Keiko Abe, Michael Burrit, Julie Davila, Ivan Trevino, Jacob Monkman, or equivalent.
• All Major scales, 2 octaves, any format

A solo performance in at least one additional major percussion area:

• Timpani
• Drum-set (classic jazz transcription or play-along chart)
• Jazz Vibraphone
• Additional mallet keyboard solo (marimba or classical vibes)
• Afro-Cuban or Brazilian percussion (an in-depth knowledge must be
  demonstrated through a representative transcription or etude such as one
  from Spiro, Michael and Coletti, Michael, The Language of the Masters)

Incoming freshmen or new students in the program must audition for Director of Percussion Studies, Dr. Andy P. Smith. Due to the large number of currently enrolled percussion majors at UTEP, competitive applicants must successfully be accepted directly into MUSA 1195 (lower level individual instruction). The Department is not accepting MUSA 1290 (open enrollment) students in percussion at this time.

Please contact Dr. Andy P. Smith, Director of Percussion Studies with any specific questions, and to inquire about a free lesson. Dr. Smith offers one free lesson to any student considering Percussion Studies at UTEP.  Contact Dr. Smith at 915-747-7802 or apsmith@utep.edu.

Guitar:

Commercial Music (click links for PDF):

• Major scale positions on entire guitar neck
• Major/Minor pentatonic scale positions on entire neck
• Triads, barre chords, 7^th chords, on entire neck
• Must know the traditional blues and jazz blues chord progressions
• Basic jazz chord melody solo guitar arrangement
• Study 3: by M.Giuliani Op.50 No.1 
• Must demonstrate intermediate fingerstyle and flat-picking technique
• Study #1 from Melodic Rhythms for Guitar (play written notes with pick)

Classical Guitar

• Tárrega, Francisco (choose one): Alborada, Marieta, Pavana in EM, Maria or Mazurka en Sol.
• Bach, J.S. (choose one): Prelude BWV 999, Prelude BWV 1007, Allemande BWV 1007, Allemande BWV 996
• Students wanting to concentrate on classical will be required to play five arpeggio formulas taken from the Giuliani 120 Arpeggios nos. 1 to 20.

For more detailed information on guitar auditions, please contact Shaun Mahoney at (915) 747-6627 or stmahoney@utep.edu. 

>> CLICK HERE to schedule your audition. <<