Guitar Prescreening & Audition Procedures - Manhattan School of Music

Information for prospective guitar students applying to Manhattan School of Music.

Guitar Prescreening Requirements

There are no prescreening requirements for Guitar.

Guitar Audition Requirements

Auditions are approximately 10 to 15 minutes long (doctoral auditions are approximately 30 minutes in long). You will choose the first work and the faculty will choose a second and possibly third work from the audition repertoire list you provide. Works originally written for the guitar are generally preferred and in the case of Doctoral and Professional Studies applicants, strongly recommended.

Below you’ll find specific audition information for each type of degree offered. Please consider the specific works listed as guidelines, not requirements.

Undergraduate (BM)
Choose one piece from each group (or works of equivalent level):
- A Renaissance work by Dowland, Narvaez, Da Milano or Milan
- An Etude by Sor, or one of the Divertimenti, op. 37 or op. 40 by Giuliani, or Mertz Nocturne op. 4 no. 2 Andantino; or Fingals-Höhle op. 13 (Bardenklange), no. 5a; or Romanze, op. 13, no. 10a
- A prelude by Villa-Lobos, or two preludes by Ponce
Graduate (MM)
Choose any three of the following (or works of equivalent level):
- A major work by Bach
- Elegy or any two pieces from the Bardenklange, op.13, no. 1-11 by Mertz, or two etudes by Regondi, or a sonata or fantasy by Sor, or a major work by Giuliani
- Three etudes by Villa-Lobos, or a major work by de Falla, Respighi, Torroba, Martin, Ponce, Castelnuovo-Tedesco, José, Tansman, Rodrigo, Turina, Ohana, Britten, Walton, Bennett or Berkeley
- A work written since 1975, e.g. Takemitsu, Henze, Carter, Nørgård, Petrassi, Tower, Ginastera, Sculthorpe
Doctoral (DMA), Professional Studies (PS), & Artist Diploma (AD)
Choose any four groups (or works of equivalent level):
- A major work of Bach, or a fantasy by Dowland
- Two etudes by Regondi or a choice of Regondi op. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, or Mertz Hungarian Fantasy, or Sor op. 30, 56, or 59
- Three etudes by Villa-Lobos, or a sonata by Turina, or a sonata or Variations on “Folias d’España” by Ponce, or a sonata by Castelnuovo-Tedesco
- Britten Nocturnal
- Berio Sequenza, Carter Changes, Ginastera Sonata, Henze Royal Winter Music, Bennett Sonata, Nørgård In Memory of……., or Takemitsu All in Twilight