Strings & Harp Prescreening & Audition Procedures

Information for prospective strings and harp students applying to Manhattan School of Music.

Strings & Harp Prescreening Requirements

You are required to submit a video recording to be considered for an invitation to a live audition. You must include the repertoire below and upload the recording directly to your application. Professional or studio recordings are not required, but the sound quality should be as good as possible.

Below you’ll find further information specific to each instrument.

Violin
Undergraduate (BM)
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
Graduate (MM)
- Two movements of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
- One movement of a work of the applicant’s choice
Professional Studies (PS), Artist Diploma (AD) & Doctoral (DMA)
- Two movements of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
- One movement of a sonata
- One movement of a work of the applicant’s choice
Viola
Undergraduate (BM)
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
Graduate (MM), Professional Studies (PS), Artist Diploma (AD), & Doctoral (DMA)
- Two movements of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
- One movement of a work of the applicant’s choice
Cello
Undergraduate (BM)
- One movement of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
Graduate (MM), Professional Studies (PS), Artist Diploma (AD), & Doctoral (DMA)
- Two movements of a standard concerto
- Two contrasting movements of solo Bach
Bass
Undergraduate (BM)
- Major or minor scale (any key) in three octaves
- Two contrasting movements of a Baroque sonata: or development section of first movement of a standard concerto (Examples: first page of Bottesini #2 or first two pages of Koussevitzky or first page of Dittersdorf)
- One orchestral excerpt of applicant’s choice
Graduate (MM)
- One movement of a Bach cello suite (any transposition) or one movement of a Bach Gamba Sonata
- First movement of a standard concerto (to end of development section)
- One orchestral excerpt from Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (Trio from movement 3, without repeats); Mozart Symphony No. 40 (first or last movement, standard excerpts); Strauss “Ein Heldenleben” (No. 9 to downbeat of No. 11)
Doctoral (DMA), Artist Diploma (AD), & Professional Studies (PS)
- One complete movement of a standard concerto (including cadenza) or sonata
- One movement of a Bach cello suite (any transposition)
- One 20th or 21st century work (one page or representative excerpt of the work)
- Two significant orchestral excerpts from different periods (contrasting styles;
  example: a Mozart or Beethoven Symphony and a Strauss or Schoenberg work)
Harp

There are no prescreening requirements for Harp applicants.

Strings & Harp Audition Requirements

Undergraduate auditions are approximately 10 minutes in length, graduate auditions are 15 minutes, and professional studies and doctoral auditions are 30 minutes. You will choose a first work and the faculty will choose other works from repertoire you provide. Solo Bach and concerti are presented from memory. All other repertoire may be performed with music. MSM provides an accompanist, or you may bring your own. If you wish to rehearse with Manhattan School of Music’s accompanist before audition, you must arrange rehearsal time and cost.

Violin
Undergraduate (BM)
- Three octave major and minor scales and arpeggios
- First movement of a standard concerto with applicable cadenza
- Two contrasting movements of a Bach partita or sonata
Graduate (MM)
- Two contrasting movements of a concerto including all applicable cadenzas
- Two movements of an unaccompanied Bach partita or sonata
- A virtuoso concert piece from the Romantic period by composers such as
- Paganini, Sarasate, Vieuxtemps, Wieniawski, or Ysaÿe
- One movement of a sonata
Doctoral (DMA), Artist Diploma (AD), & Professional Studies (PS)
- Complete concerto with all applicable cadenzas.
- Four significant recital works in their entirety from a wide range of style periods, including the twentieth century.
Viola
Undergraduate (BM)
- Three octave major and minor scales and arpeggios
- First movement of a standard concerto with applicable cadenza
- Two contrasting movements of an unaccompanied Bach partita, sonata or suite
- One etude
Graduate (MM)

Complete works from three style periods, including the 20th century. One work must be a standard concerto with all applicable cadenzas. Repertoire should demonstrate a graduate level of performance

Doctoral (DMA), Artist Diploma (AD), & Professional Studies (PS)
- Complete concerto with all applicable cadenzas.
- Four significant recital works from a wide range of style periods, including the twentieth century.
Cello
Undergraduate (BM)
- Scale and arpeggio of applicant’s choice in three or four octaves as appropriate
- First movement of a standard concerto with applicable cadenza, or approximately ten minutes of music from either Schelomo (Bloch) or Rococo Variations (Tchaikovsky)
- Two contrasting movements of an unaccompanied Bach suite
- A work of the applicant’s choice, such as a movement of a sonata or a short concert piece
Graduate (MM)
- Two movements of a standard concerto with applicable cadenzas
- Three movements of an unaccompanied Bach suite
- A complete sonata
- A complete 20th or 21st century work.
Doctoral (DMA), Artist Diploma (AD), & Professional Studies (PS)
- A complete concerto with all applicable cadenzas.
- Four significant recital works from a wide range of style periods, including the twentieth century or twenty-first century.
Bass
Undergraduate (BM)
- Major or minor scale and arpeggio, three octaves, of applicant’s choice.
- Two contrasting movements of a baroque sonata or first movement of a standard concerto plus an additional contrasting movement or work
- One etude on the level of Bille, Simandl, Storch-Hrabe, or Sturm
- One orchestral excerpt of the applicant’s choice
Graduate (MM)
- Three contrasting works of different style periods, which must include either a complete concerto or a sonata
- Three significant orchestral excerpts
Doctoral (DMA), Artist Diploma (AD), & Professional Studies (PS)
- Four complete, contrasting recital works, including the twentieth or twenty-first century.
- Three significant orchestral excerpts
Harp
Auditions are approximately 15 minutes in length (doctoral auditions are approximately 30 minutes in length). You will choose a first work and the faculty will choose a second and possibly third work from the repertoire list you provide. You must perform solo works from memory and may be asked to sight-read and take a test of tuning ability. Music may be used for the orchestral works for graduate applicants.

Undergraduate (BM)
- A major work which demonstrates level of proficiency
- A Bach transcription
Graduate (MM)
- Two complete works comparable in difficulty and scope to the Sonata of Hindemith or the Impromptu of Fauré
- First movement from a standard concerto
- Choose two of the following five excerpts: Cadenza from Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti; Cadenza from Tzigane by Ravel; Entire first harp excerpt of Symphonie Fantastique by Berlioz; Second movement and fugue from Symphony in Three Movements by Stravinsky; Young Person’s Guide by Britten
Doctoral (DMA), Artist Diploma (AD), & Professional Studies (PS)

A full-length recital from contrasting style periods including a work from the 20th century and a standard concerto with applicable cadenzas.