Audition

Clarinet audition requirements for Indiana:
The following materials are required of all those auditioning for entrance into the Clarinet Department at the Jacobs School of Music. These auditions are played for the three clarinet faculty on various Saturdays in January, February and March of every year. Contact the Music Admissions Office (musicadm@indiana.edu) for specific dates.

BME, BSOF:

All major and minor scales through 4 sharps and 4 flats
One slow etude, one fast etude
One solo from the standard repertoire

BM, VS:

All major and minor scales through 7 sharps and 7 flats
One slow etude, one fast etude
Two contrasting solos from the standard repertoire
Orchestra excerpts

MM, DM, PD, AD:

All major and minor scales through 7 sharps and 7 flats
Three contrasting solos from the standard repertoire
Orchestra excerpts

Note:

1. No applicants for any of the degrees/diplomas are required or allowed to use a pianist.
2. The term contrasting solos does not mean two movements from the same sonata or concerto; they should be by different composers and different stylistic periods.
3. All students will be required to do some sight-reading, an ear test and a rhythm test as part of the standard audition.
4. All DM students will take a two-hour written clarinet literacy test on the day of their audition. This exam will test a student’s basic knowledge (and ability to write) about the acoustics, pedagogy and repertoire (solo,
   chamber and orchestral) of the instrument. Don’t hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions about this test.

Live vs. taped auditions:
If you live far away from Bloomington, you can certainly send a CD of your audition materials. In most cases, however, a live audition is generally better for you for the following reasons:

1. You get to see the campus, meet some of our current clarinet students and the clarinet faculty. We feel that the IU campus and music facilities are quite special, and we think it is important for you to experience this environment.
2. We like to get an impression of your personality, and to get a sense of your drive and eagerness to be a part of this program. Both teacher and student must have a high level of mutual trust and caring if the student is to improve during their degree, and we believe that a live audition can help determine how easily the two of us might work together.
3. We are better able to determine whether some of the blemishes we hear in your playing are easily correctable, so it is helpful to us to be able to see you play. In some cases, during a live audition, we might ask you to play a passage again with a different approach to see how flexible (and teachable) you are.

Scholarships:
All students who audition for us are considered for scholarship awards. For the undergraduates, the decision to award a scholarship, and the amount of the award is dependent on 1) the clarinet audition, 2) the students high school GPA and standardized test scores, and 3) the student's financial need. All graduate students can be considered for the two GAs (Graduate Assistantships) or two AIs (Assistant Instructors) which we have in the Clarinet Department. Not all of these assistantships are open in any given year; please inquire as to their availability. Graduate students can also qualify for non-assistantship scholarship awards.

As part of the application process to IU, you will be asked to state your teacher of choice on the forms you send back to our Admissions Office. This is important information to know, for not only must you be accepted into a particular clarinet studio, but then that faculty member can also function as your liaison to the Financial Aid Office once you’ve been accepted.

Degrees and their definitions:

BME - Bachelor of Music Education
BSOF - Bachelor of Science in Music with an Outside Field (somewhat like a double major, this versatile degree contains a 30-35 hour outside field component, chosen by the student)
BM - Bachelor of Music in Clarinet Performance
VS - Visiting Student (a temporary, 2 semester maximum, status)
MM - Master of Music in Clarinet Performance
PD - Performer Diploma in Clarinet Performance (a post-masters performance level)
DM - Doctor of Music in Clarinet Performance
AD - Artist Diploma (a post-doctorate performance level)

Note: Please contact the IU Music Admissions Office (812-855-7998 or musicadm@indiana.edu) if you have further questions about the various degrees/diplomas, or wish to obtain application materials. Additional information
about the School is provided at www.indiana.music.edu