Requirements for Pre-screening/Portfolios & Auditions/Interviews

Pre-Screening Requirements

Upload contrasting portions of two works from the solo repertoire to the SMTD Artistic Profile, including music from the Baroque and 20th/21st-Century periods. You are encouraged to include repertoire from female composers and composers of an underrepresented background. Additionally, upload two orchestral excerpts of your choice. Applicants may submit separate videos totaling 15 minutes in length.

Live Online or In-Person Audition Requirements

Students who advance to this stage in the application process will be invited to meet with Oboe faculty to perform an audition. The repertoire requirements for the live audition are the same as for the pre-screening. Knowledge of all major and minor scales is assumed, and sight-reading will be assessed.

Note: Applicants to the BM in Composition or BM in Music & Technology programs should refer to the pre-screening requirements to fulfill their principal audition requirement.

Last updated 8/24/2023

Audition/Interview Information

Your Common Application and Artistic Profile, which includes your pre-screening material (requirements outlined below), must be submitted by December 1.

Auditions will be offered in both in-person and recorded formats. For those who pass the pre-screening round and elect to submit a recorded audition, you must submit any additional audition material by no later than February 7, 2025. Applicants who submit a recorded audition will also be asked to meet with Organ Department faculty online for a discussion of the program and curriculum, your training, future and career goals, and a review of your previously-submitted recordings.

Pre-screening and In-Person/Recorded Audition Requirements

Prepare three contrasting selections from the following categories:

1. Chorale preludes, free works (preludes/fantasias and fugues, etc.), or other compositions by composers of the Baroque era such as Bach, Buxtehude, Böhm, or Lübeck
2. Works of the Romantic or Late Romantic era such as Mendelssohn, Franck, Langlais, or Reger
3. Works written in a 20th, 21st century or modern idiom such as Hindemith, Sowerby, or Albright.

Selections should include a balance of lyricism, expression, and virtuosity. Memorization is not required but is strongly encouraged. Pre-screening material should be uploaded to your Artistic Profile and submitted by December 1. Overlap of repertoire is permitted for the pre-screening and audition.

OPTIONAL: You are welcome to upload 1-3 additional videos of other playing you’ve done in the past 18 months.

Every Performing Arts Technology degree requires the submission of a portfolio by December 1, and subsequent interview with the Performing Arts Technology faculty.

Portfolio Requirements

All applicants are required to submit a portfolio consisting of the following six items. For items 3–6, please provide a paragraph that briefly describes the equipment and techniques used, your motivation for the work, and the file name of the corresponding media. All sound files must be uncompressed stereo audio 16-bit resolution with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz (CD quality).

1. Write a personal statement (approximately 150 words) describing your reasons for choosing to pursue studies in Performing Arts Technology. Describe two project goals you would like to achieve within the degree program (BM, BFA, or BS) for which you are applying. In your response, consider how these projects align with your long-term aspirations in music and the field of performing arts technology. Feel free to speculate on the future of music, envision your purpose within that future, and explore how you might push the boundaries of what is possible with current technology.
2. Provide a writing sample essay (300 words maximum) that discusses the aesthetic and technical features of either  “The Cable Has No Name”  by Agata or  “A Field of Social Tension”  by Li Yilei.  Whichever piece you select, please describe your response to hearing the piece, and why you think you had the particular response you did.  Please also describe the qualities that distinguish the piece you chose from other music you have heard, or that relate it to other music with which you are familiar.
3. A recording of you performing on a traditional acoustic instrument or voice, preferably with other instruments
4. A remix, arrangement, interpretation, or cover version of ONE of the following pieces:
   • Sophie – Faceshopping
   • Eurythmics – Take Me To Your Heart 
5.  and  6. Pick TWO additional items from the following list:
   • A recording of an original composition (two to five minutes long) for any combination of electronic and/or acoustic instruments and digital sounds. If the composition has a notated score, please include it. Applicants may include two contrasting compositions to fulfill items 5 and 6;
   • A stereo mix of a high-quality recording that you have engineered. The recording should be produced primarily from microphone signals. This item will be evaluated based on the recording, mixing, and production quality;
   • An original video (up to five minutes in length) – such as a music video, live concert, animation, short film, video installation;
   • Visual art such as photography, painting, digital art, or drawing;
   • Original sound design, composition, or recording for visual media;
   • Documentation (video, audio, and/or still images) of a performance with electronic music hardware or an interactive system of your own design.

Additional Requirements for the BM in Music & Technology 

The Bachelor of Music in Music and Technology also requires a recorded principal audition. Please refer to the audition requirements for your principal instrument or voice. If your program does not have any specific performance repertoire listed in the audition/interview requirements section, then you will need to refer to your program’s pre-screening guidelines for submission. If your principal instrument concentration is with a Jazz style, then you will need to refer to the Jazz department pre-screening requirements.

Principal audition recordings must be submitted by December 1.

Additional Requirements for the BS in Sound Engineering

The Bachelor of Science in Sound Engineering has higher academic requirements for admission than other SMTD degrees. We require at least a 3.5 GPA in high school academic courses. If you are submitting test scores, we require either an SAT math sub score of 630 or better, or an ACT math sub score of 28 or better. It is also important that students have:

• extensive coursework in mathematics, preferably through at least pre-calculus
• extensive coursework in natural science, with demonstrated aptitude
• experience with music theory and ear training
• high level proficiency on an acoustic instrument
• some experience with sound reinforcement and multitrack recording

Live Online or In-Person Interview Requirements

After a preliminary review of portfolios, a select number of applicants will be invited for interviews. This will consist of a 15-minute interview with several of the Performing Arts Technology faculty. Interviewees are asked to be prepared to discuss their portfolio materials.

Free Resources for Performing Arts Technology Applicants

Here is a current list of free Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) that you are welcome to utilize for any pre-screening submissions:

• Avid Pro Tools Intro (PC and Mac)
• Audacity (PC and Mac)
• Aurdour (PC and Mac)
• Garage Band (Only Mac)
• Reaper (PC and Mac)
• Soundtrap (Browser based DAW)

Pre-Screening Requirements

Please upload the following video recordings:

• One snare drum solo or etude
• Four-mallet solo, transcription, or etude
• Timpani solo or etude (please show your tuning in the video)
• OPTIONAL: 1-3 additional videos of other playing you’ve done in the last 18 months (for example, drum set or other)

 Questions regarding your video submissions should be sent to: Douglas Perkins ([email protected]), Ian Antonio ([email protected]), or [email protected].

Live In-Person or Online Audition/Interview Requirements

Auditions will be offered in both in-person and live online formats. For Percussion, in-person auditions are always preferable to online ones, although there will be no penalty in terms of admission or scholarship consideration if an online audition is chosen. Equal consideration is given to both formats. For those who need to schedule an online audition, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Students who advance to this stage of the application process should prepare:

Solos (5)

• Concert snare drum solo or etude
• Rudimental snare drum solo or etude
• Two-mallet keyboard solo, transcription, or etude
• Four-mallet solo, transcription, or etude
• Timpani solo or etude

The music for the live audition may be the same as submitted on your videos.

Students will also be asked to attend a group meeting with the faculty to discuss the school, the curriculum, performance opportunities, and more.

Pre-screening Requirements

All applicants to the Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Bachelor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance must complete the online application and upload unedited video recordings of at least three contrasting pieces for preliminary examination by December 1. Movements of larger works are acceptable, and the videos must be recorded with the hands and profile of the applicant  visible at all times. Upon an affirmative evaluation, an in-person audition may be scheduled.

No pre-screening recording is necessary for Piano principal auditions (see principal audition requirements further below).

Audition Requirements (BM in Performance and BMA in Performance)

Auditions will be offered in both in-person and video-recorded formats. For Piano Performance, in-person auditions are always preferable to recorded ones, although there will be no penalty in terms of admission or scholarship consideration if a recorded audition is chosen. Equal consideration is given to both formats.

Those who are granted an in-person audition may choose to submit a recording of their audition in place of a live audition. All works listed in the audition requirements (below) must be performed from memory and in their entirety, and the video must be recorded with the hands and profile of the applicant visible at all times. The deadline for submitting recorded auditions will be February 6, 2025.

Note: the recorded format is intended for those applicants for whom travel to Michigan would be impossible, or a financial or otherwise personal hardship. In order to ensure equitable consideration of all applicants, those who choose to submit a recorded audition for the February 6 deadline will not have the option to switch to an in-person audition since they will be reviewed at the same time as the in-person auditions. No links from YouTube, Google Drive or other file-hosting services. Only original files will be accepted.

For the audition, prepare:

1. a baroque work by a composer such as Bach, Handel, or Scarlatti with a minimum playing time of five minutes, no repeats. Any prelude and fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier is acceptable
2. a complete classical sonata
3. a romantic work
4. an impressionistic or 20th-Century work
5. an etude of virtuosity
6. (recorded audition only) a speaking video which addresses the following prompts: 1) Please state your name and the degree(s) for which you are applying; 2) Why do you want to study music in college? 3) Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?

Memorization is required. Audition repertoire may duplicate repertoire submitted for pre-screening.

Applicants must meet all repertoire requirements listed above. Failure to prepare the full audition program will eliminate you from consideration. Additionally, please submit a complete, alphabetized repertoire list of all the major works you have studied from Bach Inventions and higher in terms of difficulty.

Piano Principal Audition Requirements (for pianists applying to degrees other than performance): accepting recorded submissions only

Piano audition requirements for degrees for which Piano is the principal instrument, not the major instrument (i.e.: Composition, Multidisciplinary Studies, Music Education, Music Theory, Musicology, Performing Arts Technology) are listed below. Principal audition recordings must be uploaded to the Artistic Profile by December 1.

Please submit to the Artistic Profile:

1. a baroque work
2. a quick tempo movement of a classical sonata
3. 19th- or 20th-Century solo of your choice
4. a speaking video which addresses the following prompts: 1) Please state your name and the degree(s) for which you are applying;  2) Why do you want to study music in college? 3) Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?

Memorization is required except by petition approved by the faculty.

Teacher Request and Contact Policies, and Admissions/Scholarship Decisions

While filling out your SMTD Artistic Profile, you will be asked to indicate your Studio Preferences, which will indicate to the piano department which teacher(s) you are interested in studying with if you are admitted to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. It has no bearing at all on your acceptance to the School, and is used only for contact and administrative purposes after your recorded audition is submitted.

Before your audition, the Piano Department encourages each prospective student to feel free to contact anyone on the faculty for answers to questions about auditions, study at Michigan, or anything else that may be related to your interest in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. After your audition has been performed/submitted, primary contact from the Piano Department will be with the teacher listed as first choice in your Artistic Profile, unless that teacher has given permission to second or third choices to contact you. This is simply for clarity and efficiency of communication. You may continue to initiate contact with any member of the faculty you wish, and may change your first choice designation after your audition is performed/submitted, but the department will ask you to be very clear about your preferences so we can determine studio assignments as soon as possible, according to which professor has space for which students in the coming year.

Admission to SMTD is based upon evaluation of your application as a whole, and also your recorded audition evaluations. Admissions decisions are made by the school’s Office of Admissions and are generally announced in late February/early March.

All auditionees are considered for School scholarships (provided they audition before the final date of consideration; please see Scholarships/Financial Aid for updated information) with decisions being made and sent to applicants by early April. Admitted students may receive several letters from different offices at the U-M concerning scholarships and need-based grants and loans; be sure to be in contact with the School of Music, Theatre & Dance Admissions Office concerning your total award package.

Pre-screening Requirements

Upload the following video recordings to the SMTD Artistic Profile:

• 15 minutes of alto saxophone literature representing your highest proficiency. Suggested literature includes the Sonata by Creston, Concertina de Camera by Ibert, Concerto by Glazunov, Brilliance by Gotkovsky, Concerto by Creston and Prelude, Cadence et Finale by Desenclos.
• Two Ferling Etudes (one slow and one that displays your technical skills)
• A video demonstrating all twelve major scales (full range B-flat to F-sharp 3) and on major thirds in all keys (full range-varied articulations)
• OPTIONAL: 1-2 additional videos of other playing you’ve done in the past 18 months. Recordings of past recitals or performances are encouraged, including jazz or other genres of music.

Jazz improvisation videos are welcomed and, if you have significant jazz experience, you are encouraged to include video performances of your work. Contact our Auditions Coordinator ([email protected]) if you would like to audition separately for the Jazz faculty.

Audition/Interview Requirements (in person or online)

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will meet with Saxophone faculty for an audition and a brief discussion of your training, future and career goals.

Prepare an audition program with approximately 15 minutes of music that showcases your highest level of musical and technical expertise. Be prepared to demonstrate altissimo skills, overtones, and/or altissimo scales. Tuning response will also be tested. The music for the live audition may be the same or different from that submitted on your videos. An accompanist is not expected or required.

Writing Requirements

Last updated 8/17/2022

Prepare the writings below in typed, single-spaced format, and upload to your Artistic Profile:

1) Write a one-page statement explaining your previous experience with the theatre and why you are seeking admission to the BTA program. Why is the BTA the best fit for you? We encourage you to discuss specific aspects of our program and university that will support your interests and career goals (for example, courses, degree concentrations, professors, student organizations, alumni, context within a research university and/or a school dedicated to the performing arts). For more details about the program, consult the main Bachelor of Theatre Arts web page, the BTA Student Experience page, and/or the BTA Curriculum.

2) Write a two-page essay reviewing or analyzing an artistic work (e.g., play, musical, movie, theatrical production, spoken-word performance, music video, dance work, opera, etc.) that you have read, watched, or attended. Consider discussing (for example) character development, major ideas or themes, political or social context, music or sound design, movement, technology, scenic or costume design.

3) OPTIONAL for applicants – encouraged for those interested in concentrating or minoring in playwriting:

Using one of the four poems below as inspiration, write a two-page story or narrative featuring the poem’s narrator as the “main character”:

1. Reginald Dwayne Betts, “Legacy”
2. Darius V. Daughtry, Poetry is a One Hour Forty-Three Minute Playlist from And the Walls Came Tumbling (2019)
3. Claudia Rankin, excerpt from part IV of Citizen: An American Lyric
4. Alice Walker, “Expect Nothing”

The application review is a three-step process:

1. The Admissions Office will screen your application for academic eligibility.  The review will include an examination of your transcript(s), letters of recommendation, and ACT or SAT scores.
2. If your application passes the initial academic review, the BTA faculty advisor will read your writing samples and make an assessment of the quality of your work.
3. The School of Music, Theatre & Dance Admissions Office will make the final determination regarding admission. A letter will be sent to you as soon as that decision has been made.

Is an audition required for the BTA program?

No. We do not require an audition because the BTA program serves students with wide-ranging interests. (Students whose sole focus is acting, directing, design, or technical theatre pursue the department’s BFA program.) BTA students complete coursework and hands-on learning opportunities in performing arts management, playwriting, global theatre and ethnic studies, practice-as-research, producing, education, and stage management, among other areas.

Application Requirements

• Applicants must have completed the Common Application and the Artistic Profile on or before December 1.
  • Already a U-M student? Submit the online cross-campus transfer application instead of the Common Application; be sure to submit the Artistic Profile as well.
• Resumé and photo: Upload a resumé to your Artistic Profile that includes previous theatre experience and training, and dance or music background, and roles performed. Include a photo with a good likeness of yourself.

Pre-screening Requirements

Please upload to your SMTD Artistic Profile the following:

• Two (2) monologue videos: Upload two contrasting monologues (not to exceed a combined total of four minutes) from published works that are contrasting in style (period and/or genre) and emotional range. Your selections may be from comedies or dramas of any period. Try to incorporate some physical movement in at least one of the selections.
• “Why Acting?” video: Upload a 60-90 second face-to-the-camera video in which you answer the question “Why do you want to pursue a career in acting?” so that we may get to know you. Do not submit a multi-camera, highly technical, edited studio video.
• Short essay: Upload a 1-2 page double-spaced essay that answers ONE (1) of the following prompts:
  • “Why Michigan?” – Tell us why you want to attend the University of Michigan. You are permitted to re-use an essay from your Common Application that answers this same question.
  • “Why Theatre at Michigan?” – Describe your reasons for choosing performance training at Michigan and a theatre career. This may include goals, professional ambitions, and ideas about the field itself.
• OPTIONAL: 1-3 additional videos of other acting you’ve done in the last 18 months

Live Online or In-Person Audition/Interview Requirements 

• Students who advance to this stage of the application process will meet with the theatre faculty for a live audition and a discussion of your background and goals.
• Performance: Prepare and memorize two contrasting monologues from plays, not to exceed a combined total of four minutes. You may choose new monologues or present the same monologues that you used in pre-screening. These selections, which must be from a published work, may be from comedies or dramas of any period. Try to incorporate some physical movement in at least one of the selections. Be prepared for the evaluators to ask you to do an adjustment or to have a conversation about the piece you have chosen. Additionally, you may be asked to perform a third piece if you have one prepared.
• Students will also be asked to attend a group meeting with the faculty to discuss the school, the curriculum, performance opportunities, and more.

Recording Tips

1. In one of your pre-screen recordings, please be no more than 4-6 feet away from the camera. The faculty would like to see ¾ of the body.
2. In your second pre-screen recording, please be no more than 2-3 feet away from the camera. This should be a close-up recording from the shoulders up.
3. Record your monologues in front of a neutral background if possible (for ex: in front a solid colored wall with no photographs or art hung on it).  A neutral background could be helpful, too, in your live audition.
4. For your video submissions, please note that we do not accept links from YouTube, Google Drive, or any other file-hosting services. Only original files will be accepted.

Audition Tips

1. Be on time for your scheduled audition.
2. Warm up physically and vocally before the audition. Be relaxed and focused as much as possible.
3. It’s recommended that you wear clothing in which you feel good, which you feel accurately represents you, and which allows you to move freely and comfortably.
4. Choose material with which you feel comfortable, and is appropriate to your own age and experience. Avoid excessively stylized pieces, dialects, extreme physicality, and props.
5. Remember that an audition should demonstrate both your talent and your potential.
6. Be simple, direct, and honest. Avoid lengthy explanations or apologies.
7. Remember that the faculty want you to be successful.

Applicants must have completed the Common Application and the Artistic Profile on or before December 1. 

• Already a U-M student? Submit the online cross-campus transfer application instead.

Portfolio Components

1. Résumé and photo: Upload a typed résumé that includes previous theatre experience and training. Upload a photo with a good likeness of yourself.
2. “Why Directing?” video: Upload a 60-90 second face-to-the-camera video in which you answer the question “Why do you want to pursue a career in directing?” so that we may get to know you. Do not submit a multi-camera, highly technical, edited studio video.
3. Brief personal statement: Upload a short essay describing reasons for choosing directing training at Michigan and a theatre career.  This may include goals, professional ambitions, and ideas about the field itself. It should not be more than two double-spaced typed pages.
4. Instructional movement video: Watch the video at the link provided. Listen carefully to the instructions and watch the movements carefully. Practice the 2 sequences as demonstrated and then video yourself executing the movements. Wear clothes that allow for free movement. Make sure the camera is far enough away to capture the whole body. Upload the video/s with your application.
5. Vocalization Video: Read the text at the link provided. It is a Chorus speech from The Cure at Troy: A version of Sophocles’ Philoctetes by Seamus Heaney. At the time of its composition, Heaney saw themes of the Philoctetes as consonant with the contemporary political situation in South Africa, as the apartheid regime fell and Nelson Mandela was released from prison without a full-scale war. Heaney described Mandela’s return as a similar overcoming of betrayal and a display of “the generosity of his coming back and helping with the city—helping the polis to get together again.”
   Choose any 2 stanzas and play with the words. Ignore the meanings of the words and play with sounds inspired by the vowels and consonants. Lengthen, shorten, howl, sing, growl, etc. It may feel foolish but that is OK! Have fun. Video yourself. Then upload the video with your application.
6. Documentation: Upload any notebooks, reviews, photographs that may give a fuller picture of your theatre experience. Upload at least one letter of recommendation from a theatre teacher or professional who has worked with you.

It is especially important that the items above are clearly and articulately presented.

Interview (Online or in person)

Be prepared for a conversation with the Directing faculty.  This will include a discussion of your theatre experience, your knowledge of playwrights and directors past and present, your other interests, and your goals. It is important to be relaxed, honest, direct, and yourself.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions about the program and the department. Please come prepared with questions. 

Applicants must have completed the Common Application and the Artistic Profile on or before December 1.

• Already a U-M student? Submit the online cross-campus transfer application instead.

Application Requirements

• Personal Statement: Upload a short essay describing reasons for choosing a career in theatre and training at Michigan. This may include goals, professional ambitions, and ideas about the field itself. It should not be more than two double-spaced typed pages.
• Portfolio: Since the BFA is a comprehensive design and production degree, your portfolio should include examples of all of your visually creative pursuits (i.e., drawing, painting, photography, doodles, graphics, crafts, theatrical design in any area – include any of your process and research as well as photos of outcome) as well as any examples of stage management work. Share anything that demonstrates your creative self. See our additional guidance to help with setting up your application portfolio.
• If applicable, provide one or two stage management production books into your Artistic Profile that show your organizational strategies, blocking, cueing, communications from rehearsal or performance to others on the team.

Interview Requirements (Online or in person)

• Interview: Be prepared for a short conversation with the Design & Production faculty. Be ready to discuss the materials in your portfolio, your previous creative work, shows on which you’ve worked, the kind of performing arts you enjoy and why, and performing arts that you have seen or studied. It is important to be relaxed, honest, direct and yourself. 
• Students will also be asked to attend a group meeting with the faculty to discuss the school, the curriculum, performance opportunities, and more.

Pre-screening Requirements

Upload video recordings of 15 minutes of contrasting solo and/or etude literature to the SMTD Artistic Profile that represents your highest level of proficiency. Memorization is not required.

Audition/Interview Requirements (in person or online)

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will meet with Trombone faculty for an audition, a review of your previously-submitted recordings and discussion of your training. In addition, you may be asked to play two-octave major scales from memory.

Note: Applicants to the BM in Composition or BM in Music & Technology programs should refer to the pre-screening requirements to fulfill their principal audition requirement.

Pre-Screening Requirements

Upload 20 minutes of music (video recordings), including standard solo recital literature, one technical etude and one lyrical etude for trumpet representing your highest level of proficiency. Memorization is not required.

Optionally, you may upload a selection of 2-3 excerpts from the orchestral repertoire representing your highest level of proficiency. Memorization is not required.

Audition/Interview Requirements (online or in person)

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will meet with faculty for a discussion of your training, future and career goals, a review of your previously-submitted recordings, and live playing of your previously-submitted recorded material. You may be asked to sight-read and to play two-octave major, minor, and chromatic scales from memory.

Note: Applicants to the BM in Composition or BM in Music & Technology programs should refer to the pre-screening requirements to fulfill their principal audition requirement.

Pre-screening Requirements

Updated 7/13/2023

Please upload the following video recordings to the SMTD Artistic Profile:

• Blazhevich- Etude 32
• Choose one of the following solos (accompaniment not required):
  • Hartley- Suite for Unaccompanied Tuba
  • Capuzzi- Andante and Rondo
  • Lebedev- Concerto in One Movement
  • Horne- Etude #2
  • If you would like to play a different solo than the ones listed above, please contact Professor Zerkel at [email protected] to propose your substitution.
• A speaking video in which you briefly answer these questions. The format can be casual.
  • Why do you want to study music in college?
  • Who are one or two of your most influential instrumental artists and how have they most influenced you?
  • Where do you see yourself five years from now? What would you like to be doing?
• OPTIONAL: One or two videos of other playing or music-making that you’ve done in the past 18 months that you are proud of.

Live Audition Requirements (Online or in-person)

• Applicant should be prepared to play any major scale two octaves
• Etude of the applicant’s choice from Bordogni Vocalises
• Solo of applicant’s choice (different from pre-screening repertoire)
• Orchestral Excerpts
  • Mahler- Symphony #1, third movement solo
  • Wagner- Overture to Die Meistersinger (J to L)
  • Wagner- Ride of the Valkyries
• Sight Reading

Pre-Screening Requirements

Upload to your SMTD Artistic Profile the following unedited videos. All solo literature must be performed from memory:

• An etude representing your current level of technical development
• Two (2) contrasting movements of a Bach sonata, partita, or unaccompanied suite
• A movement from the standard viola concerto literature
• A speaking video in which you answer these questions. The format can be casual: 1) Why do you want to study music in college? 2) Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?

“Why Michigan?” essay: Upload an essay that tells us why you want to attend the University of Michigan. You may reuse the essay from your Common Application that answers this same question. Upload this essay on the Media Submissions Upload page in the Artistic Profile (the same place where you upload your videos).

OPTIONAL:  1-3 additional videos of other playing you’ve done in the last 18 months. Recordings of past solo or chamber music recitals or performances are encouraged.

Live Online or In-Person Audition/Interview Requirements

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will be invited to meet with the viola faculty for a discussion of your work and goals, a review of your previously-submitted recordings, and live playing and sight-reading. The music for the audition may be the same or different from that submitted on your videos. An accompanist is not expected or required.

Note: Applicants to the BM in Composition or BM in Music & Technology programs should refer to the pre-screening requirements to fulfill their principal audition requirement.

Pre-Screening Requirements

Upload to your SMTD Artistic Profile the following unedited videos. All music must be performed from memory.

•  One (1) movement of a solo Bach sonata or partita (repeats not required).
• The first five (5) minutes of the first movement of a concerto written between 1800 and 1950. If you select the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1, play the fourth movement and cadenza instead of the first movement.
• A speaking video in which you answer these questions. The format can be casual: 1) Why do you want to study music in college? 2) Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?
• OPTIONAL:  1-3 additional videos of other playing you’ve done in the last 18 months. Recordings of past solo or chamber music recitals or performances are encouraged.

“Why Michigan?” essay: Upload an essay that tells us why you want to attend the University of Michigan. You may reuse the essay from your Common Application that answers this same question. Upload this essay on the Media Submissions Upload page in the Artistic Profile (the same place where you upload your videos).

Audition/Interview Requirements (online or in person)

Prepare an audition program with approximately 15 minutes of music that includes:

• Two (2) contrasting movements of a solo Bach sonata or partita (repeats not required). The Chaconne may be performed alone to satisfy this requirement as well.
• First movement of a concerto (including cadenza if one is written) If you select the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1, play the fourth movement and cadenza instead of the first movement.
• One Caprice chosen from Paganini Caprices, op. 1 or Wieniawski Etude-Caprices, op. 18

Memorization of the Bach movements and your concerto is expected. Your audition program may include repertoire submitted on your prescreening videos. An accompanist is not expected or required.

Notes for all Undergraduate Students Submitting Voice Repertoire

Please speak with your teacher for guidance on selecting great pieces that meet the following criteria. It is not necessary to choose the most advanced voice literature for your recordings. Operatic literature at the undergraduate level is not expected.

An accompanist is highly preferred for all recorded selections. However, if you are unable to arrange for an accompanist because of the pandemic, you are allowed to use Appcompanist or another recorded track resource.

For recordings, the Department of Voice & Opera recommends using an iPhone, smartphone, or similar recording device to create recordings, with a recommended microphone placement of 4’–8′ from the singer. At the start of your first video, please state your name and the type of recording equipment you are using.

Teacher Request & Contact Policies

While filling out your SMTD Artistic Profile, you will be asked to indicate your Studio Preferences, which will indicate to the Voice & Opera department which teacher(s) you are interested in studying with if you are admitted to the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. It has no bearing at all on your acceptance to the school, and is used only for contact and administrative purposes after your audition has been submitted.

Before your audition, the Department of Voice & Opera encourages each prospective student to feel free to contact anyone on the faculty for answers to questions about auditions, study at Michigan, or anything else that may be related to your interest in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance. After your audition has been performed/submitted, primary contact from the Department of Voice & Opera will be with the chair and the teacher listed as first choice in your Artistic Profile, unless that teacher has given permission to second or third choices to contact you. This is simply for clarity and efficiency of communication. You may continue to initiate contact with any member of the faculty you wish, and may change your first choice designation after your audition has been performed/submitted, but the department will ask you to be very clear about your preferences so we can determine studio assignments as soon as possible, according to which professor has space for which students in the coming year.

Voice Major: BM in Voice Performance and BMA in Performance

Voice Major: Pre-Screening and Audition Requirements

Upload to the SMTD Artistic Profile:

• Four (4) memorized contrasting classical selections. Repertoire is the applicant’s choice, and should showcase classical music you love to sing. It is not necessary to choose the most advanced voice literature for your recordings. Operatic literature at the undergraduate level is not expected. Please follow these guidelines to choose your songs.
  • Because of our historic legacy and ongoing passion for promoting inclusivity in the vocal arts, we recommend that at least one selection be written by an underrepresented composer (composer of color, female composer, or other underrepresented group.)  This piece should also be in a classical art song style, inclusive of spirituals.
  • at least one selection should be in English
  • at least one selection should be in a foreign language
• A speaking video in which you briefly answer these questions. The format can be casual.
  • Why do you want to study voice in college?
  • Who are one or two of your favorite vocal artists and how have they most influenced you?
  • Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?
• OPTIONAL:  1-3 additional videos of other singing or performance you’ve done in the last 18 months.

Voice Major: Live In-Person or Online Audition/Interview Requirements

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will be asked to attend a group meeting with the faculty to discuss the school, the curriculum, performance opportunities, and more. Those same applicants will be asked to meet with the voice faculty for an audition and/or interview that will entail review of your training, current work, future goals, a discussion of one or more of your recordings, live singing and aural skills exercises. Candidates who elect to complete this part of the process online will be invited for an interview only, with a detailed review and discussion of your performance recordings to be included, as well as some aural skills exercises. Please have your scores available for reference for all of your audition repertoire and previously submitted recordings.

Voice Principal: Choral Music Education

Choral Music Education: Pre-Screening and Audition Requirements

Upload to the SMTD Artistic Profile:

• Four (4) memorized contrasting classical pieces. It is not necessary to choose the most advanced voice literature for your recordings. Operatic literature at the undergraduate level is not expected. Please follow these guidelines to choose your songs.
  • Because of our historic legacy and ongoing passion for promoting inclusivity in the vocal arts, we recommended that at least one selection be written by an underrepresented composer (composer of color, female composer, or other underrepresented groups).  This piece should also be in a classical art song style, inclusive of spirituals.
  • at least one selection should be in English
  • at least one selection should be in a foreign language

• A speaking video in which you briefly answer these questions. The format can be casual.
  • Why do you want to study voice in college?
  • Who are one or two of your favorite vocal artists and how have they most influenced you?
  • Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?
• OPTIONAL:  1-3 additional videos of other singing or performance you’ve done in the last 18 months.

Voice Principal: Choral Music Education Live In-Person or Online Audition/Interview Requirements

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will be asked to attend a group meeting with the faculty to discuss the school, the curriculum, performance opportunities, and more. Those same applicants will be asked to meet with the voice faculty for an audition and/or interview that will entail review of your training, current work, future goals, a discussion of one or more of your recordings, live singing and aural skills exercises. Candidates who elect to complete this part of the process online will be invited for an interview only, with a detailed review and discussion of your performance recordings to be included, as well as some aural skills exercises. Please have your scores available for reference for all of your audition repertoire and previously submitted recordings.

Voice Principal: BMA in Multidisciplinary Studies

BMA Multidisciplinary Pre-Screening Requirements

Upload to the SMTD Artistic Profile:

• Four (4) memorized, contrasting pieces. Classical selections are preferred. It is not necessary to choose the most advanced voice literature for your recordings. Operatic literature at the undergraduate level is not expected. Please follow these guidelines to choose your songs.
  • Because of our historic legacy and ongoing passion for promoting inclusivity in the vocal arts, we recommend that at least one selection be written by an underrepresented composer (composer of color, female composer, or other underrepresented group).
  • At least one selection must be a classical art song
  • The songs should be no longer than 3 minutes each

• A speaking video in which you briefly answer these questions. The format can be casual.
  • Why do you want to study voice in college?
  • Who are one or two of your favorite vocal artists and how have they most influenced you?
  • Where do you see yourself 5 years from now? What would you like to be doing?
• OPTIONAL:  1-3 additional videos of other singing or performance you’ve done in the last 18 months.

Voice Principal: BMA Multidisciplinary Live In-Person or Online Audition/Interview Requirements

Students who advance to this stage of the application process will be asked to attend a group meeting with the faculty to discuss the school, the curriculum, performance opportunities, and more. Those same applicants will be asked to meet with the voice faculty for an audition and/or interview that will entail review of your training, current work, future goals, a discussion of one or more of your recordings, live singing and aural skills exercises. Candidates who elect to complete this part of the process online will be invited for an interview only, with a detailed review and discussion of your performance recordings to be included, as well as some aural skills exercises. Please have your scores available for reference for all of your audition repertoire and previously submitted recordings.

Voice Principal: Composition, Music Theory, Musicology, and Music & Technology

Voice Principal Pre-Screening and Audition Requirements

Upload to the SMTD Artistic Profile:

• Two (2) memorized, contrasting pieces. It is not necessary to choose the most advanced voice literature for your recordings. Operatic literature at the undergraduate level is not expected. Please follow these guidelines to choose your repertoire.
  • Because of our historic legacy and ongoing passion for promoting inclusivity in the vocal arts, we recommend that at least one selection be written by an underrepresented composer (composer of color, female composer, or other underrepresented groups.)
  • Classical selections are preferred
  • The selections should be no longer than 3 minutes each

Composition, Music Theory, Musicology, and Music & Technology applicants will have interviews and perform either a live online or recorded audition for their prospective home departments.