Audition Information

Undergraduate Auditions  (Scroll down for information on Graduate auditions.)

For information and questions on UNDERGRADUATE AUDITIONS, including process, repertoire, and general advice, please contact Dr. Susan Williams, Co-Coordinator of Voice.

Student practicing vocalsAuditions are required of all students who wish to study voice at The University of Alabama. Please review our specific audition requirements below; you may also wish to consult the University’s guidelines on undergraduate admissions and scholarship information.

Potential undergraduate students in voice (Vocal Performance, Music Education, Music Minors * with voice as the principal focus, and all BA programs) should prepare three solo selections which must be performed for memory at the audition. One of the three must be in a foreign language for all degree programs.

Potential Vocal Performance and Music Education students, your third selection may be a musical theater selection as long as the other two selections are classical. Folk song arrangements are acceptable as the second and/or third selection.

Please note that for all degree programs, choral selections (i.e., singing your individual lines of one of your choir pieces) are not acceptable as solo audition repertoire.

* NOTE:  As listed below in the Audition Dates, all potential music minors will audition in August, and not during the spring audition season.

Sample acceptable audition programs for Vocal Performance and Music Education are shown below.

1. Caro mio ben, or any of the 26 Italian Songs and Arias, or a song in any foreign language – Italian, French, German, Spanish
2. Shenandoah, or The Water is Wide, or a Spiritual, or any other folk song or selection in the classical genre, including an English language art song
3. An appropriate musical theater selection

— or —

1. A piece in a foreign language
2. A second piece in another foreign language or an English language art song
3. A folk song arrangement or musical theater selection

Potential Music Therapy students do not need to audition for the voice faculty.  Please be in contact with the Music Therapy area for audition and interview instructions by contacting Dr. Andrea Cevasco-Trotter.

Potential BA students and minors may audition with two contrasting musical theatre selections, as long as the third audition selection is a classical solo piece in a foreign language.

Potential secondary students (already majoring in music, but on another instrument) or non-majors interested in MUA 134 or MUA 234 should contact Dr. Susan Williams to schedule a brief phone interview and audition (singing “Happy Birthday”).

NOTE:  In the event of non-acceptance of a potential voice major in any degree program, or a music minor, the candidate may choose to re-audition a second time only at the conclusion of the following academic semester. Immediate re-auditions will not be granted.

All potential incoming students should apply to The University of Alabama first, and then complete a School of Music Audition Request Form to choose an audition date.

Please email Dr. Susan Williams, Voice Area Co-Coordinator with any questions on the undergraduate audition or application process.

Spring 2024 Undergraduate Voice Auditions for Fall 2024 Admission

Auditions will be by Zoom or in-person in Tuscaloosa as noted below. You will receive a specific appointment time later, and the Zoom link will be sent a few days before your audition date if the audition choice is online on February 3 or 10, 2024.  A pianist will be provided for a live audition.  For Zoom auditions, singers may choose to perform either with prerecorded accompaniment tracks or a live pianist in the same space. The latter is preferable for Zoom auditions, if possible.

Audition by recordings only are possible by permission only in cases of great distance or unavoidable conflict.  Write to Dr. Williams for more information.

SPRING 2024 VOICE AUDITIONS for Majors

Saturday, January 27 – In-person undergraduate and graduate
Saturday, February 3 – Online auditions only, both undergraduate and graduate
Saturday, February 10 – Limited online audition appointments
Saturday, February 17 – In-person undergraduate and graduate
Sunday, February 25 – In-person undergraduate and graduate

NOTE:  Music Minors will audition in August, usually on the Monday prior to the Wednesday start of classes. You will receive notice of a specific time, along with further details, in early August.

 

Graduate Auditions

For information and questions on GRADUATE AUDITIONS, including the pre-screening process and general application questions, please contact Dr. Paul Houghtaling, Co-Coordinator of Voice.

Test Scores – Please note that no GRE scores or any other standardized test results are required for admission into the UA School of Music.  Language test scores are not required for international students if a previous degree (bachelor’s or master’s degrees) was obtained from a U.S. institution.

Pre-screening recordings are required in order to obtain an audition for the graduate programs in voice. Three (3) selections are required in a video format. PLEASE NOTE:  Do not upload your video recordings to the Portfolio portion of the UA Graduate School application as that cannot be shared with other faculty.  Please send videos as email attachments or shareable links directly to Dr. Houghtaling.  Students interested in being considered for assistantships in opera should include at least one opera aria among their pre-screening selections.

All potential graduate students must apply to the UA Graduate School and submit an audition request to the School of Music before recordings can be screened. Application to the university should be made well in advance of the Zoom or live audition date of preference (see below) and recordings received at least two (2) weeks prior to the preferred Zoom audition date, or four (4) weeks prior to the preferred live audition date in order to leave sufficient time for travel arrangements.

Pre-screening recordings, along with any questions about the voice program and the audition process, should be sent to Dr. Paul Houghtaling, Voice Area Co-Coordinator.

In addition to admission to the University’s Graduate School, the School of Music Voice Area requires either a Live (in person, in Tuscaloosa) or Zoom audition (upon acceptance from the pre-screening round) for entry into the MM and DMA programs. The audition program in voice (combining the pre-screening recordings and additional in-person performances or live on Zoom) should include five or six varied selections for the MM audition and a 20-25 minute recital program for the DMA audition.

All graduate auditions should demonstrate an understanding of a variety of vocal styles such as lieder, mélodie, 20th- and 21st-century techniques and styles, as well as opera and/or oratorio arias. Students should also be able to show facility in diction and basic comprehension of the foreign languages commonly found in classical singing.

Potential graduate students interested in being considered for assistantships in opera should include at least two contrasting opera arias in their audition repertoire (one in the pre-screening round, and at least two in total).

Spring 2024 Graduate Voice Auditions for Fall 2024 Admission

Auditions will be by Zoom appointment or live on campus on selected dates in February 2024 – see below.  You will receive a specific appointment time later, and the Zoom information will be sent a few days before your audition date if you choose that method of audition available only on February 3 or 10, 2024.  A pianist will be provided for live auditions and a pdf containing audition music will be requested in advance.  For Zoom auditions, singers may audition with prerecorded accompaniment tracks or a pianist in the same space.  The latter is preferable, if possible.

The dates below are for those potential students who will have advanced out of the pre-screening round. In this next live Zoom or in-person/on campus round, selections from the remainder of the audition package will be requested, in addition to an interview. A live Zoom performance of one of the selections previously submitted in the pre-screening round may also be requested in the next round.

SPRING 2024 VOICE AUDITIONS

Saturday, January 27 – In-person undergraduate and graduate
Saturday, February 3 – Online auditions only, both undergraduate and graduate
Saturday, February 10 – Limited online audition appointments
Saturday, February 17 – In-person undergraduate and graduate
Sunday, February 25 – In-person undergraduate and graduate

 

Please email Dr. Paul Houghtaling, Voice Area Co-Coordinator with any questions on the graduate audition or application process.