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Undergraduate Auditions
For information and questions on UNDERGRADUATE AUDITIONS, including process, repertoire, and general advice, please contact Dr. Susan Williams, Co-Coordinator of Voice.
Auditions 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 Italian Songs and Arias, or a song in any foreign language – Italian, French, German, Spanish, etc.
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 2027 Undergraduate Voice Auditions for Fall 2027 Admission
Auditions will be in-person in Tuscaloosa as noted below. A pianist will be provided. A PDF containing audition music will be requested in advance.
Audition by recordings is possible by permission only in cases of great distance or unavoidable conflict. Write to Dr. Williams for more information or permission.
SPRING 2027 VOICE AUDITIONS for Majors
January 30 – Saturday
February 20 – during the Alabama NATS auditions
February 27 – Saturday
March 7 – Sunday afternoonNOTE: Music Minors will audition in August, usually on the Monday prior to the Wednesday start of classes for the fall semester. 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. Within the online application, there is a Portfolio tab in which you can upload your video(s). 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. More information on the UA Graduate School is available at this site. Application to the university should be made well in advance of the live audition date of preference (see below) and recordings uploaded within the Graduate School application at least four (4) weeks prior to the preferred live audition date in order to leave sufficient time for travel arrangements.
The School of Music Voice Area requires either a Live audition (in person, in Tuscaloosa) or additional recordings in the event of a recorded audition being approved and the candidate advancing out of the pre-screening round. A recorded audition is possible by permission only in cases of extreme distance or unavoidable conflict with all live audition dates. A live audition is preferred.
The audition program in voice (combining the pre-screening recordings and additional in-person performances, live or on video recording) should include five or six varied selections for the MM audition and seven or eight selections of varied repertoire for the DMA audition. Selections offered on the pre-screening recordings may be repeated in the next round (live audition) if the candidates advances.
All potential 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 one opera aria in the live audition repertoire, should the candidate advance.
Spring 2027 Graduate Voice Auditions for Fall 2027 Admission
Auditions will be live on campus and a pianist will be provided. A PDF containing audition music will be requested in advance.
The dates below are for those potential students who will have advanced out of the pre-screening round. In this next in-person/on round, selections from both the remainder of the audition package and/or the previously submitted recorded repertoire may be requested, in addition to a brief interview.
SPRING 2027 VOICE AUDITIONS for potential Graduate Students
January 30 – Saturday
February 20 – Saturday
February 27 – Saturday
March 7 – Sunday afternoon
Please email Dr. Paul Houghtaling, Voice Area Co-Coordinator with any questions on the graduate audition or application process.