Collaborative Piano Audition Requirements for MM
Applicants will be notified if they advance to the audition round to perform on campus. Applicants invited to audition will be considered for scholarships and graduate assistantships.
- The first or last movement of a major instrumental duo sonata (e.g., Mozart K. 301+,
Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Faure, etc.).
- It can be the same selection from the live audition requirements below.
- Two contrasting art songs/lieder/mélodie in different styles and languages. It can be the same selection from the live audition requirements below.
- A seven-to-ten-minute solo piano work of the applicant’s choice played from memory.
- Videos must include the instrumental/vocal partner visible on camera.
- Videos must be unedited, with a fixed camera, visible hands, and high-quality audio.
- Recordings should be made within the past six months.
Applicants are encouraged to bring their own collaborative partners for the live audition. For those unable to do so, TCU can provide partners upon request. To ensure availability, applicants must indicate this request in their online application and submit it as early as possible in the audition season.
Choose one piece from each group:
- Group A:
- Mozart: Sonata for Piano and Violin in E-flat major, K. 380, 1st movement
- Beethoven: Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30, no. 2, 1st movement
- Brahms: Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 1 in G major, Op. 78, 1st movement
- Group B:
- Schumann: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129, 1st movement (beginning to downbeat of measure 96; no cuts)
- Dvořák: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, 1st movement (12 measures before cello’s first entrance to Rehearsal no. 9)
- Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, 4th movement (Rehearsal 65 to end)
- Faculty will select one of the following songs at the audition (original keys required):
- Schubert: Gretchen am Spinnrade
- Barber: St. Ita’s Vision
- Debussy: Green
- A seven-to-ten-minute solo piano piece of your choice, played from memory (may be the same as prescreening).
- Sight-reading
For questions regarding specific audition repertoire, email:
Master of Music General Admission Requirements
Bachelor’s Degree: To be admitted to the MM/MME degree programs, students must possess a Bachelor of Music or its equivalent, with a major in the area of proposed graduate study, including sophomore-level credit in an approved foreign language in the case of prospective majors in musicology, theory, composition, voice, or voice pedagogy.
Academic Standards: For admission, the student must have satisfactory undergraduate preparation for the particular degree sought which includes at least a “B” average (comparable to at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale) in all undergraduate work and satisfactory scores on the appropriate tests required by the school/college.
International Student Requirements: A minimum score of 80 on the iBT, TOEFL, 6.5 on the IELTS or 105 on the Duolingo English test is required for admission. The TOEFL may be waived for students who hold undergraduate degrees from a university with English as the language of instruction.Test scores must be sent to TCU from the testing agency to school code: 6820. Official scores must be sent to TCU from testing agency by application deadline for application to be considered “complete”. Applicants will not be invited to audition without official scores that meet the standard for admission.
Exemption: Exemptions to this requirement are given if the student has completed (or will before matriculation to TCU) an undergraduate degree from a US institution or from a university where English is the language of instruction. To request consideration for this exemption, submit official final or most current official in-progress transcript using the directions below and indicate exemption request on Accept’d music application when prompted. Translations must be provided for all international transcripts.
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