School of Music > Admission & Aid > Auditions > Undergraduate/Teacher Licensure > Guitar

Auditions: Undergraduate - Guitar

​​​​​​​​​​​​ Students auditioning on guitar choose to audition either as a classical guitarist or as a jazz guitarist. A classical audition is not required of jazz guitarists, and a jazz audition is not required of classical guitarists. Please note: DePaul School of Music does not offer auditions or instruction in other styles of guitar (such as rock, pop, or contemporary).

Please see the audition requirements below.

We encourage all applicants, if at all possible, to audition in-person.  

  • Live audition dates are scheduled during the weekends in February. Review list of audition dates by instrument here.
  • ​Recorded video auditions are available by request and must be submitted by February 1 to your Blue Demon Domain (for undergraduates) or your application portal (for graduates/post-masters), in the “edit portfolio" section. To enable the recorded audition submission, contact musicadmissions@depaul.edu.

Audition Repertoire:

Applicants should choose one work from each of the following three categories:

    • a Renaissance or Baroque work by Francesco da Milano, Luis Narvaez, Luis Milan, J.S. Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, Sylvius Leopold Weiss or equivalent

    • an etude or single movement work from the 19th century guitar literature by Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani, Matteo Carcassi, Dionisio Aguado, J.K. Metz, Francisco Tárrega or equivalent

    • a 20th-century work by Isaac Albeniz, Agustin Barrios, Manuel de Falla, Joaquin Turina, Federico Moreno Torroba, Manuel Ponce, Leo Brouwer, Heitor Villa-Lobos or equivalent

 

Recorded Interview Questions (only applicable to those who select a recorded submission to audition)

​Please upload a video that is no longer than 2-3 minutes and responds to the below questions:

What is your musical background?

Why are you applying to DePaul?​

 

Prescreen Repertoire - materials due by December 1:

1. Blues, medium tempo (choose one of the following):

Billie's Bounce (C)

Au Privave (F)

2. Standard, medium tempo (choose one of the following):

All the Things You Are (Ab)

I'll Remember April (G)

Just Friends (Bb)

Format: One chorus melody, two choruses chordal accompaniment, two chruses solo improvisation, one chorus melody. Live rhythm section is preferred, but will accept a backing track. 

Live Auditions

We encourage all applicants, if at all possible, to audition in-person.  

  • Live audition dates are scheduled during the weekends in February. Review list of audition dates by instrument here.
  • ​Recorded video auditions are available by request and must be submitted by February 1 to your Blue Demon Domain (for undergraduates) or your application portal (for graduates/post-masters), in the “edit portfolio" section. To enable the recorded audition submission, contact musicadmissions@depaul.edu. 

Audition Repertoire:

The audition will consist of your performance of the well-known compositions Ceora by Lee Morgan and Joy Spring by Clifford Brown. You’ll play the melodies and supply chordal backing for a soloist. You’ll also improvise on these selections in a manner that acknowledges the underlying changes in harmonic context​. 

A third selection will be read at sight​.

 

Recorded Interview Questions (only applicable to those who select a recorded submission to audition)

​Please upload a video that is no longer than 2-3 minutes and responds to the below questions:

-       What is your musical background?

-       Why are you applying to DePaul?​

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