Distance Audition Information

Long-Distance Music Scholarship Auditions at Doane University

There are a number of dates available to audition for a Doane University music scholarship, and it is to your advantage to come to campus so that we can meet you and hear you sing and/or play in person.  For more information about our live audition dates, visit the Performing Arts Scholarship Audition page.

For students who are unable to audition for a Doane music scholarship in person due to geographical or other constraints, we are pleased to offer an alternative way to audition.  A video recording (MP4, MOV files; YouTube link) of your audition is preferable but an audio recording (MP3, WAV, ect.) is also acceptable.  In either case, please make the recording as high quality as possible-good sound quality is greatly to your advantage.  

If you play more than one instrument, or play an instrument (or instruments) and sing, feel free to include multiple auditions on a single CD/DVD/MP3/Video.  It is very much to your advantage to show us your entire skill set.  

Each audition will be judged on tone quality and technical ability, and assessed for its potential contribution to our music program.  Feel free to work with your music teacher/studio instructor on your audition materials, and please observe the following guidelines.

Percussionists

• Demonstrate your skills on as many of the major percussion families (i.e. snare drum, tympani, mallets, trap set), as is possible.
• Play a short, appropriate etude or solo, or-if playing trap set-demonstrate standard time in jazz, rock, and/or Latin styles.

Instrumentalists (wind and strings)

• Play a scale on your instrument from the lowest note you can play to the highest note-at least 2 octaves, if possible.
• Play a solo or etude of your choosing. Select something that will demonstrate your level of technical virtuosity. Please do not play your band music.

Pianists

• Play a two-octave scale in the key of your chosen solo, hands together.
• Perform a solo of your choice, from the classical repertoire. Memorization is preferable.

For Singers

• Vocalize through your range on a simple warmup (for example, 5-, 8-, or 9-note scales on "Ah"). Include singing in both low and high ranges.
• Perform a solo of your choice, preferably by memory. Please avoid popular styles (Broadway / radio hits, etc.)-a folk song, art song, or aria is greatly preferable.
• If possible, have your music teacher give you some tonal memory exercises-they play or sing a series of notes, and you sing them back on "la."

Please label your CD/DVD/USB-Drive clearly with your name and address, and then mail it to:

  
If your recording includes more than one audition, please mail it to Dr. Runestad.

We appreciate your willingness to send in a scholarship audition tape.  Any awarded scholarship monies will be added to your financial aid package, and we may also contact you about your scholarship.  We cannot award scholarship monies until you have applied and been accepted to Doane University. 

If you have any questions about Doane University or about your audition, please contact any of us at:

• mathew.fuerst@doane.edu
• jay.gilbert@doane.edu
• kurt.runestad@doane.edu