Competitions

Each student may compete in only one of the individual competitions: the high school or college solo competition, high horn or low horn mock orchestral auditions. Should a student enter the quartet competition, all four members of the quartet must be registered and each pay the competition fee. Students who enter the quartet competition may also register for one of the individual competitions, and must pay the separate $5 fee for that event. See below for specific information, eligibility requirements, and repertoire. Specific audition times will be emailed to entrants after November 25, 2007 as registrations are processed.

High School Solo Competition

Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be currently enrolled in high school (grades 9-12) or in a home-schooling program and 14–18 years old on February 15, 2008. Competing students must not have performed professionally under full-time contract, or have been previously offered such employment by virtue of winning a full-time professional audition.

All entrants will perform one selection from the indicated repertoire. Each entrant must be accompanied by a pianist. Students who need to use a workshop pianist should arrange this in advance by emailing Dr. Hansen. There is no additional charge for using a workshop pianist, but students should plan on rehearsing with the pianist on the evening prior to the competition day (the evening of Friday, February 15). Students are also welcome to bring their own pianists; practice rooms will be available during the workshop.

While the competition begins at 9:00 a.m. as listed on the schedule, approximate times of performance will be communicated either by phone or email to entrants in January. Entrants should be at the audition venue warmed up and ready to play about 10 minutes in advance of their scheduled time.

If the judges find it necessary, an additional final round will be scheduled later in the day (Saturday, February 16). The judges also reserve the right not to choose a winner, should the quality of performances merit. The winner of the competition will be offered the opportunity to perform at the Final Gala concert on Sunday, February 17 at 11:30 a.m. in Legacy Hall.

Students may sit or stand to perform. Students are not required to perform from memory. However, students using music must perform from legal printed copies: no photocopies or scanned copies of music are permitted. Students need not supply judges with score copies.

Parents or guardians may sit in the hall during their student’s performance, but should not stay for the performances of other students. The general public will not be invited to observe this competition.

Prepare one solo from the following list. Please also note the cuts indicated in the piano passages, in the interests of scheduling.

Repertoire

Richard Strauss. Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major, Op. 11, mvt. 1.
(After the opening fanfare, the pianist will begin nine measures before the measure of the next solo entrance. All other tutti sections as printed. The tutti at the end of the movement after the solo has ended should be abbreviated.)
W. A. Mozart, Concerto No. 3 in E-flat Major, K. 447, mvt. 1.
(The pianist will begin four measures before the horn solo entrance.)
Bernard Heiden, Sonata, mvt. 1.
(There are no piano cuts for this work.)

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College Solo Competition

Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be enrolled at a college or university as undergraduate or graduate students, and must not currently hold a teaching position at a college or university (graduate assistantships excepted). Competing students must not have performed professionally under full-time contract, or have been previously offered such employment by virtue of winning a full-time professional audition.

The first round of the competition requires unaccompanied repertoire, and a workshop accompanist will be assigned for those performing in the final solo round. Rehearsal times with a pianist for the final round will be assigned Friday afternoon.

The first round audition slots will be assigned via email or phone after November 29, 2007, and will generally be scheduled between the hours of 10:00 and 1:00 on Friday February 15, 2008. Performance order for the final round will be apportioned by Friday afternoon, and the final round itself will occur Saturday, February 16.

The judges reserve the right not to choose a winner, should the quality of performances merit. The winner of the competition will be offered the opportunity to perform at the Final Gala concert on Sunday, February 17 at 11:30 a.m. in Legacy Hall.

Students may stand or sit to perform. Students are not required to perform from memory. However, students using music must perform from legal printed copies: no photocopies or scanned copies of music are permitted. Students need not supply judges with score copies.

The first round is closed to the public, but the second round will be open for public viewing.

Choose one work for each round from the following lists.

Round One Repertoire

Round Two Repertoire

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Mock Orchestral Auditions

Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be enrolled at a college or university as undergraduate or graduate students, and must not currently hold a teaching position at a college or university (graduate assistantships excepted). Competing students must not have performed professionally under full-time contract, or have been previously offered such employment by virtue of winning a full-time professional audition.

The first round audition slots will be assigned via email or phone after November 29, 2007, and will generally be scheduled between the hours of 10:00 and 1:00 on Friday February 15, 2008. Performance order for the final round will be apportioned by Friday afternoon, and the final round itself will occur at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, February 15.

The judges reserve the right not to choose a winner, should the quality of performances merit. The winners of the auditions will be recognized at the Final Gala concert on Sunday, February 17 at 11:30 a.m. in Legacy Hall.

During the audition, students will conform to the excerpted parts available on the stand, which will be taken directly from the orchestral parts for the indicated works.

The first round is closed to the public and performers will be separated from the judges by a screen. The second round will be open for public viewing and performers will not be screened.

Each entrant should prepare all of the excerpts from either the high horn or low horn audition list.

High Horn Repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven. Symphony No. 7, Op. 92.
Mvt. 1, mm. 84–101 and 423–end, Horn 1.
Joseph Haydn. Symphony No. 31 (“Hornsignal”).
Minuet: Trio, mm. 41–76, Horn 1.
Gustav Mahler. Symphony No. 5.
Scherzo, rehearsal 31 to end. Obligato Horn.
Dmitri Shostakovich. Symphony No. 5.
Mvt. 1, rehearsal 39 to rehearsal 41, Horn 1.
P.I. Tchaikovsky. Symphony No. 5.
Mvt. 2, mm. 9–28, Horn 1.
Richard Wagner. Götterdämmerung.
Act 1, “Short Call,” Horn 1.

Low Horn Repertoire

Ludwig van Beethoven. Symphony No. 3, Op. 55.
Mvt. 3, Trio, mm. 171–202, Horn 2.
Ludwig van Beethoven. Symphony No. 9, Op. 125.
Mvt. 3, mm. 83–121, Horn 4.
Joseph Haydn. Symphony No. 31 (“Hornsignal”).
Mvt. 4, Variation 4 (mm. 65–80), Horn 2.
Gustav Mahler. Symphony No. 1.
Mvt. 3, mm. 113–132 (rehearsal 13 to rehearsal 15), Horn 2.
Dmitri Shostakovich. Symphony No. 5.
Mvt. 1, rehearsal 17 to rehearsal 21, Horn 2.
Richard Strauss. Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28.
2 measures before before rehearsal 34 to rehearsal 38, Horn 4.

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Quartet Competition

Eligibility: Students entering this competition must be enrolled at a college or university as undergraduate or graduate students, and must not currently hold a teaching position at a college or university (graduate assistantships excepted). Competing students must not have performed professionally under full-time contract, or have been previously offered such employment by virtue of winning a full-time professional audition. All four performers in the quartet must register for the workshop and individually pay the competition fee.

The audition slots will be assigned via email or phone after November 29, 2007, and will generally be scheduled between the hours of 10:00 and 1:00 on Friday February 15, 2008. If the judges find it necessary, an additional final round will be scheduled Saturday, February 16.

The judges reserve the right not to choose a winner, should the quality of performances merit. The winners of the auditions will be recognized at the Final Gala concert on Sunday, February 17 at 11:30 a.m. in Legacy Hall.

Quartets may sit or stand to perform. Quartets are not required to perform from memory. However, students using music must perform from legal printed copies: no photocopies or scanned copies of music are permitted. Each quartet must supply the judges with one score of each piece performed.

The general public will not be invited to observe this competition.

Repertoire

Each quartet should prepare no more than 12 minutes of music. Groups will be stopped after twelve minutes, and each audition slot is to take up no more than 15 minutes. Changing music and setup between selections is included in your performance time. Each quartet should, within this time slot, perform two works or movements of contrasting style. Only one of those pieces/movements may be an existing transcription, while the other must be a work originally composed for horn quartet. The group may instead perform two contrasting movements or works composed for horn quartet (i.e., not transcriptions).

For example, a quartet might choose to play Shaw’s transcription of Handel’s “Blessing and Honor” and a movement of the Tippett Sonata for horn quartet. (This is an example only, and has no bearing on what quartets might actually choose!)

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