For more information about each ensemble, visit the main Ensembles page.

Audition requirements and information by ensemble:

Auditions for Spring 2025 choral ensembles will take place during the first two days of classes (January 13th and 14th). Non-Music Majors are encouraged to audition for any of the auditioned choral ensembles. Current singers enrolled in Commonwealth Singers or Vox Concordia do not need to re audition if they will continue to sing in the same choir for the Spring (2025) semester.

Audition Days

Monday, Jan. 13th, 2025 from 12 noon – 2:40 pm
Tuesday, Jan. 14th, 2025 from 2- 4:30 pm

Audition Location

Recital Hall, James W. Black Music Center. 1015 Grove Ave, Richmond, VA 23284

Audition Sign Up

If you would like to audition for Commonwealth Singers or Vox Concordia, sign up for an audition. Please CLICK ON THIS SIGNUP GENIUS LINK and choose a time. If all slots are full, please contact the Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Chris Hansen (hansenc3@vcu.edu).

Audition Procedures (Five-Minutes)

Sing acapella (without accompaniment) a song of your choosing not to exceed one-minute. If you cannot select a song on your own, then select one of the three songs below (links to sheet music and supplemental learning materials are further below on this webpage):
Deep River, by Burleigh
I Attempt from Love’s Sickness, by Purcell
Whither Must I Wander, by Williams
Complete a basic vocalizing assessment–Vocal Range.
Sight sing a rhythm that we give you at the audition.
Sight sing a melody that we give you at the audition.

Results Following Auditions

You will be placed in a choral ensemble based on your audition. You will be notified via email. Please remember to check your email and plan to attend the class for which you have been selected.

After singers are placed in appropriate choral ensembles, they may complete additional vocal and musical skill exercises for voice part placement within the group (I.E., soprano, alto, tenor, bass).

Course Registration

You do not need to be registered for choir to audition. However, we advise that students register for Choral Arts Society (APPM 359, CRN 30106) in order to receive communications through Canvas and VCU email. Once you are placed in an ensemble, you may need to change your schedule.

Supplemental Audition Materials

SOLFEGE Exercise Examples for Practice

Optional Song Selections for Auditionees

1: Deep River

    • HIGH KEY (F Major, Soprano/Tenor)
      • RECORDING: Click HERE
      • ACCOMPANIMENT (For rehearsal only): Score on screen, accompaniment only. Click HERE
      • SCORE in Treble Clef: Click HERE 
    • MEDIUM KEY (D Major, Alto/Baritone)
      • RECORDING. Click HERE
      • ACCOMPANIMENT (For rehearsal only) Score on screen, accompaniment only.  Click HERE
      • SCORE in Treble Clef: Click HERE 
      • SCORE in Bass Clef: Click HERE 
    • LOW KEY (C Major, Bass)
      • RECORDING.  Click HERE 
      • ACCOMPANIMENT (for rehearsal only). Score on screen, accompaniment only.  Click HERE 
      • SCORE in Treble Clef: Click HERE 
      • SCORE in Bass Clef: Click HERE 

2:  I Attempt from Love’s Sickness, by Henry Purcell

    • Materials can be found HERE

3:  Whither Must I Wander, by Ralph Vaughan Williams

    • Materials can be found HERE

Please remember to check your email for choral ensemble placement. Please attend the sessions that correspond to the choral ensemble for which you have been placed.

  • VCU Jazz Orchestra – directed by Prof. Taylor Barnett, rehearses Tues/Thurs 4-5:50pm in Singleton Center, room B40
  • VCU Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – directed by Prof. Dimitrije Vasiljevic, rehearses Tues/Thurs 4-5:50pm in James Black Music Center, room 1003
  • VCU Small Jazz Ensembles (SJE) – There will be eight SJEs, based on the number of interested students, and rehearsals are scheduled based on the availability of the faculty coach and the members assigned to each group.

*When you submit your schedule at the link below, you will indicate your interest in participating in a Jazz Orchestra and/or SJE.

AUDITION DATES

  • Tuesday 8/19: 10am-4pm
  • Wednesday 8/20: 11:40am-4:00pm
  • Thursday 8/21: 10-11:20am, 2:30-4pm
  • Friday 8/22: 10am-3pm
    • All auditions will take place in James Black Music Center 1003
  • Monday 8/25 – Last day for students to add/drop a course.
  • Tuesday 8/26 – First rehearsal of Jazz Orchestras
  • Week of 8/25 – First rehearsal of Small Jazz Ensembles (as individually scheduled).

SIGN UP FOR JAZZ AUDITION SLOT HERE

PLEASE UPLOAD A COPY OF YOUR COURSE SCHEDULE USING THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

AUDITION REQUIREMENTS

  • Vocalists: Prepare two contrasting pieces: one swing/jazz/bossa nova, the other in a style of your choice.
  • Horns: Prepare the required piece, which is the head to “Spain” by Chick Corea. You will also have the opportunity to improvise, either on Spain, or on a Bb blues, with accompaniment.
  • Piano, Guitar and Bass: The required piece is “Spain” by Chick Corea. Prepare the melody, 1 chorus of accompaniment, and 1-chorus improvisation.
  • Drums: Unaccompanied performance of the following grooves (8-16 bars each, at a tempo that is appropriate for the given style): medium swing, jazz waltz, samba, bossa, 12/8 Afro-Cuban, Mambo, up-tempo swing, student’s choice of backbeat (rock, funk, hip-hop, etc). Drummers are required to bring their own cymbals, hi-hat clutch, sticks and brushes.
  • All Instrumentalists: Sight reading: You will have 1 minute to study the piece. A recommended tempo will be marked but is not mandatory.

Questions about Jazz Ensemble auditions can be directed to Prof. Taylor Barnett at barnettt@vcu.edu.

For Opera requirements, visit the Opera page for details.

The VCU Symphony meets MWF from 1:30pm to 2:50pm. Rehearsals and performances take place in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall of the Singleton Center.

String auditions will take place in the James Black Music Center, room 3014 on August 18, 2025 between 4 and 7pm. Use this sign-up link to determine your exact audition time.

String audition requirements:

  • Prepare two three-octave scales of your choosing; one major, one melodic minor.) Bassists can choose to play two-octave scales.
  • Prior to practicing your three excerpts from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, be sure to listen to the piece (first, locate the correct variations and listen to style/articulation, tempi, dynamics, etc.)

Those auditioning for String Chamber Music only can either learn the excerpts or choose two brief selections from their own repertoire. Selections should not exceed five minutes in duration and should have contrasting styles and tempi (avoid choosing excerpts by the same composer/or from the same time period.)

Contact Prof. Daniel Myssyk with questions/concerns regarding string auditions.

Fall 2025 Excerpts By Instrument

Contact Prof. Duane Coston for information about winds and brass auditions. Or Dr. Justin Alexander about percussion auditions.

Membership in the VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the VCU Symphony is determined by auditions that are open to all qualified students. These auditions take place the first week of each semester and are heard by the conductors and the appropriate applied music faculty.

The VCU Symphonic Wind Ensemble meets for 80-minute rehearsals three times per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 12:00 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. and typically performs twice each semester.

The VCU Symphony meets for 80-minute rehearsals three times per week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 1:30 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. and typically performs twice a semester.

Remember to keep your schedule as open as possible to accommodate the ensemble you are assigned to play in. Students may not request to be in a specific ensemble.

Please see the lists below for excerpts and audition sign up times regarding Spring 2025 auditions for instrumentalists in both the Symphonic Winds and the VCU Symphony.

Specific Instrument Audition Excerpts (Fall 2025)

Specific Instrument Audition Time Sign-up (Spring 2025)

When signing up for your audition time, please sign up using your V# and not your name.

If you have any additional questions regarding Symphony auditions, please contact Daniel Myssyk, by email dmyssyk@vcu.edu with the subject “Audition Information Request.”

If you have any additional questions regarding Symphonic Wind Ensemble auditions, please contact Duane Coston, by email costonpd@vcu.edu with the subject “Audition Information Request.”

Looking for information on our Concerto and Aria Competition? Competition rules and guidelines can be found in the VCU Symphony section of the ensemble page.