Woodwinds

To receive full consideration for admission and graduate assistantships, the application deadline is December 1. The School of Music cannot guarantee an audition, interview, admission, or graduate assistantship if application is received after the deadline.

There is no separate application for assistantship. Unless the applicant indicates otherwise, we assume that all applicants are interested in being considered for assistantships. Please note that assistantships are usually awarded for the Fall and Spring semesters together. We very seldom have assistantships available for anyone entering in a Spring semester. We do not award assistantships for Summer sessions.

1. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to the appropriate faculty in advance, to discuss their proposed audition repertoire. Pre-screening of applicants by the appropriate faculty may take place. Students will need to begin the online application process (see the Graduate Admissions page) and potentially submit the prescreening materials described below. Applicants will be contacted by woodwind faculty with the results of prescreening. The rest of the application materials should not be submitted until prescreening results have been received.

2. After an applicant passes a potential prescreening round, they will need to submit all remaining application materials described below by January 1.

Note: applicants to graduate woodwind programs do not need to provide the following item that is requested on the online application:

List of specific coursework or pre-requisite coursework that is applicable to this graduate program and has prepared you for graduate study.

3. Schedule an audition by contacting the Coordinator of Graduate Woodwind Auditions, Alexis Seah (alexis.seah@ou.edu). More details about the audition can be found at the bottom of this page.

If the appropriate faculty member asks you to submit pre-screening materials, the following items must be submitted to the online graduate application system

• Repertoire list of significant solo and chamber repertoire
  • Submitted to the online application under Supporting Documents.
• Performance videos or audio recordings of at least 30 minutes of music. See the audition requirements at the bottom of the page for repertoire guidelines.
  
  • Audio or video files or links to online recordings may be submitted to the online application under Digital Portfolio > Upload Media.

Most DMA auditions will take place on the following dates. See the following section for more details.

After you have passed a potential prescreen round and submitted all remaining application materials, you will coordinate an audition by contacting the Coordinator of Graduate Woodwind Auditions, Alexis Seah (alexis.seah@ou.edu).

The Woodwind area will offer both in-person and virtual DMA auditions, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In-person auditions are highly recommended for acceptance into the program and for graduate assistant consideration. Applicants who wish to audition in-person but cannot attend any of the official audition dates must arrange a separate audition time directly with the applied professor.

Virtual auditions may take place at the discretion of the respective applied faculty member. If a virtual audition is desired, applicants can make this request via email to the appropriate applied professor.

Virtual Audition Guidelines

• Applicants who wish to audition remotely must submit their recordings two weeks before their chosen audition date.
• Applicants who have opted for a virtual audition and are unable to attend a Zoom interview on any of the official audition dates must request a separate interview date directly with the applied professor.
• Applicants must submit a video recording. Audio files are not acceptable.
• Accepted file formats include (a) a YouTube unlisted playlist, or (b) a Google Drive/Dropbox link.
  • Each repertoire selection should be recorded in a separate video file with a clear label indicating the title of the piece, movements, or excerpts. Pieces with multiple movements should be provided in one video.
  • Videos must have been recorded within the past twelve months.
• Video recording files must be submitted to Alexis Seah (alexis.seah@ou.edu). The recorded audition materials will be evaluated by the University of Oklahoma woodwind faculty.

Audition Requirements

• Applicants to the DMA in any woodwind instrument should prepare approximately 30 minutes of music.
• Pre-screening recordings may be submitted in multiple video or audio files. Virtual audition recordings must be video files (see section above).
  
• The repertoire should consist of music appropriate for graduate level study and may include orchestral excerpts and/or jazz.
• The audition should represent a broad breadth of styles/periods and, if appropriate, use of different instruments. The woodwind faculty encourages applicants to include music of underrepresented composers, if possible.
• The audition does not require accompaniment or memorization.
• The audition will include an interview with members of the woodwind faculty.