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List of 1 items.

• How to Apply

  Audition and Application Process:
  
  1. Email Matthew Heck to schedule an audition. (See below)
  2. Complete the through your Ravenna account.
  3. Complete the Conservatory Program Supplement on your Â鶹ÊÓƵ School Application. (This supplement requires two letters of recommendation from teachers involved with your music education. Letters from music teachers submitted for your general Â鶹ÊÓƵ application may count toward this requirement. )
  4. Submit a recording through your Conservatory Program Supplement. (See below)
  
  How to Submit a Recording:
  Toward the top of the Conservatory Program Supplement, there is space to submit a link to a performance video with a prompt that says: “Please submit your performance video link here.”
  
  Please follow the following guidelines for submission:
  
  1. Use this space to place a link to an online video or to a file on a cloud storage service.
  2. If you intend to share a file (via Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.), be sure to share the file with m.heck@rivers.org so that Matthew Heck, director of the Conservatory Program, may access the file.
  3. You may also , mark the video private in the privacy settings, share the video with m.heck@rivers.org, and then remove the video when the admissions process is complete.
  3. Please refer to the “Audition Details” section below for information on what to include in your video. You don't need to perform the same music for a subsequent live audition, and you don't need to include all of the required audition materials in your video.
  4. Most importantly, this video does not need to be a perfect performance! The video serves as a pre-screening video to help us determine how best to serve you through the admissions process.
  5. Please submit the video and the supplement as soon as possible. The Conservatory Program Supplement may be completed and submitted separately from other components of the general application. The sooner we are able to hear you play and/or sing, the sooner we can be in touch with next steps including scheduling an audition.
  6. If you have trouble submitting a video through the Conservatory Program Supplement, please reach out to Matthew Heck, director of the Conservatory Program at m.heck@rivers.org. 
  
  Audition Details:
  
  

  Audition Dates:
  Wednesday, December 10, 2025
  Thursday, December 11, 2025
  Saturday, January 10, 2026
  Sunday, January 11, 2026

  
  Audition Requirements:

  Orchestral Instruments and Classical Guitar
  • Two contrasting movements or works from the standard solo, sonata or concerto repertoire.
  • One major and one melodic minor scale up to three sharps and flats in two octaves.

  • Skills and repertoire should be in the range of an advanced "Level Three" as described in the .
  
  Classical Voice
  • Two contrasting pieces (ex: one in English and one in a foreign language), performed from memory.  • Art songs and musical theater repertoire is preferred.

  • Sight reading will be assessed.

   

  Classical Piano
  • Two contrasting movements of standard repertoire from memory. Concertos are not accepted.
  • One major and one harmonic minor scale up to four sharps and flats, hands together in parallel motion for three octaves.

  • Skills and repertoire should be in the range of an advanced "Level Three" as described in the .
  
  Jazz (Voice & Instruments)
  • Three tunes; two must feature improvised solos. Examples are listed in parentheses below.
  • One of the three must be a mid-tempo jazz standard ("It Could Happen To You," Jimmy Van Heusen).
  • One of the remaining two must be in one of the following styles: ballad (required for vocalists, ex. "In A Sentimental Mood," Duke Ellington); blues ("Billie’s Bounce," Charlie Parker); be-bop ("Donna Lee," Charlie Parker); modal jazz ("So What," Miles Davis); bossa nova ("Blue Bossa," Kenny Dorham); Afro-Cuban son/jazz ("Afro Blue," Coltrane/Mongo Santamaria); funk ("Chameleon," Herbie Hancock); fusion ("Birdland," Weather Report); ragtime; stride; or classical.
  • Major and melodic (or harmonic) minor scales up to three sharps and flats (four sharps and flats for pianists) and minor blues scales starting on four different tonics.
  
  Jazz (Drums)
  • Four unaccompanied grooves: a swing feel, a Bossa Nova (or Soca, Mambo, Mozambique, Bembe, Nanigo, or Guaguanco, etc.), a straight 8th feel, and a funk feel.
  • A snare drum etude (optional).
  
  Musical Theater
  • Two contrasting songs (ex: one ballad and one up-tempo) from a musical or similar material.
  • No sight reading will be required.
   
  Composition
  • Two original compositions in manuscript form (one must be hand-written).