Instrumental Music Department: Standards

The Instrumental Music: Orchestra program serves students on all traditional symphonic instruments. Students will

engage with music from both the classical and contemporary orchestral repertoire. In order to gain entrance into the

program, students must meet the following standards:

1) Students must play major and melodic minor scales up to four (4) sharps and four (4) flats, three octaves for string

players, and two octaves for wind, brass and percussion. Scales should be played in eighth notes with a tempo of 100bpm.

Students should please bring their instrument (or mallet bag) with them for the placement.

2) Students must prepare and play two contrasting movements from a sonata, concerto or piece of music they are currently

working on.

3) Students must demonstrate sight-reading ability.

Interested students who do not meet the above standards are welcome to join Instrumental Music: Contemporary.

Students may attempt to meet the standards to gain entrance into the Orchestra program every semester.

The Instrumental Music: Jazz program serves students on all traditional jazz instruments. Students will engage with

music from the standard and contemporary jazz repertoire. In order to gain entrance into the program, students must

meet the following standards:

1) Students must play major and melodic minor scales up to four (4) sharps and four (4) flats, two octaves for all

instruments. Piano students must use two hands. Drum set students will be asked to demonstrate scale ability on mallet

percussion. Students should bring their instruments and equipment to the leveling, including amps and cables for guitarists

and bassists, and drumsticks for drum set players.

2) Students must prepare and play two contrasting jazz standards from the Real Book (Hal Leonard, 6th ed. or

comparable), or a Jazz piece which they are currently studying.

3) Students must demonstrate their improvisational ability over one of their prepared pieces, or over a standard 12-bar

blues progression in concert Bb Major or F Major. Additionally, bassists must improvise a walking bass line.

Keyboardists and guitarists must sight read a lead sheet of chord symbols. Drumset players will be asked to demonstrate a

variety of feels, including swing, bossa-nova, 6/8 Afro-Cuban, and funk, and will be asked to improvise over a swing

drum solo over a 12-bar blues.

4) Students must demonstrate sight-reading ability.

Interested students who do not meet the above standards are welcome to join Instrumental Music: Contemporary.

Students may attempt to meet the standards to gain entrance into the Jazz program every semester.

The Instrumental Music: Contemporary program serves students on all instruments. Students will engage primarily with

contemporary and popular music, though every genre of music will be explored. A focus will be placed on the creation of

new music. There are no standards to meet in order for students to gain entrance into the program.