Youth Orchestra Audition Requirements
Youth Orchestra auditions include a short solo of your choice, two excerpts for your instrument, and a short Bach excerpt. All excerpts are linked below.
Solo:
A short (one-to-two minute) selection of your choice. This can be a section of a longer piece, an additional excerpt, or something original - please choose something that represents your musical interests!
Percussionists, please communicate ahead regarding available instruments (plan to bring a snare drum, if using.)
If you play an additional instrument such as piccolo, English horn, saxaphone, or other, please prepare a secord short piece of your choise to demonstrate that instrument. You do not need to do a second full audition.
Excerpts: (updated for the 2026-2027 season)
Please prepare “first” parts (Violin I, Flute I, etc.) unless listed otherwise. Clarinets and trumpets, please perform excerpts in the keys/transpositions of the original compositions; you may use alternate/transposed parts.
If you have any difficulty accessing the linked folders, please email us via education@greensborosymphony.org and/or rcarpenter@greensborosymphony.org.
Violin , Viola , Cello: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture: 1 before letter E to F, and Q to R
Bass: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture: 1 before E to the 4th bar of F
Romero - Fuga Con Parajillo: mm. 289-315
Harp: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture: J to K
Ravel - Mother Goose Suite, mvt. V: 2 bars before rehearsal 2 to 4
Flute , Oboe: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture: mm. 212 to letter J
Williams - Titan: letter B to F
Clarinet: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture: mm. 1-11
Romero - Fuga Con Parajillo: mm. 353-376
Bass Clarinet: Saint-Saëns - Danse Bacchanale from Samson and Delilah: mm. 56-103
Williams - Titan: letter E to the end
Bassoon: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture: 4th bar of letter F to G
Romero - Fuga Con Parajillo: mm. 9-40
Horn: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Overture: 3rd bar of letter Q to R
Romero - Fuga Con Parajillo: mm. 1-7
Trumpet: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, 5th bar of letter N to O
Williams - Titan, letter E to the end
Trombone , Tuba: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture, letter S to U
Williams - Titan, letter E to the end
Percussion: Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Overture, Timpani, letter N to the 2nd bar of P
Tchaikovsky - Romeo and Juliet Fantsy Overture, Cymbals, 2 bards before O to P
Bach Excerpt:
Choose a part as best fits your instrument! You only need to prepare one part, and prepare only the bracketed section.
Choose your preferred clef and the range that best fits your instrument. Tempo is your choice.
The transposed parts are available for Bb instruments (trumpet, clarinet, etc.) and F instruments (horn, English horn, etc.)
These are taken from Contrapunctus I from J.S. Bach’s Art of the Fugue.
Part 1: mm. 5-25 treble clef treble clef (Bb instruments)
Part 2: mm. 1-15 alto clef treble clef treble clef (Bb instruments) treble clef (F instruments)
Part 3: mm. 13-34 bass clef tenor clef alto clef treble 8va treble 8va (Bb instruments) treble clef (F instruments)
Part 4: mm. 9-28 bass clef
Combined: keyboard score (treble/bass) score (c-clefs)
Percussionists, please play on a mallet instrument. Keyboard applications, please play all parts, mm. 1-23. You may also create your own part! For example, upper string players and percussionists might play multiple parts combined.