Music Department Audition Information

A student performing at “Inhabiting Spaces,” a multi-year and multi-disciplinary performance art tour held in various locations around North Campus in April 2023. Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki.

Students performing at “Inhabiting Spaces,” a multi-year and multi-disciplinary performance art tour held in various locations around North Campus in April 2023. 

Photographer: Meredith Forrest Kulwicki

Auditioning for the UB Department of Music

The UB Department of Music holds auditions for admission to its two majors (the MusB and BA) and performance minors at various points throughout the academic year for students enrolling in either the fall or spring semester. 

  • Applicants can audition In Person or submit a video. 
  • Suggested audition repertoire is indicated below, but please consider these as suggestions. If you have questions about repetoire, please contact Brian Moseley, bmoseley@buffalo.edu.
  • Voice auditions are accompanied, but instrumental auditions are not. You will be connected with the department's staff accompanist when you schedule your audition.
  • Students should apply to the University prior to their audition date. Registration for auditions can be scheduled by selecting the button below. 

Auditions Dates

  • November 22 (for students enrolling in spring 2025)
  • Friday, February 7
  • Saturday, March 1
  • Friday, March 28

Non-major Lessons

Non-majors, including graduate students, interested in taking lessons with our faculty can take music lessons in the department. Interested students should complete the request form below. 

We do not offer lessons to complete beginners, though the department does offer beginner group courses in piano (Mus 155) and guitar (Mus 216).   

Ensemble Auditions

For information about auditioning for one of the Department of Music's large ensembles or chamber ensembles (open to both UB students and members of the Buffalo community) please view the individual ensemble pages. Popular ensembles include:

Music Department Scholarships

The music department offers a number of scholarships to undergraduate music majors. Your audition for the degree program also qualifies you to be considered for these awards.

Apply for the Music Major or Minor!

Read about the application process for UB's undergraduate majors and minors.

Video Auditions

We are happy to accept video auditions, though we always prefer in-person auditions if possible. When scheduling an audition, you should select a date even if you plan to submit a video. Once you've recorded your audition, send it to Mary McCarthy. Audition videos must be received by the audition date that you selected.

Video Audition Recording Tips

  • Smart phones and tablets are more than capable of recording a great audition video, and they often do so with much higher quality than a laptop computer. Just remember that you might need to transfer that recording to a computer, so look up instructions before recording.
  • Orienting your device to film horizontally is often best. Try to frame yourself from the torso up, make sure that we can see your arms if they are involved in playing or singing, and move your music stand so we see you and not the stand.
  • Try to have a source of light in front of you (and behind the camera).
  • To optimize sound, keep the microphone area of your device unobstructed, and try to place it in the middle of the space you'll be recording. 
  • Before you start your audition video, be sure to test your equipment and your setup. 
  • Video files can be quite large. If it's too large to send through email, you may want to store it on a cloud storage service like Dropbox or Google Drive and send us a link.

Undergraduate Applications

Applicants to either of the two Music Majors or two Performance Minors must request their audition date when they submit their application.

Graduate Applications

Applicants to the MM in Performance degree must (1) apply to the Graduate School and (2) either request a spring audition date or submit a video audition.  To request an audition date, complete the Graduate Student Audition Request Form.

Register for Auditions: