Audition Requirements + Music

Join us for MYSP’s 60th Anniversary Season!

Auditions are required for placement in all large ensembles.

All MYSP students are placed in ensembles through an audition. Our goal is to match each musician with the ensemble whose repertoire best fits their current playing level, ensuring they can both thrive within the group and continue to grow as musicians. Ensembles are not divided by age, but rather by musical development and readiness.

Scroll down to view requirements for each ensemble.

Not sure which ensemble is right for you? Visit our Large Ensembles page to learn more, review the requirements below, or contact us at mysp@myspmusic.org — we’re happy to help!

Register to Audition

Recorded auditions: Please email mysp@myspmusic.org for instructions.

Students who were unable to attend auditions in May or are new to MYSP may audition on Saturday, August 8, 2026, at Rhodes College.

Auditions are available for select openings in MYSP ensembles. Positions in the Youth Symphony and Repertory Orchestra are limited and vary by instrument based on the results of May auditions.

If your instrument section is currently full in the ensemble you hoped to audition for, we still encourage you to audition! Ensemble openings can change throughout the summer, and additional positions may become available before the season begins. Auditioning allows MYSP to consider you for any openings that become available, as well as for placement in another ensemble when appropriate for your playing level.

Youth Symphony & Repertory Orchestra

Full Orchestras - Strings, Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion
Audition requirements are the same for both Youth Symphony and Repertory Orchestra.

Available YS/RO Openings for the 26-27 Season:
All strings (violin, viola, cello, bass)
Oboe, Bassoon, Horn, Trombone
Harpists - Please email mysp@myspmusic.org

All instruments are required to prepare the following:

  • Prepare all 12 Major Scales and one melodic minor scale of your choice
    (details included in each instrument’s audition packet, linked below)

  • Solo of your choice (2 minutes)

  • Audition excerpts for your instrument
    VIEW EXCERPTS HERE

  • Sight-reading

String Orchestra

Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass

Available Openings for the 26-27 Season:
All strings (violin, viola, cello, bass)

Click here for excerpts.

Audition Requirements for Violin, Viola, and Cello (see below for Double Bass):

  1. Scales: Two 3-octave scales of your choice. (If you are already part of the ensemble, please play different scales than you did last year.) Perform your scales with two quarter notes slurred to a bow, tempo = 60 to a quarter note (approximately), with your largest sound, best vibrato, and demonstrating use of the entire bow. 

  2. Solo: prepare and perform a 1-minute excerpt from a solo of your choice. Please pick something that highlights your strengths. 

  3. Excerpts: must be performed at the audition with a metronome at the tempo of your choice. Please consult your teacher regarding what bowings and fingerings would help you sound your best.

  4. Sight-reading: up to 4 sharps and 4 flats, and may include off-beats, syncopations, and compound meters. The goal is not to play it perfectly, but just to demonstrate understanding of what is on the page.

Audition Requirements for Double Bass: 

  1. Scales: A Major and Ab Major scales in 2 octaves, to be played in your tempo and bowing style of choice. Demonstrate your biggest and best sound. 

  2. Solo: prepare and perform a 1-minute solo excerpt, etude, or orchestral excerpt of your choice. Please pick something that highlights your strengths. 

  3. Excerpts: must be performed with a metronome at the tempo of your choice. Please consult your teacher regarding what bowings and fingerings would help you sound your best.

  4. Sight-reading: up to 4 sharps and 4 flats, and may include off-beats, syncopations, and compound meters. The goal is not to play it perfectly, but just to demonstrate understanding of what is on the page. 

Intermezzo Orchestra

Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass

Available Openings for the 26-27 Season:
All strings (violin, viola, cello, bass)

All instruments are required to prepare the following:

Scales

• Violin: D major (2 octaves) and F major (1 octave)
• Viola and Cello: G major (2 octave) and Bb major (1 octave)
• Double Bass: D major (1 octave) and F major (1 octave) 

Excerpts

2026 audition excerpts: VIEW EXCERPTS HERE

Sightreading

Disclosed at the time of the audition

Prelude Strings

Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass

Available Openings for the 26-27 Season:
All strings (violin, viola, cello, bass)

All instruments are required to prepare the following:

G and D Major Scales

2026 audition excerpts: VIEW EXCERPTS HERE

Sight reading (will be disclosed at the time of the audition)

Concert Band

Woodwinds, Brass, Percussion

Available Openings for the 26-27 Season:
All woodwinds, brass, and percussion

All instruments are required to prepare the following:

  • F, Bb, and Eb Major Scales

  • 2-minute excerpt from a solo or etude of your choice that demonstrates your playing ability.

  • Sight reading (will be disclosed at the time of the audition)