String Area Audition Information

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Drake strings major have plenty of opportunities to perform as a soloist, chamber musician, or as a member of the Drake Symphony Orchestra. In addition, your work in the areas of string literature, studio teaching techniques, and string pedagogy will prepare you for a career either as a performer (perhaps following graduate school), or as a music educator. String majors may choose from among the following degree programs:

Bachelor of Music in Performance
Bachelor of Music in Music Education
Bachelor of Music with Elective Studies in Business
Bachelor of Arts in Music

The Drake Department of Music concentrates on providing a superior undergraduate education. You'll study with teachers who are regionally, nationally, and internationally recognized as artists/teachers. Studio string faculty include:

Mr. John Canarina, Director of Orchestral Studies
Mrs. Eva Brauninger, string bass
Mr. Phil DeLong, guitar
Dr. Ashley Sandor Sidon, Assistant Professor of Cello
Dr. Sarah Plum, Visiting Assistant Professor of Violin/Viola

Drake Music is a comprehensive department, offering string players the chance to collaborate with other student musicians both in small- and large-scale ensembles. Students routinely perform on recitals with other instrumentalists and vocalists, and with the Drake Symphony Orchestra each year. String students are featured frequently on the orchestra's Young Artists and Drake Soloist concerts

Drake's Location in the Greater Des Moines area, with a population of over 400,000, provides many opportunities to explore additional highly active artistic outlets in the community such as:

Performing as paid members of the Des Moines Symphony, after passing an entrance audition
Performing in area venues as paid members of chamber ensembles and smaller orchestras

Auditions:

The following guidelines are issued to make the audition process more clear and less imposing upon the student auditionee. Understand that these are guidelines and in some cases represent the best quality that Drake expects of its auditioning students. The string faculty will always hear a candidate and will not judge solely upon the repertoire played, but also upon the candidate's ability to play musically at the college level, to learn the ways to play with greater accuracy and conviction, and to make a contribution to the music making in the department. It is always better to play a little shorter audition program and play it well than to play more and play carelessly; however, the minimum program would be a scale and a piece.

Entrance to the string program at Drake is determined by an audition that also helps determine any music scholarship awarded. The deadline for scholarship auditions is March 1st of each year. Audition repertoire guidelines are as follows:

Violin,Viola & Cello:

Any two-octave scale and arpeggio in any bowing combination
A movement of solo Bach
A movement of a classical or romantic work from the standard repertoire (should include virtuosic passages)
An etude of your choice

Double-Bass:

Any two-octave scale and arpeggio in any bowing combination
A movement of a classical or romantic work from the standard repertoire (should include virtuosic passages
An etude of your choice

Guitar:

I-IV-V7-I chord progressions in major: C, D, E, F, G, A, as well as relative minor.
Two octave scale and arpeggio from the Giuliani 120 daily
An etude such as Aguado, Carcassi, Sor, or Giuliani
A movement from a concerto or representative work of Tarrega

Admission and Scholarships

The music department offers attractive scholarship packages for all talented students interested in a music major or minor; there are some scholarships available for non-majors who want to participate in the ensemble programs.

In order to qualify both for admission to the Department of Music and for a music scholarship, prospective students must audition by March 1.