Undergraduate Voice Audition Details

The audition is the most important factor in determining whether or not a student will be accepted as a music major. Consider visiting Baylor before your scheduled audition to give you an opportunity to meet with a voice professor to discuss voice-related academic programs, to meet students in residence at Baylor, and to determine whether Baylor would be a good fit for you.

If you plan to attend Baylor as a non-music major and simply wish to participate in a choral ensemble, please do not request an audition for the Vocal Studies Division. Please see How to Join an Ensemble for more information regarding our choral ensemble audition process.

BEFORE AUDITIONING, undergraduate applicants must submit applications to both 1) Baylor University and 2) the School of Music. Audition dates are selected on the School of Music application.

• How to Apply (Undergraduate)
• Audition Dates & Locations

We strongly encourage all applicants to schedule an audition on one of our on-campus audition dates. For those who are unable to attend an on-campus audition for reasons of distance or cost of travel, submitting a recorded audition is acceptable. Recorded auditions must be unedited video and uploaded to the School of Music application (more details below).

• The audition committee consists of Vocal Studies Division members.
• A pianist will be provided for your audition, though you may bring one with you if you desire. 
• There is no pre-screening requirement to audition for the Vocal Studies Division.

If you have any questions concerning audition procedures or the Vocal Studies Division, please contact the School of Music Admission & Recruiting Coordinator or the Vocal Studies Division’s Recruiting Coordinator.

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Undergraduate Voice Audition Requirements

The Vocal Studies Division accepts audition requests only from those prospective undergraduate students wishing to pursue the following fields of study.

• Bachelor of Music in Church Music *
• Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance *
• Bachelor of Music Education - Choral Music, Voice *
• Bachelor of Music in Composition
• Bachelor of Music in Music History & Literature
• Bachelor of Music in Music Theory
• Bachelor of Arts - Academic
• Bachelor of Arts - Applied (Performance)
• Bachelor of Arts - Church Music

Prospective students auditioning for acceptance into the School of Music will also be considered for vocal scholarship awards. There is no separate scholarship audition. Only prospective students wishing to pursue any of the above degrees marked with an asterisk (*) will be considered for vocal scholarships. See Undergraduate Scholarships & Financial Aid for more information.

Prospective students intending to major in any of the above degrees may request and give an audition before being accepted by the university but, as earlier noted, you still must apply to both Baylor University and the School of Music. Prospective voice students can audition for a specific field of study, selected from the degrees listed above, only twice. If a prospective student is not admitted into that field of study following the second audition, he/she is permitted to audition for any of the remaining fields of study with voice as their applied instrument. Prospective students are allowed to audition for the Vocal Studies Division only once per academic year.

Special Instructions:

• If there are audition slots still available, a voice audition must be requested no later than 5:00 p.m. CST the Monday prior to a given audition date. All voice auditions must be confirmed by the Auditions Coordinator in writing (this includes correspondence via e-mail). If you believe you have reserved a space for a particular audition date but do not have a reservation confirmed in writing, please contact the Admission & Recruiting Coordinator as soon as possible.
• Please confirm all performance obligations and other potential scheduling conflicts before submitting an audition request. A prospective student may change an on-campus audition date only once following his/her initial request. If you must miss an assigned audition date, please notify the Admission & Recruiting Coordinator or the Vocal Studies Division's Recruiting Coordinator of your cancellation as soon as possible. 
• There is a limit of 40 undergraduate vocal audition spaces for each Saturday audition date, and a maximum of 18 spaces reserved for the Friday afternoon audition dates. All auditions are on a "first come, first serve" basis.

Voice Audition Repertoire:

• Incoming freshmen should prepare a total of two classical solo songs of contrasting styles, one in English and one in a foreign language. All audition repertoire must be memorized.
• All prospective undergraduate students will be asked to sight read a short musical phrase, as well as repeat short melodic passages (first played on the piano) to demonstrate tonal memory capabilities. 
• Transfer students should prepare three songs or arias representing differing styles and periods; one of these selections must be in a foreign language. The repertoire should represent the applicant's vocal growth and progress to date. If a prospective transfer student wishes to perform an aria from an oratorio, then this selection may be performed with music. However, the remaining two repertoire selections must be performed from memory.
• Prospective students must bring all repertoire for in-person auditions.  Please have all music in a three-ring binder and copied double-sided to more easily facilitate page turns.

Recorded Auditions

• As noted above, the Vocal Studies Division will accept video auditions in lieu of an on-campus audition. Videos are submitted within the School of Music application and must be done so by February 1.

If you have any questions concerning audition procedures or the Vocal Studies Division, please contact the School of Music Admission & Recruiting Coordinator or the Vocal Studies Division’s Recruiting Coordinator.