Five minutes or less. You can sing or play as many pieces as you wish, but please do not exceed five minutes total.

There is no required repertoire. We want to hear you at your best and most confident. Please perform a selection(s) of your choice.  If auditioning with classical repertoire, try to select a piece, (or pieces or excerpt), which show both MUSICALITY (usually SLOW) and TECHNIQUE (usually FAST).  If your selection does not show both, choose a second piece or excerpt to perform within the 5' time limit.

PLU will have an accompanist available for your use, but you may bring your own if you wish. There will be no rehearsal time with our accompanist and you need to bring your music with you to your audition. Do not send your music ahead, it will be returned.

No, you do not need to be fully admitted to audition, but admission to PLU is required before a scholarship award can be offered.

Scholarship auditions are competitive.  The PLU faculty members judge all auditions. The auditionees are ranked by accomplishment, talent and potential; awards are made, starting at the top of the ranking and proceeding down until funds are exhausted.

Scholarships range from $1,000 to $12,000 annually and are renewable, subject to review, up to three additional years.

The first step is to contact us to request a Scholarship Audition Form. Your high school should have a poster with our Email address: plu.edu/music. Just go to our web site and complete the online request card. Please be sure to complete the entire card.  All the information asked for is needed. If you do not have access to a computer, just call us at 253 535 7603 and we will gladly send you the required audition form.

Audition scheduling begins in January after a completed Scholarship Audition Form is received by the Music Department. According to the information that is supplied on the Audition Form, a day and time will be scheduled for you and confirmation will be sent in the mail.

Everyone makes the strongest impression by auditioning in person. The In-Person audition allows you, your family and the faculty (of your medium) to meet. This is an opportunity to perform in Lagerquist Concert Hall, ask questions of the faculty, meet the PLU Student Escorts (all current PLU music students) & other prospective students from various high schools. It is an exciting and exhilarating experience. If at all possible, it is to your advantage to audition in person. However, we also know that distance and schedule conflicts may preclude you from coming to campus on that weekend. If so, we are happy to receive recorded auditions. We prefer videotape, but will accept, cassette tape, cd or DVD.

Yes, but here are some facts, which may help you decide if you want to do so:

• Music scholarships are awarded in a single specific area (i.e., voice or ‘cello or percussion). Auditioning in multiple areas does not increase the amount or breadth of your award.
• The area in which an award is given is the area in which you will be required to take private lessons and be in an ensemble to sustain your scholarship. This does not preclude you from taking lessons or performing in other ensembles in different areas.
• If you audition in multiple areas, we will assume you are ok with us choosing the area in which the scholarship is awarded. IF YOU WANT/WILL ACCEPT YOUR SCHOLARSHIP ONLY IN A PARTICULAR AREA, DO NOT SUBMIT MULTIPLE AUDITIONS!! AUDITION ONLY IN THAT AREA!
• If you audition in more than one area, only one of the auditions can be live/in-person; any additional auditions will need to be submitted via recordings; please put all recorded auditions onto one recording and put the strongest of your recorded auditions first.
• If you are doing one live performance and submitting other recorded auditions; please send our recording ahead, rather than bringing it with you to your live audition. The deadline for receipt of (not postmarked) a recorded audition is February 22, 2012.  You may use tape, video, cd or DVD, for a recorded audition (please no dvdr's).

Yes - deadlines are very important. Any request for auditions, or recordings received after the posted deadline times will be considered second round applications. Awards in the second round may or may not be available. The application (paperwork) deadline for both a live and/or recorded audition is February 8, 2012 and receipt of the recorded audition (not postmark date) is - February 22, 2012.

• Friday, February 24, 2012 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
• Saturday, February 25, 2012 9:00 am - 6:00 pm
• Sunday, February 26, 2012 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm

We prefer, if at all possible, that you schedule your live audition during the regularly scheduled audition weekend. We understand that not everyone can come at this time, so we offer the opportunity to submit a recorded audition. If one of these two options does not work for you, you can schedule an audition with one of our faculty who will videotape your audition and submit it with the other taped auditions to be reviewed during audition weekend. If you wish to have an accompanist at this time, you will need to bring your own. This is an option only if you cannot do a live or recorded audition. This needs to be arranged with the assigned faculty in your medium. Please call us at 253 535 7603 to obtain the necessary contact information.

Yes, but we ask that you try your best to coordinate your audition request with other personal obligations to minimize changes.

If you are offered and accept a music scholarship, you need to participate for credit each semester and maintain a grade of B or higher in both an ensemble and private lesson in the performance area of your audition. Should you not meet these requirements, the award will be adjusted or canceled.

Yes, please arrive 30 minutes before your scheduled audition time.  Twenty minutes of this time can be spent in a practice room. Check In is in room 206 of the Mary Baker Russell Building. Signs will direct you.

Yes, but only with your consent. After you check in, a student escort will take you to a practice room where you will warm up for approximately 20 minutes.  Your parents and/or friends will be escorted to a hospitality room where there will be refreshments and reading materials. Approximately 10 minutes before your audition you will be escorted to the back stage area and your parents will be escorted to Lagerquist Concert Hall. Only the PLU faculty, your parents, your student escort and (on very rare occasions) the parents of the auditionee before you, will be in the hall during your audition.