The applicant must present three songs from the classical art song repertoire in at least two languages, including English. The songs must be performed from memory, with refined tone quality and musical accuracy. They may be chosen from the Italian, German, French, and English art song repertories. Songs with guitar accompaniment, popular songs, or show tunes are not acceptable for auditions.
The auditioning faculty is not concerned with the number of years of voice study; rather, they are interested in vocal quality, potential, and musical background including music theory, piano, or some other instrument. The School of Music only provides piano accompanists for voice auditions in Boston. Applicants in voice auditioning at a regional audition site must provide an accompanist.
There is no pre-screening for voice applicants to the MusB program.
The applicant is expected to perform from memory at least four songs drawn from the standard classical repertory: Lieder, French and Italian art songs, oratorio, opera, or contemporary vocal literature. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate prerequisite proficiency in the International Phonetic Alphabet, as well as a level of foreign language ability corresponding to that in the undergraduate curriculum at Boston University. An accompanist will be available for auditions in Boston.
There is no pre-screening for voice applicants to the MusM program.
The Voice Department requests an audition program of recital length, approximately one hour of music, in four languages: English, Italian, German, and French. An aria from opera and an aria from oratorio should be included.
There is no pre-screening for voice applicants to the MusAD program.